“As for you, O my flock, the Lord Yahweh says: ‘Behold, I judge between sheep and sheep, the rams and the male goats.
Parallel Translations
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“As for you, O my flock, the Lord Yahweh says: ‘Behold, I judge between sheep and sheep, the rams and the male goats.
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And as for you, O my flock, thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I judge between cattle and cattle, between the rams and the he goats.
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And as for you, O My flock, thus saith the Lord GOD: Behold, I judge between cattle and cattle, even the rams and the he-goats.
Cross-references (4)
Passages linked to Ezekiel 34:17 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Ezekiel 34:20-22 “Therefore the Lord Yahweh says to them: ‘Behold, I, even I, will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. Because you thrust with side and with shoulder, and push all the diseased with your horns, until you have scattered them abroad; therefore I will save my flock, and they will no more be a prey. I will judge between sheep and sheep.
- Zechariah 10:3 My anger is kindled against the shepherds, and I will punish the male goats; For Yahweh of Armies has visited his flock, the house of Judah, and will make them as his majestic horse in the battle.
- Matthew 25:32-33 Before him all the nations will be gathered, and he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
- Ezekiel 20:37-38 “I will cause you to pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant. I will purge out from among you the rebels and those who disobey me. I will bring them out of the land where they live, but they shall not enter into the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am Yahweh.”
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
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John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Eze 34:17 And [as for] you, O my flock,…
Eze 34:17 And [as for] you, O my flock, thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I judge between cattle and cattle, between the rams and the he goats.
Ver. 17. And as for you, O my flock.] I have a saying to you also, such as are unruly especially, as well as to your shepherds.
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Behold, I judge between cattle and cattle.] Between sincere Christians and hypocrites, sheep and goats; and can soon shed them, and show them to the world, who are fierce rams, and who are nasty goats. At last day, howsoever, all shall out, and a separation shall be made. The precious shall be taken out from the vile.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain I judge between cattle and cattle; make a different…
I judge between cattle and cattle; make a different estimate and judgment between men and men, between the smaller and weaker that need more tenderness, and the greater and stronger whose violence is to be restrained; and as becomes me, and their different state requires, I will do.
Rams; the hieroglyphic of rulers in their authority, humours, and carriage towards their subjects, who are also observed and shall be dealt with accordingly, when God makes good all this his word.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain The prophet has no more to say to the…
The prophet has no more to say to the shepherds, but he has now a message to deliver to the flock. God had ordered him to speak tenderly to them, and to assure them of the mercy he had in store for them. But here he is ordered to make a difference between some and others of them, to separate between the precious and the vile and then to give them a promise of the Messiah, by whom this distinction should be effectually made, partly at his first coming (for for judgment he came into this world, Joh 9:39, to fill the hungry with good things and to send the rich empty away, Luk 1:53), but completely at his second coming, when he shall, as it is here said, judge between cattle and cattle, as a shepherd divides between the sheep and the goats, and shall set the sheep on his right hand and the goats on his left (Mat 25:32, Mat 25:33), which seems to have reference to this. We have here,
I. Conviction spoken to those of the flock that were fat and strong, the rams and the he-goats (Eze 34:17), those that, though they had not power, as shepherds and rulers, to oppress with, yet, being rich and wealthy, made use of the opportunity which this gave them to bear hard upon their poor neighbours. Those that have much would have more, and, if they set to it, will have more, so many ways have they of encroaching upon their poor neighbours, and forcing from them the one ewe-lamb, Sa2 12:4. Do not the rich oppress the poor merely with the help of their riches, and draw them before the judgment-seats? Jam 2:6. Poor servants and tenants are hardly used by their rich lords and masters. The rams and the he-goats not only kept all the good pasture to themselves, ate the fat and drank the sweet, but they would not let the poor of the flock have any comfortable enjoyment of the little that was left them; they trod down the residue of the pastures and fouled the residue of the waters, so that the flock was obliged to eat that which they