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Tuesday, June 17th, 2025
the Week of Proper 6 / Ordinary 11
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Christian Standard Bible ®

Ezekiel 34:3

You eat the fat, wear the wool, and butcher the fattened animals, but you do not tend the flock.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Levites;   Minister, Christian;   Rulers;   Wool;   Thompson Chain Reference - False;   Leaders;   Religious;   Shepherds;   Wool;   The Topic Concordance - Israel/jews;   Shepherds/pastors;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Garments;   Sheep;  

Dictionaries:

- Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Shepherd;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Destroy, Destruction;   Flock;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Dress;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Ezekiel;   Fatlings, Fatted;   Pastor;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Ezekiel;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Shepherd;   The Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary - Pastor;   Smith Bible Dictionary - Wool;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Wool;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Didascalia;  

Parallel Translations

Hebrew Names Version
You eat the fat, and you clothe you with the wool, you kill the fatlings; but you don't feed the sheep.
King James Version
Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed: but ye feed not the flock.
English Standard Version
You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fat ones, but you do not feed the sheep.
New American Standard Bible
"You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fat sheep without feeding the flock.
New Century Version
You eat the milk curds, and you clothe yourselves with the wool. You kill the fat sheep, but you do not feed the flock.
Amplified Bible
"You eat the fat [the choicest of meat], and clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the best of the livestock, but you do not feed the flock.
Geneva Bible (1587)
Yee eate the fat, and yee clothe you with the wooll: yee kill them that are fed, but ye feede not the sheepe.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
"You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fat sheep without feeding the flock.
Legacy Standard Bible
You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool; you sacrifice the fat sheep without shepherding the flock.
Berean Standard Bible
You eat the fat, wear the wool, and butcher the fattened sheep, but you do not feed the flock.
Contemporary English Version
You drink their milk and use their wool to make your clothes. Then you butcher the best ones for food. But you don't take care of the flock!
Complete Jewish Bible
You eat the choice meat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, and you slaughter the best of the herd; but you don't feed the sheep!
Darby Translation
Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool; ye kill them that are fattened: [but] ye feed not the flock.
Easy-to-Read Version
You eat the fat sheep and use their wool to make clothes for yourselves. You kill the fat sheep, but you don't feed the flock.
George Lamsa Translation
You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool and sacrifice the fat ones; but you do not feed the flock.
Good News Translation
You drink the milk, wear clothes made from the wool, and kill and eat the finest sheep. But you never tend the sheep.
Lexham English Bible
The fat you eat, and you clothe yourself with the wool; the well-nourished animals you slaughter, but you do not feed the flock.
Literal Translation
You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool, you sacrifice the fat ones, and you do not feed the flock.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Ye haue eaten vp the fatte, ye haue clothed you with the woll: the best fedde haue ye slayne, but ye flocke haue ye not norished:
American Standard Version
Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill the fatlings; but ye feed not the sheep.
Bible in Basic English
You take the milk and are clothed with the wool, you put the fat beasts to death, but you give the sheep no food.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
Ye did eat the fat, and ye clothed you with the wool, ye killed the fatlings; but ye fed not the sheep.
King James Version (1611)
Yee eate the fat, and ye clothe you with the wooll, yee kill them that are fed: but ye feede not the flocke.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
Ye eate vp the fat, ye clothe you with the wooll, the best fed do ye slay: but the flocke do ye not feede.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
Behold, ye feed on the milk, and clothe yourselves with the wool, and slay the fat: but ye feed not my sheep.
English Revised Version
Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill the fatlings; but ye feed not the sheep.
World English Bible
You eat the fat, and you clothe you with the wool, you kill the fatlings; but you don't feed the sheep.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Ye eeten mylk, and weren hilid with wollis, and ye killiden that that was fat; but ye fedden not my floc.
Update Bible Version
You eat the milk, and you clothe yourselves with the wool, you kill the fatlings; but you don't feed the sheep.
Webster's Bible Translation
Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe yourselves with the wool, ye kill them that are fed: [but] ye feed not the flock.
New English Translation
You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the choice animals, but you do not feed the sheep!
New King James Version
You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool; you slaughter the fatlings, but you do not feed the flock.
New Living Translation
You drink the milk, wear the wool, and butcher the best animals, but you let your flocks starve.
New Life Bible
You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool. You kill the fat sheep without feeding the flock.
New Revised Standard
You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fatlings; but you do not feed the sheep.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
The milk, ye do eat And with the wool, ye do clothe your- selves, The well-fed, ye do sacrifice, The flock, ye do not tend
Douay-Rheims Bible
You ate the milk, and you clothed yourselves with the wool, and you killed that which was fat: but my flock you did not feed.
Revised Standard Version
You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fatlings; but you do not feed the sheep.
Young's Literal Translation
The fat ye do eat, and the wool ye put on, The fed one ye slaughter, the flock ye feed not.

