1321 matching verse commentaries
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And, lo, thou art unto them as a very lovely song of one that hath a pleasant voice,.... Whose voice, and the music of it, are regarded, and not the matter of the song, but the manner in which it is sung; so these people did not so much attend to what the prophet said as the manner of his delivery; they were delighted with the harmony of his...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And when this cometh to pass,.... The prophecy before delivered out, concerning the desolations in the land of Israel, by the sword, pestilence, and wild beasts: lo, it will come; whatever is predicted by the Lord; in the mouth of his prophets, certainly comes to pass: then shall they know that a prophet hath been among them; and acknowledge it;...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
INTRODUCTION TO Ezekiel 34 In the former chapter the prophet prophesies against the people of the Jews, both those of the captivity, and those who were not; and here against the shepherds of Israel. This he is bid to do, Ezekiel 34:1, whose cruelty to the flock, negligence and unfaithfulness are exposed, Ezekiel 34:3, for which reasons they are...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
The word of the Lord came unto me,.... The date of this prophecy is not given; however, it seems to have been delivered after the destruction of Jerusalem; the causes of which are mentioned, the sins of the people and their governors, which the prophet is directed to expose: saying: as follows:
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel,.... Or, "concerning" (p) them; the governors of them, as the Targum and Jarchi; their political governors, their kings, princes, and civil magistrates of every order and degree; so Kimchi interprets it of kings; and it was common with the eastern nations, and with the Greeks, to call kings...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
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...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
The diseased have ye not strengthened,.... Such, in the civil polity, who were poor, and in necessitous circumstances, were not relieved; such who were injured and oppressed by others were not vindicated; and such as were forced to flee to other countries, or were carried captive, no care was taken, or methods used, to ransom them, and, bring them...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And they were scattered because there is no shepherd,.... No good one; there were shepherds, but they were idol shepherds, good for nothing, and it was all one as if there were none: so, in Christ's time, there were the Scribes and Pharisees; yet, since these did not feed the people with wholesome doctrine, they are said to be as sheep without a...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and upon every high hill,.... As sheep do, when gone astray, go from mountain to hill; so the people of Israel fled from place to place, through the cruelty of their rulers, or through the force of the enemy, being carried captive into many kingdoms and nations, signified by mountains; and perhaps there...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Therefore, ye shepherds, hear the word of the Lord. Or, "ye governors", as the Targum, both civil and ecclesiastical; ye kings, princes, and magistrates; ye prophets and teachers of the people, who ought to have attended to the word of grace, to the doctrines of the Scriptures, and fed the people with them; but, since you have not, hear the word...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
As I live, saith the Lord,.... It is an oath, and which he swore in his wrath, being provoked with the shepherds for their misadministration: surely, because my flock became a prey, and my flock became meat to every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd; a prey to all the kingdoms of the people, being without a governor, as the Targum;...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Therefore, O ye shepherds, hear the word of the Lord. This is repeated, that it might be observed, and for the confirmation of it; it might be depended upon that what follows would be accomplished, unless they changed their conduct and behaviour; and, to leave them inexcusable, they are again called upon to hear what the Lord should say unto them....
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Thus saith the Lord God, behold, I am against the shepherds,.... His heart was against them; his hand was against them; his face was against them, to cut them off. The Targum is, "behold, I will send my fury upon the governors;'' and there was good reason for it, they were against him and his glory, against his flock, his people, his cause, and...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
For thus saith the Lord God,.... Since the shepherds are so negligent, careless, and cruel: behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep, and seek them out; as he did the Jews, in all countries where they were, so his elect in all places where they are: he is the omniscient God, and knows them that are his, and can call his own sheep by name; he...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered,.... That is, when they have been scattered, and are got together again; then he goes among them, to see if there are any missing, and in wheat condition they are, and what they want: so will I seek out my sheep, and deliver them out of all places where...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And I will bring them out from the people, and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land,.... Which was in part fulfilled when the Jews were delivered from the Babylonish captivity; and which may well be ascribed to the Lord, since it was he that stirred up Cyrus, king of Persia, to proclaim their liberty; and which...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
I will feed them in a good pasture,.... Or with good food, as the Targum: such as the fulness of grace in Christ, where believers go in and out, and find pasture; and where they may feed to the full, have bread enough, and to spare; and may draw water with joy out of the full wells of salvation: this is good food; food indeed, in opposition to...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
I will feed my flock,.... This is repeated for the further confirmation of it, that it might be depended upon that the Lord would feed his people in the manner before promised; and it gives a reason why he would do it, because they were his flock; he had a right unto them, a property in them; they were separated and distinguished from others by...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And I will seek that which was lost,.... As all men are in Adam, and through his fall, and by their own actual transgressions; and so the elect of God among the rest; who are lost not with respect to God's knowledge of them, love to them, and care for them; but with respect to their knowledge of him, affection for him, and regard to his will,...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And as for you, O my flock, thus saith the Lord God,.... Having done with the shepherds, and the complaint against them, the Lord proceeds to take notice of the flock, or the people themselves, and the evils that were among them; for in the Lord's own flock, in the nation and church of Israel, as now in the visible congregated churches of Christ,...