“Therefore the Lord Yahweh says to them: ‘Behold, I, even I, will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep.
Parallel Translations
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“Therefore the Lord Yahweh says to them: ‘Behold, I, even I, will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep.
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Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD unto them; Behold, I, even I, will judge between the fat cattle and between the lean cattle.
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Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD unto them: Behold, I, even I, will judge between the fat cattle and the lean cattle.
Cross-references (4)
Passages linked to Ezekiel 34:20 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Psalms 22:12-16 Many bulls have surrounded me. Strong bulls of Bashan have encircled me. They open their mouths wide against me, lions tearing prey and roaring. I am poured out like water. All my bones are out of joint. My heart is like wax. It is melted within me. My strength is dried up like a potsherd. My tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth. You have brought me into the dust of death. For dogs have surrounded me. A company of evildoers have enclosed me. They have pierced my hands and feet.
- Ezekiel 34:10 The Lord Yahweh says: “Behold, I am against the shepherds. I will require my sheep at their hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the sheep. The shepherds won’t feed themselves any more. I will deliver my sheep from their mouth, that they may not be food for them.”
- Matthew 25:31-46 “But when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. 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. Then the King will tell those on his right hand, ‘Come, blessed of my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry, and you gave me food to eat. I was thirsty, and you gave me drink. I was a stranger, and you took me in. I was naked, and you clothed me. I was sick, and you visited me. I was in prison, and you came to me.’ “Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry, and feed you; or thirsty, and give you a drink? When did we see you as a stranger, and take you in; or naked, and clothe you? When did we see you sick, or in prison, and come to you?’ “The King will answer them, ‘Most certainly I tell you, because you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’ Then he will say also to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire which is prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry, and you didn’t give me food to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave me no drink; I was a stranger, and you didn’t take me in; naked, and you didn’t clothe me; sick, and in prison, and you didn’t visit me.’ “Then they will also answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and didn’t help you?’ “Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Most certainly I tell you, because you didn’t do it to one of the least of these, you didn’t do it to me.’ These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
- Ezekiel 34:17 “As for you, O my flock, the Lord Yahweh says: ‘Behold, I judge between sheep and sheep, the rams and the male goats.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (9 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
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John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Eze 34:20 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD unto…
Eze 34:20 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD unto them; Behold, I, [even] I, will judge between the fat cattle and between the lean cattle.
Ver. 20. I, even I, will judge between the fat cattle.] These are, saith Augustine, those that presume of their own strength, and boast of their own righteousness, being proud, insolent, and void of charity.
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, even I: see Eze 34:11,17. I am judge…
I, even I: see Eze 34:11,17. I am judge by office and I will vindicate and right the poor by judgment.
The fat cattle; the rich, voluptuous, and wanton ones.
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The lean cattle; the poor and indigent, that are despised, oppressed, and injured; thus the Chaldee paraphrase, between the rich man and the poor man.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain Because ye have thrust with side and with shoulder,....…
Because ye have thrust with side and with shoulder,.... As the stronger cattle do the lesser:
and pushed all the diseased with your horns; as horned cattle do those they dislike, and bear an antipathy to; which to do to the diseased is great cruelty: sheep, it is said, will take some care of those that are diseased among them, and bring them to places of sunshine and shelter; but here the horned part of the flock, and in health, are represented as acting a barbarous part to the weak and diseased: this may denote such as are in power and authority, using it to the hurt and detriment of those that are under them, and whom they should relieve and protect: it may be applied to the anathemas and excommunications of the Jews, who pronounced those an accursed and ignorant people that believed in Christ, and expelled such out of their synagogues that professed his name; and to their persecutions of the apostles and first Christians:
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till he have scattered them abroad; or "without" (s); that is, without the land. The Targum is,
"through the provinces;''
obliged them to quit their country, and go unto other parts, as the first preachers of the word did; who, upon the persecution at the death of Stephen, were scattered abroad everywhere, Act 8:1.
(s) "foras", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Polanus, Cocceius, Starckius,
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 will judge - I will vindicate the poor.…
I will judge - I will vindicate the poor. The fat cattle - The rich. The lean - The poor.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 20. I will judge between the fat cattle…
Verse 20. I will judge between the fat cattle and between the lean cattle.] Between the rich and the poor; those who fare sumptuously every day and those who have not the necessaries of life.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain Yahweh having promised to be a Ruler of His…
Yahweh having promised to be a Ruler of His people, the administration of the divine kingdom is now described, as carried on by One King, the representative of David, whose dominion should fulfill all the promises originally made to the man after God’s own heart. Ezekiel does not so much add to, as explain and develope, the original promise; and as the complete fulfillment of the spiritual blessings, which the prophets were guided to proclaim, was manifestly never realized in any temporal prosperity of the Jews, and never could and never can be realized in any earthly kingdom, we recognize throughout the Sacred Volume the one subject of all prophecy - the Righteous King, the Anointed Prince, the Son and the Lord of David.
Eze 34:23
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One shepherd - One, as ruling over an undivided people, the distinction between the kingdoms of Israel and Judah having been done away.
My servant David - David was a fit type of the True King because he was a true and faithful servant of Yahweh. That which David was partially and imperfectly, Christ is in full perfection (compare Mat 12:18; Joh 5:30; Heb 10:7.)
Eze 34:26
The blessings here foretold are especially those of the old covenant. The wilderness (or, pasture-country) and the woods, the places most exposed to beasts and birds of prey, become places of security. Under the new covenant Sion and the hills around are representative of God’s Church; and temporal blessings are typical of the blessings showered down upon Christ’s Church by Him who has vanquished the powers of evil.
Eze 34:29
A plant - Equivalent to the “Branch,” under which name Isaiah and Jeremiah prophesy of the Messiah. The contrast in this verse to hunger seems to favor the idea that the “plant” was for food, i. e., spiritual food, and in this sense also, applicable to the Messiah (compare Joh 6:35.)
The shame of the pagan - The shameful reproaches with which the pagan assail them.
Eze 34:31
Translate “Ye are my flock, the flock of my pasture (compare Jer 23:1); ye are men, and I am your God.”
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain fat . . . lean--the rich oppressors . .…
fat . . . lean--the rich oppressors . . . the humble poor.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 General Information:
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)
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the Lord Yahweh says this
This can be stated in first person. AT: "this is what I, the Lord Yahweh, say" (See: First, Second, or Third Person)
to them
"to my flock"
Behold!
The word "Behold" here adds emphasis to what follows. AT: "Indeed!"
I myself
The word "myself" emphasizes that it is Yahweh who will judge. (See: Reflexive Pronouns)
will judge between the fat sheep and the thin ones
"will make sure that the fat sheep and goats and the skinny sheep and goats are treating each other fairly"
the fat sheep and the thin ones
The leaders and strong people in Israel are spoken of as if they were fat and strong animals in the flock. The poor and weak people in Israel are spoken of as if they were the thin and weak animals in the flock. (See: Metaphor)
for you
The word "you" refers to the sheep and goats that were not treating other sheep and goats well.
with your sides
"with the sides of your body"
have gored
Possible meanings are 1) "have pushed" or "have shoved" 2) "have stabbed" or "have pierced"
scattered them
"made them go in many different directions"
away from the land
"away from the land of Israel"
translationWords
judge
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 34:20-22 the fat sheep and the scrawny sheep: Those…
34:20-22 the fat sheep and the scrawny sheep: Those with power and influence in society had taken all the good things for themselves and had left others without resources. God would judge between them and set things right.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.