had trodden into the dirt, and drink that which they had muddied, Eze 34:18, Eze 34:19. This intimates that the great men not only by extortion and oppression made and kept their neighbours poor, and scarcely left them enough to subsist on, but were so vexatious to them that what little coarse fare they had was embittered to them. And this seemed a small thing to them; they thought there was no harm in it, as if it were the privilege of their quality to be injurious to all their neighbours. Note, Many that live in pomp and at ease themselves care not what straits those about them are reduced to, so they may but have every thing to their mind. Those that are at ease, and the proud, grudge that any body should live by them with any comfort. But this as not all; they not only robbed the poor, to make them poorer, but were troublesome to the sick and weak of the flock (Eze 34:21): They thrust with side and shoulder those that were feeble (for the weakest goes to the wall) and pushed the diseased with their horns, because they knew they could be too hard for them, when they durst not meddle with their match. It has been observed concerning sheep that if one of the flock be sick and faint the rest will secure it as well as they can, and shelter it from the scorching heat of the sun; but these, on the contrary, were most injurious to the diseased. Those that they could not serve themselves of they did what they could to rid the country of, and so scattered them abroad, as if the poor, whom, Christ says, we must have always with us, were public nuisances, not to be relieved, but sent far away from us. Note, It is a barbarous thing to add affliction to the afflicted. Perhaps these rams and he-goats are designed to represent the scribes and Pharisees, for they are such troublers of the church as Christ himself must come to deliver it from, Eze 34:23. They devoured widows' houses, took away the key of knowledge, corrupted the pure water of divine truths, and oppressed the consciences of men with the traditions of the elders, besides that they were continually vexatious and injurious to the poor of the flock that waited on the Lord, Zac 11:11. Note, It is no new thing for the flock of God to receive a great deal of damage and mischief from those that are themselves of the flock, and in eminent stations in it, Act 20:30.
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II. Comfort spoken to those of the flock that are poor and feeble, and that wait for the consolation of Israel (Eze 34:22): "I will save my flock, and they shall no more be spoiled as they have been by the beasts of prey, by their own shepherds or by the rams and he-goats among themselves." Upon this occasion, as is usual in the prophets, comes in a prediction of the coming of the Messiah, and the setting up of his kingdom, and the exceedingly great and precious benefits which the church should enjoy under the protection and influence of that kingdom. Observe what is here foretold,
1. Concerning the Messiah himself. (1.) He shall have his commission from God himself: I will set him up (Eze 34:23); I will raise him up, Eze 34:29. He sanctified and sealed him, appointed and anointed him. (2.) He shall be the great Shepherd of the sheep, who shall do that for his flock which no one else could do. He is the one Shepherd, under whom Jews and Gentiles should be one fold. (3.) He is God's servant, employed by him and for him, and doing all in obedience to his will, with an eye to his glory - his servant, to re-establish his kingdom among men and advance the interests of that kingdom. (4.) He is David, one after God's own heart, set as his King upon the holy hill of Zion, made the head of the corner, with whom the covenant of royalty is made, and to whom God would give the throne of his father David. He is both the root and offspring of David. (5.) He is the plant of renown, because a righteous branch (Jer 23:5), a branch of the Lord, that is beautiful and glorious, Isa 4:2. He has a name above every name, a throne above every throne, and may therefore well be called a branch of renown. Some understand it of the church, the planting of the Lord, Isa 61:3. Its name shall be remembered (Psa 45:17) and Christ's in it.
2. Concerning the great charter by which the kingdom of the Messiah should be incorporated, and upon which it should be founded (Eze 34:25): I will make with them a covenant of peace. The covenant of grace is a covenant of peace. In it God is at peace with us, speaks peace to us, and assures us of peace, of all good, all the good we need to make us happy. The tenour of this covenant is: "I the Lord will be their God, a God all-sufficient to them (Eze 34:24), will own them and will be owned by them; in order to this my servant David shall be a prince among them, to reduce them to their allegiance, to receive their homage, and to reign over them, in them, and for them." Note, Those, and those only, that have the Lord Jesus for their prince have the Lord Jehovah for their God. And then they, even the house of Israel, shall be my people. If we take God to be our God, he will take us to be his people. From this covenant between God and Israel there results communion: "I the Lord their God am with them, to converse with them; and they shall know it, and have the comfort of it."
