The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost; but with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them.
Parallel translations
- WEB You haven’t strengthened the diseased, neither have you healed that which was sick, neither have you bound up that which was broken, neither have you brought back that which was driven away, neither have you sought that which was lost; but with force and with rigor you have ruled over them.
- BSB You have not strengthened the weak, healed the sick, bound up the injured, brought back the strays, or searched for the lost. Instead, you have ruled them with violence and cruelty.
- NKJV The weak you have not strengthened, nor have you healed those who were sick, nor bound up the broken, nor brought back what was driven away, nor sought what was lost; but with force and cruelty you have ruled them.
- NASB Those who are sickly you have not strengthened, the diseased you have not healed, the broken you have not bound up, the scattered you have not brought back, nor have you searched for the lost; but with force and with violence you have dominated them.
- NLT You have not taken care of the weak. You have not tended the sick or bound up the injured. You have not gone looking for those who have wandered away and are lost. Instead, you have ruled them with harshness and cruelty.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The shepherds failed every pastoral duty—the weak, sick, injured, strayed, and lost were all neglected—and ruled instead with harshness. Neglect plus cruelty is the mark of false shepherds.
Overview
This verse catalogs the comprehensive failure of Israel's leaders: they neither strengthened, healed, bound up, brought back, nor sought the vulnerable, but ruled 'with force and with rigor.' It becomes a job description in reverse, defining the very ministry the true Shepherd will perform (34:16). Jesus fulfills it, gentle with the bruised reed and seeking the lost (Matt. 12:20; Luke 19:10).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 18
- Matt 18:12–13How think ye? if a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray?
- Ezek 34:16I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick: but I will destroy the fat and the strong; I will feed them with judgment.
- Matt 9:36But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.
- Matt 10:6But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
- Zech 11:15–16And the LORD said unto me, Take unto thee yet the instruments of a foolish shepherd.
- 1 Pet 5:2–3Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind;
- Heb 12:12Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees;
- Exod 1:13–14And the Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve with rigour:
- Jer 8:22Is there no balm in Gilead; is there no physician there? why then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered?
- Rev 17:5–6And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
- Rev 13:14–17And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.
- Matt 24:49And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken;
- Jas 5:1–6Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.
- 2 Cor 1:24Not for that we have dominion over your faith, but are helpers of your joy: for by faith ye stand.
- Isa 56:10His watchmen are blind: they are all ignorant, they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark; sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber.
- Luke 15:4–6What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it?
- Jer 22:13Woe unto him that buildeth his house by unrighteousness, and his chambers by wrong; that useth his neighbour’s service without wages, and giveth him not for his work;
- Matt 21:35And the husbandmen took his servants, and beat one, and killed another, and stoned another.
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
The promise of one Shepherd-King David, a new heart and new Spirit, and the river of life flowing from the temple all stream toward Christ, the good Shepherd who gives the Spirit.
How Ezekiel 34:4 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.