Ezekiel 34 · Verse 4

Ezekiel 34:4

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.
Ezekiel 34:4, King James Version

Ezekiel 34:4 in other translations

BSBYou 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.
WEBYou haven’t strengthened the diseased. You haven’t healed that which was sick. You haven’t bound up that which was broken. You haven’t brought back that which was driven away. You haven’t sought that which was lost, but you have ruled over them with force and with rigor.
ASVThe 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 back that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost; but with force and with rigor have ye ruled over them.
YLTThe weak ye have not strengthened, And the sick one ye have not healed, And the broken ye have not bound up, And the driven away have not brought back, And the lost ye have not sought, And with might ye have ruled them and with rigour.
DARBYThe weak have ye not strengthened, nor have ye healed the sick, and ye have not bound up what was broken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought for that which was lost; but with harshness and with rigour have ye ruled over them.
BBEYou have not made the diseased ones strong or made well that which was ill; you have not put bands on the broken or got back that which had been sent away or made search for the wandering ones; and the strong you have been ruling cruelly.
WebsterThe diseased ye have 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.

What does Ezekiel 34:4 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
4. The diseased--rather, those weak from the effects of "disease," as "strengthened" (that is, with due nourishment) requires [Grotius]. broken--that is, fractures from wounds inflicted by the wolf. brought again ... driven away--(Ex 23:4). Those "driven away" by the enemy into foreign lands through God's judgments are meant (Jr 23:3). A spiritual reformation of the state by the rulers would have turned away God's wrath, and "brought again" the exiles. The rulers are censured as chiefly guilty (though the people, too, were guilty), because they, who ought to have been foremost in checking the evil, promoted it. neither ... sought ... lost--Contrast the Good Shepherd's love (Lu 15:4). with force ... ruled--(Ex 1:13, 14). With an Egyptian bondage. The very thing forbidden by the law they did (Le 25:43; compare 1Pe 5:3).

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 4 The diseased have ye not strengthened - No person is fit for the office of a shepherd, who does not well understand the diseases to which sheep are incident, and the mode of cure. And is any man fit for the pastoral office, or to be a shepherd of souls, who is not well acquainted with the disease of sin in all its varieties, and the remedy for this disease, and the proper mode of administering it, in those various cases? He who does not know Jesus Christ as his own Savior, never can recommend him to others. He who is not saved, will not save. Neither have ye healed that which was sick - The prophet first speaks of the general disease; next, of the different kinds of spiritual infirmity. Neither have ye bound up that which was broken - If a sheep have broken a leg, a proper shepherd knows how to set the bones, and splint and bind it till the bones knit and become strong. And the skillful spiritual pastor knows, if one of the flock be overtaken in a fault, how to restore such. Those sudden falls, where there was not a strong propensity to sin, are, to the soul, as a broken bone to the body. Neither have ye brought again - A proper shepherd loves his sheep: he feels interested for their welfare; he acquaints himself with them all, so that he knows and can distinguish each. He knows also their number, and frequently counts to see that none is missing; if one be lost or strayed, he goes immediately and seeks it; and as he is constantly on the watch, it cannot have strayed far before he is apprised of its absence from the flock; and the less it has strayed, the sooner it is found and brought back to the fold. The shepherds of Israel knew nothing about their flock; they might have been diseased, infirm, bruised, maimed, their limbs broken, strayed, and lost; for they watched not over them. When they got fat sheep and wool for their table and their clothing, they regarded nothing else; as they considered the flock given them for their own use, and scarcely ever supposed that they were to give any thing in return for the milk and the wool. But with force and with cruelty - Exacting tithes and dues by the strong arm of the law, with the most ungodly feeling; and with a cruelty of disposition that proved it was the fat and the wool they sought, and not the safety or comfort of the flock.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Ezekiel 34:1-6

The rulers reproved. (Ezek 34:1-6) The people are to be restored to their own land. (Ezek 34:7-16) The kingdom of Christ. (Ezek 34:17-31) Verses 1-6 The people became as sheep without a shepherd, were given up as a prey to their enemies, and the land was utterly desolated. No rank or office can exempt from the reproofs of God's word, men who neglect their duty, and abuse the trust reposed in them.