3. Concerning the privileges of those that are the faithful subjects of this kingdom of the Messiah and interested in the covenant of peace. These are here set forth figuratively, as the blessings of the flock. But we have a key to it, Eze 34:31. Those that belong to this flock, though they are spoken of as sheep, are really men, men that have the Lord for their God, and are in covenant with him. Now to them it is promised,
(1.) That they shall enjoy a holy security under the divine protection. Christ, our good Shepherd, has caused the evil beasts to cease out of the land (Eze 34:25), having vanquished all our spiritual enemies, broken their power, and triumphed over them; the roaring lion is not a roaring devouring lion to them; they shall no more be a prey to the heathen nor the heathen a terror to them, neither shall the beasts of the land devour them. Sin and Satan, death and hell, are conquered. And then they shall dwell safely, not only in the folds, but in the fields, in the wilderness, in the woods, where the beasts of prey are; they shall not only dwell there, but they shall sleep there, which denotes not only that the beasts being made to cease there shall be no danger, but, their consciences being purified and pacified, they shall be in no apprehension of danger; not only safe from evil, but quiet from the fear of evil. Note, Those may lay down and sleep securely, sleep at ease, that have Christ for their prince; for he will be their protector, and make them to dwell in safety. None shall hurt them, nay, none shall make them afraid. If God be for us, who can be against us? Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed. Through Christ, God delivers his people not only from the things they have reason to fear, but from their fear even of death itself, from all that fear that has torment. This safety from evil is promised (Eze 34:27): They shall be safe in their land, in no danger of being invaded and enslaved, though their great plenty be a temptation to their neighbours to desire their land; and that which shall make them think themselves safe is their confidence in the wisdom, power, and goodness of God: They shall know that I am the Lord. All our disquieting fears arise from our ignorance of God and mistakes concerning him. Their experience of his particular care concerning them encourages their confidence in him: "I have broken the bands of their yoke, with which they have been brought and held down under oppression, and have delivered them out of the hand of those that served themselves of them, whence they shall argue, He that has delivered does and will, therefore will we dwell safely." This is explained, and applied to our gospel-state, Luk 1:74. That we, being delivered out of the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear, as those may do that serve him in faith.
(2.) That they shall enjoy a spiritual plenty of all good things, the best things, for their comfort and happiness: They shall no more be consumed with hunger in the land, Eze 34:29. Famine and scarcity, when Israel was punished with that judgment, turned as much to their reproach among the heathen as any other, because the fruitfulness of Canaan was so much talked of. But now they shall not bear that shame of the heathen any more For the showers shall come down in their season, even showers of blessing, Eze 34:26. Christ is a Shepherd that will feed his people; and they shall go in and out, and find pasture. [1.] They shall not be consumed with hunger; for they shall not be put off with the world for a portion, which is not bread, which satisfies not, and which leaves those that are put off with it to be consumed with hunger. The ordinances of the ceremonial law are called beggarly elements, for there was little in them, compared with the Christian institutes, wherewith the mower fills his hand and he that binds sheaves his bosom. Those that hunger and thirst after righteousness shall not be consumed with that hunger, for they shall be filled. And he that drinks of the water that Christ gives him, the still waters by which he leads his sheep, shall never thirst. [2.] Showers of blessings shall come upon them, Eze 34:26, Eze 34:27. The heavens shall yield their dews; the trees of the field also shall yield their fruit. The seat of this plenty is God's hill, his holy hill of Zion, for on that mountain, in the gospel church, it is, that God has made to all nations a feast; to that those must join themselves who would partake of gospel benefits. The cause of this plenty is the showers that come down in their season, that descend upon the mountains of Zion, the graces of Christ, his doctrine that drops as the dew, the graces of Christ, and the fruits and comforts of his Spirit, by which we are made fruitful in the fruits of righteousness. The instances of this plenty are the blessings of heaven poured down upon us and the productions of grace brought forth by us, our comfort in God's favour and God's glory in our fruit-bearing. The extent of this plenty is very large, to all the places round about my hill; for out of Zion shall go forth the law, shall go forth light to a dark world, and the river that shall water a dry and desert world; all that are in the neighbourhood of Zion shall fare the better for it; and the nearer the church the nearer its God. And, lastly, The effect of this plenty is, I will make them a blessing, eminently and exemplarily blessed, patterns of happiness, Isa 19:24. Or, They shall be blessings to all about them, diffusively useful. Note, Those that are the blessed of the Lord must study to make themselves blessings to the world. He that is good, let him do good; he that has received the gift, the grace, let him minister the same.