Contextual Overview

1The word of the Lord came to me: 2“Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy, and say to them, ‘This is what the Lord God says to the shepherds: Woe to the shepherds of Israel, who have been feeding themselves! Shouldn’t the shepherds feed their flock? 3You eat the fat, wear the wool, and butcher the fattened animals, but you do not tend the flock. 4You have not strengthened the weak, healed the sick, bandaged the injured, brought back the strays, or sought the lost. Instead, you have ruled them with violence and cruelty. 5They were scattered for lack of a shepherd; they became food for all the wild animals when they were scattered. 6My flock went astray on all the mountains and every high hill. My flock was scattered over the whole face of the earth, and there was no one searching or seeking for them.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

eat: Isaiah 56:11, Isaiah 56:12, Zechariah 11:5, Zechariah 11:16

ye kill: Ezekiel 19:3, Ezekiel 19:6, Ezekiel 22:25-28, Ezekiel 33:25, Ezekiel 33:26, 1 Kings 21:13-16, 2 Kings 21:16, Isaiah 1:10, Isaiah 1:15, Jeremiah 2:30, Jeremiah 22:17, Lamentations 4:13, Micah 3:1-3, Zephaniah 3:3

Reciprocal: Ezekiel 34:8 - the shepherds Ezekiel 34:18 - to have Ezekiel 34:21 - ye have Ezekiel 46:18 - my people Micah 3:2 - pluck Matthew 9:36 - as Matthew 24:49 - and to Luke 12:42 - to give Luke 12:45 - to beat Acts 20:28 - to feed Acts 20:29 - not Philippians 3:19 - whose God 1 Peter 5:2 - Feed

Cross-References

Ruth 1:14
Again they wept loudly, and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her.
1 Samuel 18:1
When David had finished speaking with Saul, Jonathan was bound to David in close friendship, and loved him as much as he loved himself.
2 Samuel 19:7
“Now get up! Go out and encourage your soldiers, for I swear by the Lord that if you don’t go out, not a man will remain with you tonight. This will be worse for you than all the trouble that has come to you from your youth until now!”
2 Chronicles 30:22
Then Hezekiah encouraged all the Levites who performed skillfully before the Lord. They ate at the appointed festival for seven days, sacrificing fellowship offerings and giving thanks to the Lord, the God of their ancestors.
Isaiah 40:2
“Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,and announce to herthat her time of forced labor is over,her iniquity has been pardoned,and she has received from the Lord’s handdouble for all her sins.”
Hosea 2:14
Therefore, I am going to persuade her,lead her to the wilderness,and speak tenderly to her.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Ye eat the fat,.... The Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, and Arabic versions, render it, "the milk"; the words for fat and milk differ only in the points; and this was not unlawful, for

who feedeth a flock, and eateth not of the milk of the flock? 1 Corinthians 9:7, provided it was done with moderation, that they ate some, but not all; but these rulers milked their subjects too much, oppressed them with heavy taxes, and got their substance into their own hands. The Targum is,

"ye eat the good;''

they got possessed of the best of their substance; as did also their ecclesiastical rulers, who were greedy shepherds, that could never have enough; they looked for their gain from their quarter, and even devoured widows' houses, Isaiah 56:11:

ye clothe you with the wool: the pure wool, as the Targum, the finest of it; they fleeced the flock, and stripped the people of their riches; and minded nothing but their own backs and bellies:

ye kill them that are fed; or, that "are fat" q; the richest of the people they brought accusations and charges against for capital crimes; and so put them to death under a colour of justice, that they, might get their estates into their hands:

but ye feed not the flock; did not govern the people well, by doing justice and judgment among men, as became civil magistrates; did not deliver out words of faith and sound doctrine, to feed the souls of men with, which is the duty of those that preside in the church of God.

q הבריאה "quod pingue est", Vatablus, Bochartus; "pinguem", Cocceius, Starckius. So Ben Melech.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Ezekiel 34:3. Ye eat the fat — I think החלב hacheleb should be translated the milk; and so most of the Versions understand it. Or they lived on the fat sheep, and took the wool of all.

"The priests," says Calmet, "ate the tithes, the first-fruits, and the offerings of the people; the princes received the tributes and imposts; and instead of instructing and protecting them, the latter took away their lives by the cruelties they practiced against them: the former destroyed their souls by the poison of their doctrine, and by their bad example. The fat sheep point out the rich, to whom these pastors often disguised the truth, by a cruel condescension and complaisance."


 
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