27 And given hath the tree of the field its fruit, And the land doth give her increase, And they have been on their land confident, And they have known that I `am' Jehovah, In My breaking the bands of their yoke, And I have delivered them from the hand of those laying service on them.
And it hath come to pass, in that day, An affirmation of Jehovah of Hosts, I break his yoke from off thy neck, And thy bands I draw away, And lay no more service on him do strangers.
I `am' Jehovah your God, who have brought you out of the land of the Egyptians, from being their servants; and I break the bars of your yoke, and cause you to go erect.
then I have given your rains in their season, and the land hath given her produce, and the tree of the field doth give its fruit;
And served him have all the nations, and his son, and his son's son, till the coming in of the time of his land, also it; and done service for him have many nations and great kings.
`I am the vine, ye the branches; he who is remaining in me, and I in him, this one doth bear much fruit, because apart from me ye are not able to do anything; if any one may not remain in me, he was cast forth without as the branch, and was withered, and they gather them, and cast to fire, and they are burned; if ye may remain in me, and my sayings in you may remain, whatever ye may wish ye shall ask, and it shall be done to you. `In this was my Father glorified, that ye may bear much fruit, and ye shall become my disciples.
And by the stream there cometh up on its edge, on this side and on that side, every `kind of' fruit-tree whose leaf fadeth not, and not consumed is its fruit, according to its months it yieldeth first-fruits, because its waters from the sanctuary are coming forth; and its fruits hath been for food, and its leaf for medicine.
And they have known that I `am' Jehovah their God, In My removing them unto the nations, And I have gathered them unto their land, And I leave none of them any more there.
Thus said the Lord Jehovah: Lo, I `am' against the shepherds, And have required My flock from their hand, And caused them to cease from feeding the flock, And no more do the shepherds feed themselves, And I have delivered My flock from their mouth, And they are not to them for food.
And they have known that I `am' Jehovah, In My making the land a desolation and an astonishment, For all their abominations that they have done.
Jehovah also giveth that which is good, And our land doth give its increase.
For from of old thou hast broken thy yoke, Drawn away thy bands, and sayest, `I do not serve,' For, on every high height, and under every green tree, Thou art wandering -- a harlot.
To appoint to mourners in Zion, To give to them beauty instead of ashes, The oil of joy instead of mourning, A covering of praise for a spirit of weakness, And He is calling to them, `Trees of righteousness, The planting of Jehovah -- to be beautified.'
They joy from the wilderness and dry place, And rejoice doth the desert, and flourish as the rose, Flourishing it doth flourish, and rejoice, Yea, `with' joy and singing, The honour of Lebanon hath been given to it, The beauty of Carmel and Sharon, They -- they see the honour of Jehovah, The majesty of our God.
And peoples have taken them, And have brought them in unto their place, And the house of Israel have inherited them, On the land of Jehovah, For men-servants and for maid-servants, And they have been captors of their captors, And have ruled over their exactors. And it hath come to pass, In the day of Jehovah's giving rest to thee, From thy grief, and from thy trouble, And from the sharp bondage, That hath been served upon thee,
And it hath come to pass, in that day, Turned is his burden from off thy shoulder, And his yoke from off thy neck, And destroyed hath been the yoke, because of prosperity.
In that day is the Shoot of Jehovah for desire and for honour, And the fruit of the earth For excellence and for beauty to the escaped of Israel.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Ezekiel 34
Commentary on Ezekiel 34 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 34
The iniquities and calamities of God's Israel had been largely and pathetically lamented before, in this book. Now in this chapter the shepherds of Israel, their rulers both in church and state, are called to an account, as having been very much accessory to the sin and ruin of Israel, by their neglecting to do the duty of their place. Here is,
Eze 34:1-6
The prophecy of this chapter is not dated, nor any of those that follow it, till ch. 40. It is most probable that it was delivered after the completing of Jerusalem's destruction, when it would be very seasonable to enquire into the causes of it.
Eze 34:7-16
Upon reading the foregoing articles of impeachment drawn up, in God's name, against the shepherds of Israel, we cannot but look upon the shepherds with a just indignation, and upon the flock with a tender compassion. God, by the prophet, here expresses both in a high degree; and the shepherds are called upon (v. 7, 9) to hear the word of the Lord, to hear this word. Let them hear how little he regards them, who made much of themselves, and how much he regards the flock, which they made nothing of; both will be humbling to them. Those that will not hear the word of the Lord giving them their direction shall be made to hear the word of the Lord reading them their doom. Now see here,
Eze 34:17-31
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, Jn. 9:39, to fill the hungry with good things and to send the rich empty away, Lu. 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 (Mt. 25:32, 33), which seems to have reference to this. We have here,
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.