Now this promise of the Messiah and his kingdom spoke much comfort to those to whom it was then made, for they might be sure that God would not utterly destroy their nation, how low soever it might be brought, as long as that blessing was in the womb of it, Isa 65:8. But it speaks much more comfort to us, to whom it is fulfilled, who are the sheep of this good Shepherd, are fed in his pastures, and blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly things by him.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain Seemeth it a small thing unto you to have…
Seemeth it a small thing unto you to have eaten up the good pasture,.... This is directed to the rams and he goats, to the people of power and wealth, or who had the key of knowledge and instruction; who, by their conduct, showed as if it was not enough for them to eat and drink the best of things themselves, to enjoy their wealth and riches, and keep their posts of honour and profit, and the revenues of them, in church and state:
but ye must tread down with your feet the residue of your pastures? and to have drunk of the deep waters, but ye must foul the residue with your feet? but they must oppress the poor, by taking away from them that little they have; or by making their lives uncomfortable to them, by their severities and exactions; so that that small pittance they had, they cannot enjoy with any pleasure, The allusion is to beasts in pasture, which tread down and put dung what they do not eat, which makes what is left unfit for others; and to cattle, at ponds of water, which having drank, foul the rest with their feet; as camels particularly are said to do; so that others cannot drink after them, at least not so agreeably: this may be applied to the Scribes and Pharisees, and such as they were, who devoured widows' houses, and made void the word and commandments of God, by their traditions; teaching for doctrines the commandments of men; and so polluted the pure waters of the sanctuary; defiled the Scriptures of truth, and delivered out such doctrines as were not food and drink to the souls of men, and yet were obliged to receive them; and such are heretical persons, who sometimes arise out of the churches, are a part of the flock, that corrupt the word of God, pervert the Scriptures, and handle them deceitfully; and may be said to tread down and trample upon the wholesome truths of the Gospel, and to muddy the clear doctrines of grace; so that the children of God cannot, as they desire, have the pure, unmixed, sincere milk of the word.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain I judge - Between men and men, between the…
I judge - Between men and men, between the smaller and weaker, and the greater and stronger, as their different state requires I will do. The rams - Rulers, who also shalt be dealt with according to their behaviour.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 17. And as for you, O my flock]…
Verse 17. And as for you, O my flock] After having spoken to the shepherds, he now addresses the flock.
I judge between cattle and cattle] Between false and true professors; between them that have only the form and them that have the power of godliness; between the backslider in heart and the upright man.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Eze 34:17; Eze 34:19. As for you, O my…
Eze 34:17; Eze 34:19. As for you, O my flock — The prophet, having finished what he had to say to the shepherds, now delivers God’s message to the flock. God had before ordered him to speak tenderly to them, and to assure them of the mercy which he had in store for them. But now he is ordered to make a difference between some and others of them, to separate between the precious and the vile, and then to give them a promise of the Messiah, by whom this distinction would be effectually made; partly at his first coming, when for judgment he should come into this world, Joh 9:39; but completely at his second coming, when he shall, as it is here said, judge between cattle as a shepherd divides between the sheep and the goats, and shall set the sheep on his right hand and the goals on his left, Mat 25:32-33. Between the rams and the he-goats — The Hebrew, it seems, may be better rendered, Between the small cattle, and the cattle of rams and of he-goats, between the weak and the strong cattle; that is, between the rich and the poor, as the Chaldee Paraphrase explains the sense upon Eze 34:20. Seemeth it a small thing unto you to have eaten up the good pasture? &c. — This reproof may be fitly applied to those of the rich and great, who take no care that the poor may enjoy the benefit of their superfluities, but will rather let them be thrown away and lost, than they will take the trouble of seeing them disposed of for the relief of those that stand in need. As for my flock, they eat that which ye have trodden, &c. — They are compelled to live upon the relics of what you have spoiled and destroyed.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Cattle. The crimes of the pastors do not excuse…
Cattle. The crimes of the pastors do not excuse the flock. In it there are people of different dispositions. The rich often destroy, and these are brought to an account, ver. 24. (Calmet)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain you, . . . my flock--passing from the rulers…
you, . . . my flock--passing from the rulers to the people.