Read the full comment on Ezekiel 34:1-6 →

Ezekiel 34:4 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

אֶֽת\־'et-<obj.>H853
הַנַּחְלוֹת֩ha.nach.lOtthe weak [ones]H2470
לֹ֨אlo'notH3808
חִזַּקְתֶּ֜םchi.zak.Temyou have strengthenedH2388
וְאֶת\־ve.'Etand <obj.>H853
הַחוֹלָ֣הha.cho.Lahthe sick [one]H2470
לֹֽא\־lo'-notH3808
רִפֵּאתֶ֗םri.pe.Temyou have healedH7495
וְלַנִּשְׁבֶּ֙רֶת֙ve.la.nish.Be.retand <to> the broken [one]H7665
לֹ֣אlo'notH3808
חֲבַשְׁתֶּ֔םcha.vash.Temyou have bound upH2280
וְאֶת\־ve.'Etand <obj.>H853
הַנִּדַּ֙חַת֙ha.ni.Da.chatthe strayed [one]H5080
לֹ֣אlo'notH3808
הֲשֵׁבֹתֶ֔םha.she.vo.Temyou have brought backH7725
וְאֶת\־ve.'Etand <obj.>H853
הָאֹבֶ֖דֶתha.'o.Ve.detthe lost [one]H6
לֹ֣אlo'notH3808
בִקַּשְׁתֶּ֑םvi.kash.Temyou have soughtH1245
וּבְחָזְקָ֛הu.ve.cha.ze.Kahand with forceH2394
רְדִיתֶ֥םre.di.Temyou have ruledH7287
אֹתָ֖ם'o.Tam<obj.> themH853
וּבְפָֽרֶךְ\׃u.ve.Fa.rekhand with harshnessH6531

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Ezekiel 34:4

  • Matthew 18:12-13

    How 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? And if so be that he find it, verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth more of that sheep, than of the ninety and nine which went not astray.

  • Matthew 9:36

    But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.

  • Ezekiel 34:16

    I 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.

  • Matthew 10:6

    But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

  • Zechariah 11:15-16

    And the Lord said unto me, Take unto thee yet the instruments of a foolish shepherd. For, lo, I will raise up a shepherd in the land, which shall not visit those that be cut off, neither shall seek the young one, nor heal that that is broken, nor feed that that standeth still: but he shall eat the flesh of the fat, and tear their claws in pieces.

  • 1 Peter 5:2-3

    Feed 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; Neither as being lords over God’s heritage, but being ensamples to the flock.

  • Exodus 1:13-14

    And the Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve with rigour: And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage, in morter, and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field: all their service, wherein they made them serve, was with rigour.

  • Hebrews 12:12

    Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees;

  • Revelation 17:5-6

    And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration.

  • Jeremiah 8:22

    Is there no balm in Gilead; is there no physician there? why then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered?

  • James 5:1-6

    Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten. Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days. Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth. …

  • Isaiah 56:10

    His watchmen are blind: they are all ignorant, they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark; sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
diseased.
16; Isa 56:10; Jer 8:22; Zec 11:15,16; Mt 9:36; Heb 12:12
sought.
Mt 10:6; 18:12,13; Lu 15:4-6
but with.
Ex 1:13,14; Jer 22:13; Mt 21:35; 24:49; 2Co 1:24; Jas 5:1-6
1Pe 5:2,3; Re 13:14-17; 17:5,6

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Ezekiel 34:3

    Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed: but ye feed not the flock.

  • Ezekiel 34:4

    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.

  • Ezekiel 34:5

    And they were scattered, because there is no shepherd: and they became meat to all the beasts of the field, when they were scattered.

Read all of Ezekiel 34

Ezekiel 34:4 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		No corroborasteis las flacas, ni curasteis la enferma: no ligasteis la perniquebrada, ni tornasteis la amontada, ni buscasteis la perdida; sino que os habéis enseñoreado de ellas con dureza y con violencia;
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Vous n’avez pas fortifié les brebis faibles, et vous n’avez pas guéri celle qui était malade, et vous n’avez pas bandé celle qui était blessée, et vous n’avez pas ramené celle qui était égarée, et vous n’avez pas cherché celle qui était perdue; mais vous les avez gouvernées avec dureté et rigueur.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Die Schwachen habt ihr nicht gestärkt und das Kranke nicht geheilt und das Verwundete nicht verbunden, und das Versprengte führtet ihr nicht zurück, und das Verlorene suchtet ihr nicht; und mit Strenge habt ihr über sie geherrscht und mit Härte.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Quod infirmum fuit non consolidastis, et quod ægrotum non sanastis: quod confractum est non alligastis, et quod abjectum est non reduxistis, et quod perierat non quæsistis: sed cum austeritate imperabatis eis, et cum potentia.