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Ezekiel 34:21

Old Testament Major Prophet ASV (1901)

What does Ezekiel 34:21 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “Because ye thrust with side and with shoulder, and push all the diseased with your horns, till ye have scattered them abroad;” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

Because ye thrust with side and with shoulder, and push all the diseased with your horns, till ye have scattered them abroad;
Ezekiel 34:21 — American Standard Version

Context — Ezekiel 34

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
18Seemeth it a small thing unto you to have fed upon the good pasture, but ye must tread down with your feet the residue of your pasture? and to have drunk of the clear waters, but ye must foul the residue with your feet?
19And as for my sheep, they eat that which ye have trodden with your feet, and they drink that which ye have fouled with your feet.
20Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah unto them: Behold, I, even I, will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep.
21Because ye thrust with side and with shoulder, and push all the diseased with your horns, till ye have scattered them abroad;
22therefore will I save my flock, and they shall no more be a prey; and I will judge between sheep and sheep.
23And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd.
24And I, Jehovah, will be their God, and my servant David prince among them; I, Jehovah, have spoken it.
← Ezekiel 34:20Ezekiel 34:22 →
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What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“Because ye have thrust with side and with shoulder, &c.] 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…”
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Jamieson, Fausset & Brown
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“scattered them abroad--down to the time of the carrying away to Babylon [GROTIUS].”
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Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“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,…”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“ye have: Eze 34:3-5; Dan 8:3-10; Zac 11:5, Zac 11:16, Zac 11:17 pushed: Luk 13:14-16 Ezekiel 34:22”
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Related study paths

Read Ezekiel 34 in contextBrowse Hebrew word studiesOpen this verse in the study reader

Sources and verification