cattle and cattle--rather, "sheep and sheep"; Margin, "small cattle," or "flocks of lambs and kids," that is, I judge between one class of citizens and another, so as to award what is right to each. He then defines the class about to be punitively "judged," namely, "the rams and he-goats," or "great he-goats" (compare Isa 14:9, Margin; Zac 10:3; Mat 25:32-33). They answer to "the fat and strong," as opposed to the "sick" (Eze 34:16). The rich and ungodly of the people are meant, who imitated the bad rulers in oppressing their poorer brethren, as if it enhanced their own joys to trample on others' rights (Eze 34:18).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 17-22. The divine Shepherd will not permit the strong,…
17-22. The divine Shepherd will not permit the strong, proud rams and the fat he goats (the priests, the prophets, and the rulers) to drive away or take advantage of their weaker companions. They, too, are members of the flock, but they must be disciplined or restrained so that they shall not feed upon the pasture to the disadvantage of the weak. Deep waters (Eze_34:18) — R.V., “clear waters.”
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 17. Not only shall the cruel shepherds be removed…
17. Not only shall the cruel shepherds be removed and the flock delivered out of their hands and fed by the Lord himself, the injuries inflicted by members of the flock on each other shall no more prevail. The strong shall no more push the weak or drive them from the good pasture.
between cattle and cattle] between sheep and sheep, even the rams and the he-goats. The “rams” and “he-goats” explain the second word “sheep.” Jehovah will judge between one class (the poor and weak) and another (the rams). Cf. Eze_22:27; Eze_22:29; Amo_2:7; Amo_3:9; Amo_4:1.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (17) Between cattle and cattle.—In other words, between one…
(17) Between cattle and cattle.—In other words, between one and another of the flock. They are not all alike to be saved and blessed, but only those who turn in penitence and submission to God, their Shepherd. The same contrast is again expressed in Eze_34:20; Eze_34:22. It is not between “the cattle” on the one side, and “the rams and the he-goats” on the other, but between the cattle themselves, and also between the rams and he-goats themselves; all the evil, of whatever class, are to be rejected. Eze_34:18-19 are addressed to those who will be rejected.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Behold, I judge between cattle and cattle. It may…
Behold, I judge between cattle and cattle. It may be worth while to note, as modern English usage tends to limit the range of the word, that it is commonly used in the Old Testament of sheep rather than of kine. (Gen_30:34-42 Gen_31:8-12) In Gen_30:32 we have the same Hebrew word as that which Ezekiel uses. Between the rams and the he-goats. The words, at first, seem to point to a division like that of Mat_25:32, and may, perhaps, have suggested it. Here, however, the contrast lies, not between the sheep and goats as such, but between the strong and the weak of each class. The "rams" are as much the object of the shepherd"s discipline of judgment as the "he-goats." Both stand as the representative of the rapacious self-seeking classes who oppressed the poor and needy, and, not content with being the first to feed on the pastures and to drink of the waters, trampled on the former and defiled the latter. So in the next verse the contrast lies between the "fat cattle," whether sheep or goats, and the "lean.
The flock divided.
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When the flock is found it is not all treated alike. The rough, horned cattle are separated from the gentle, helpless sheep. Israel was not to be restored to prosperity as a nation without discrimination. God would judge between the different characters of exiles. Judgment of individuals is here referred to.
I GOD DEALS WITH INDIVIDUALS AS WELL AS WITH NATIONS. As there are national sins, so there are national punishments, and also national mercies. The whole nation must in a measure participate in these things. But over and above such matters there is an individual treatment of separate men and women. No man is safe from trouble by belonging to a prosperous nation. God"s returning favor to a community may leave hardened rebellious souls still in the dark.
