Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD:
Parallel translations
- WEB Therefore, you shepherds, hear Yahweh’s word:
- KJV Therefore, ye shepherds, hear the word of the LORD;
- NKJV ‘Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord:
- NASB Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord:
- NLT “Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord:
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
God summons the shepherds to hear His word of judgment. Those who would not listen to the sheep must now listen to the Lord.
Overview
This solemn call, 'hear Yahweh's word,' arrests the negligent leaders and announces that accountability has come. The repetition (also in v.9) underscores the gravity of what follows. Leaders entrusted with God's flock answer ultimately to God, a warning the New Testament repeats to elders and teachers (Heb. 13:17; James 3:1).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Matt 23:13–36Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let in those who wish to enter.
- Ezek 34:9therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD!’
- Luke 11:39–54“Now then,” said the Lord, “you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness.
- Mic 3:8–9As for me, however, I am filled with power by the Spirit of the LORD, with justice and courage, to declare to Jacob his transgression and to Israel his sin.
- Ps 82:1–7A Psalm of Asaph. God presides in the divine assembly; He renders judgment among the gods:
- Jer 22:2–3saying, ‘Hear the word of the LORD, O king of Judah, who sits on the throne of David—you and your officials and your people who enter these gates.
- Mal 2:1“And now this decree is for you, O priests:
- Jer 13:13then you are to tell them that this is what the LORD says: ‘I am going to fill with drunkenness all who live in this land—the kings who sit on David’s throne, the priests, the prophets, and all the people of Jerusalem.
- Isa 1:10Hear the word of the LORD, you rulers of Sodom; listen to the instruction of our God, you people of Gomorrah!
- Jer 13:18Say to the king and to the queen mother: “Take a lowly seat, for your glorious crowns have fallen from your heads.”
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 34:7 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.