II GOD JUDGES THE INDIVIDUAL MEMBERS OF CHURCHES. No man is safe just because he lives in Christendom, neither is any one safe because he is a member of any Church. There are rough, cruel animals in the flock, which are injurious to others, and unworthy of their privileges. In the final judgment the sheep will be separated from the goats, (Mat_25:32) and in dealing with Churches the same method of discrimination must be applied. Indeed, it is worse for one who is not a Christian to be enrolled in the membership of a Church, than for him to remain outside. His position is false and hypocritical. Moreover, his presence is injurious to the well-being of the worthy members. If the rough, horned animals were abroad in the wilderness, they would do little harm. The mischief arises when they are crowded together with the sheep in one fold.
III IT IS THE DUTY OD CHURCHES TO EXERCISE DISCIPLINE. Care should be taken as to who are entrusted with the highest privileges of Christian fellowship. It is easier not to encourage the unworthy to enter than to eject them after they have made themselves obnoxious to the community. Nothing can be more foolish than to enlarge the nominal roll of a Church by including doubtful names. A wise teacher has said, "It would be well if we had fewer Christians, and better ones.
IV THERE IS A DISCIPLINE WHICH BELONGS ONLY TO GOD. We can regulate the conditions of membership in organized societies. But we cannot really determine who are true members of Christ"s flock. Therefore, in excluding the apparently unfit from a Church, we cannot, we dare not, pretend to pronounce a sentence of excommunication upon them. Much less are we justified in forcibly stamping out heresy, schism, and, what is far worse, worldly and sinful professions of Christianity, by the rough treatment of persecution. Wheat and tares must both grow together until the harvest. (Mat_13:30) Then, indeed, God will judge. The great Fisherman will divide his own fish when he brings the net to land. (Mat_13:48)
Vers. 17-22Social oppressions.
The wisest men detect only some of the evils that blemish a nation; they are blind to more secret delinquencies. The Almighty Ruler detects every hidden iniquity, nor will he spare any form of sin.
I OBSERVE THE CONTAGION OF WICKEDNESS. The first part of the chapter reveals God"s judgment upon evil rulers now is brought to light the wrong-doing of men in private and unofficial stations. The sins of pride and violence soon filter down from magnates to merchants, from princes to peasants. Vice is more contagious than any bodily disease we are familiar with. As children easily learn to imitate the words and ways of parents, so men in inferior stations copy the deeds of those immediately above them. As thistle-down bears an abundant crop of seed, so do also most kinds of sin.
II MARK THE EVIL AND BITTER FRUITS OF SELFISHNESS. Selfishness is the prolific mother of a thousand sins. In a ruler selfishness becomes as a scourge of scorpions to the people, and makes the man a monster; in a private person it works a world of minor mischiefs. In any form it is a malignant and despicable thing. As night casts its black shadow over every scene of natural beauty, so selfishness blights and disfigures every relationship between man and man.
1. Here are acts of malevolence. The rich and the strong eared only for themselves. Self-aggrandizement in them had grown into ill will for their neighbors. National calamity, which ought to have brought them nearer to each other for mutual help, had generated a malevolent temper.
2. This ill will led to acts of wanton destructiveness. Such portions of agricultural produce as they could not use themselves they destroyed, so that their poorer neighbors might be reduced to yet direr straits. Never was the fable of the dog in the manger more literally realized. Landlords who destroy cottages in order to drive out the poor from the parish, walk in these men"s shoos.
3. Acts of personal cruelty. "They pushed the diseased with their horns until they had scattered them." The horns were weapons provided by God for their defense against their foes, and it was a strange abuse of God"s kindness to use these weapons for the injury of their suffering fellows. Every form of disease is a mute, pathetic appeal to our better nature for sympathy and help. We do ourselves a lasting injury when we refuse assistance. We turn the natural milk of human kindness into gall. Men are members of one social organism; and in injuring each other they injure themselves. The culture of benevolence is a primary duty a fountain of joy.
4. Self-blindness. To these self-indulgent men "it seemed a small thing" to treat their weaker and suffering brethren thus. Yet it was a very mountain of wickedness. A selfish eye looks through the wrong end of the telescope, and sees real objects greatly minimized. By-and-by their eyes will be opened. By-and-by the mist of appearances will vanish, and all human actions will be revealed in naked reality.
III RIGHTEOUS DISCRIMINATION AND AWARD ARE NOT FAR AWAY. "Thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I judge between cattle and cattle." Probably many of these rich blustering men complained bitterly enough of the selfish violence of their rulers, and never surmised that they were committing the very same sin under another guise. They saw the mote in others" eyes, yet did not suspect that a beam filled their own eye. But an unseen Judge was there, and weighed in the balance of perfect equity every deed and word of man. It is a consolation to the suffering that deliverance from the highest source will come, and will come at the best possible moment. The great Refiner sits by and watches the refining process in the furnace. His plans to us are full of mystery, for our vision is very limited, while he sees the end from the beginning. His eye skillfully discriminates between every form and every degree of human offense. Men will not be judged (as they are often now) in classes, but as individuals. Some Canaanites will be accepted; some Israelites will be rejected. Some Pharisees shall find their way to heaven; some publicans will Perish. A rich man may be saved in spite of the encumbrance of riches; some poor men will be outcasts eternally because destitute of faith and love. The balance of God is an even balance, and in his presence the smallest deception is impossible. D.
Vers. 17-22. The sinfulness of selfishness.
It was not only the shepherds, but some of the sheep, of" the rams and the he-goats," that were injuring and robbing the sheep. It was not only the kings and the princes, but the strong and wealthy among the people of Israel, that were disturbing and distressing the land. It is not only those "who have the rule over" the Churches of Christ, but some of the fellow-members, who have to be corrected, and whose conduct needs to be transformed. Ezekiel"s vision was that of a flock of sheep seeking nourishment "in the green pastures and by the still waters" of Israel; but instead of each one taking its turn and making room for its fellow, he saw the strong ones eating and drinking themselves, and befouling the grass and the water for those who came after, or else pushing violently at the weaker ones and driving them away, "scattering them abroad" to pine and to perish, for anything they cared. A painful picture of a selfish society, each man struggling for himself, and "the weaker going to the wall." How utterly unlike should this scene be to any community that claims to be Christian! And yet shall we venture to say that them are no societies that bear that name, and that write themselves among the number of the good, to whose condition this prophet"s picture bears a sad resemblance? Do we not see in countries and communities where nothing like this should be seen, a selfish scramble, a disregard for the claims and the necessities of others, a cruel indifference to the wants of the weaker, a willingness and an eagerness, and indeed a determined struggle, to be well pastured and well watered, however many there may be that are perishing for lack of food and shelter? We may well dwell upon
I ITS UNLOVELINESS. Even to the eye of the loving and tenderhearted man such unrelieved selfishness is offensive; it is unsightly and repellent in a high degree. How utterly unbeautiful must it, then, seem in the sight of him who is Love itself! Surely it is one of those things which he is" of purer eyes than to behold," which he "cannot look upon" save with profound aversion.
II ITS HEARTLESSNESS AND DEMORALIZING EFFECT UPON THE AGENTS OF IT. It argues a pitiful inconsiderateness of other people"s need, a guilty indifference to the wants and sufferings of other souls. And such cruel carelessness as this is not only a great and sad evil in itself, a sin and a wrong in itself; it is a hardening, mischief-working course. It indurates the soul, and leads down to such an immoral condition that at last a man"s own personal comfort and enlargement are everything to him, and the wants and woes of his brethren and sisters nothing.
III ITS UTTER UN-CHRISTLIKENESS. Can anything be more painfully and completely unlike the spirit and the conduct of Jesus Christ than a selfish struggle for the first place, let who will go hungry and thirsty and be driven away? Anything more diametrically opposed to the spirit and contrary to the will of that "Son of man who came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many," it would be difficult to discover.
IV ITS CONDEMNATION AND ITS DOOM. "I will judge between the fat cattle and the lean" (ver. 20). The day will come when we shall give account of the use we have made of our power. And if then it.be found that we have used our horns (ver. 21) to thrust aside our brother from the good he was seeking, in order that we might enjoy it; that we have not used our power to help the needy, to strengthen the weak, to give drink unto the thirsty, to raise them that are bowed down, we may expect the language of condemnation from the Judge of quick and dead. C. (see Mat_25:41-46)
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain I judge between cattle and cattle.
Eze_34:17-22
I judge between cattle and cattle.
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Selfish scramble and Christian service
It presents to us the scene, far too often enacted in human life, of a selfish scramble--a scramble for position, for money, for power, for enjoyment. We find this in business, in professions as well as in trade and commerce, in art, in politics, in pleasure, and, it must be admitted, sometimes in the sacred sphere of religion. Of this selfish scramble we may remark--
I. Its essential sinfulness.
1. Self-elevation is right and good. To make the most of our powers and opportunities; to rise by honest, patient industry, and to walk along the high level of honourable usefulness--this is admirable.
2. Emulation is allowable and helpful. The boy who has no ambition to reach the top of his class, the manufacturer or tradesman who does not care to make or to sell the best possible goods, is not likely to accomplish much. But a selfish scramble, in which we only care to secure our own comfort or enlargement, and do not care at all who is stranded or last, in which we present such a picture in life as that given in the text of cattle in the field, is ugly and evil. And if it seems thus to us, how much more guilty must it appear to Him who is Love itself, who lives to love and bless--how hateful and offensive must it be in His pure sight!
II. Its indurating influence. The struggling cattle in the field are no worse for their heedlessness, or even for their violence. They suffer no spiritual harm; they do not rise and fall, in a moral sense. But we do. He who is living the life of selfish scramble is losing all the finer and nobler elements of his nature, is sinking to that base condition in which his own wants and tastes are everything to him and all else is nothing.
III. The contrast of Christian service. We look at the life of our Lord, and we find Him positively declining to use His power to turn the stone into bread, though He must have sorely needed food (Mat_4:4); refusing to accept the opportunity of self-aggrandisement at the expense of the sacrificial mission on which He came (Mat_4:9); compelling all things to give place in order that He might give food to the hungry, and healing to the sick, and hope to the abandoned, and rest to the weary. Let us use those powers which we have from God, that we may follow where Christ is leading. (W. Clarkson, B. A.)
The Divine discrimination
I. The objects of the Divine discrimination.
1. He will judge between the Church of God and its enemies, the genuine professors of religion and its opposers.
2. He will distinguish between the hypocrite anti the sincere believer. Counterfeit graces will bear no comparison with sterling piety, when exhibited in the light of heaven, though for the present they may obtain a surreptitious currency.
3. A distinction will likewise be made between saints and saints; for the Lord shall call to the heavens from above, and to the earth, that He may judge His people. According to the talents they possess, the improvement they make of them, and their process in the Divine life; according to the strength or weakness of their graces, the honour or disgrace which their conduct reflects upon religion,--such will be their sentence from the supreme Judge, who will reward every man according to his works.
II. The manner in which these various characters shall be distinguished.
1. Judgment sometimes signifies the same as discernment. In this sense God judgeth all men; He knoweth their inward principles, as well as their outward conduct and behaviour. He is not influenced by prejudice, or liable to mistake.
2. It implies correction, or judging in a way of punishment. God is a light to Israel, but a consuming fire to their enemies. Or if He sees fit to correct the former, it shall be in measure; He will not punish them with severity, though He does not leave them altogether without chastisement.
3. Though the Lord often makes a wide distinction between the righteous and the wicked in the present life, yet He will do it more effectually and more awfully in the last great day. (B. Beddome, M. A.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 General Information:
General Information:
Yahweh continues to give Ezekiel his message. Now it is to the people of Israel.
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General Information:
Yahweh continues speaking of the people of Israel as if they were a flock of sheep and of himself as their shepherd. (See: Metaphor)
this is what the Lord Yahweh says
This can be stated in first person. AT: "this is what I, the Lord Yahweh, say" (See: First, Second, or Third Person)
behold, I
"pay attention, because what I am about to say is both true and important, I"
I will be a judge between sheep and sheep
"I will judge between one sheep and another"
rams and male goats
The male sheep and goats are usually the strongest in the flock and can get whatever they want from the other animals in the flock.
Is it not enough ... feet
God uses these questions to scold Israel's leaders, who are spoken of as if they were the stronger animals in the flock that were unkind to the weaker ones. You can translate this as a statement as in the UDB. (See: Rhetorical Question and Metaphor)
translationWords
flocks
Lord Yahweh
judge, judges
ewe
goat
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 34:17-19 The goats were the powerful, unrighteous members of…
34:17-19 The goats were the powerful, unrighteous members of the community.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.