The Meaning of Ezekiel 34:15 Explained

Ezekiel 34:15

KJV: I will feed my flock, and I will cause them to lie down, saith the Lord GOD.

YLT: I feed My flock, and cause them to lie down, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah.

Darby: I will myself feed my flock, and I will cause them to lie down, saith the Lord Jehovah.

ASV: I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I will cause them to lie down, saith the Lord Jehovah.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

I will feed  my flock,  and I will cause them to lie down,  saith  the Lord  GOD. 

What does Ezekiel 34:15 Mean?

Context Summary

Ezekiel 34:1-16 - Selfish Shepherds
The shepherds of this chapter were not the religious leaders of the people, but rulers who sought in their government not the good of the people but their own selfish ends. But the statements made by the prophet may be rightly applied to rapacious priests who care more for the fleece than for the flock. Pastors are required to lead the flock of God not for filthy lucre but as examples for the sheep, 1 Peter 5:2-3. It is their duty, also, to strengthen the spiritually diseased, heal the sick, bind up the broken in heart, and seek the lost.
Notice the tender manner in which the Lord Jesus Himself supplies the deficiencies of His unfaithful servants. In beautiful contrast to their selfish cruelty and rapacity, He sets Himself in cloudy and dark days to gather and tend His people, though they had been as scattered sheep, each taking his own way. When the ministers of His Church fail in their duty, the Lord hastens to supply their lack. Without doubt these gracious promises refer primarily to the Lord's Second Advent, when He will seek out and deliver His Chosen People, and bring them to their own land. But surely we must not limit the reference thus. We are His sheep, by purchase and by choice. He knows us, as we know Him. He has sought and saved us. He feds us and causes us to lie down beside the waters of rest. [source]

Chapter Summary: Ezekiel 34

1  A reproof of the shepherds
7  God's judgment against them
11  His providence over his flock
20  The kingdom of Christ

What do the individual words in Ezekiel 34:15 mean?

I will feed My flock and I will make them lie down says the Lord GOD
אֲנִ֨י אֶרְעֶ֤ה צֹאנִי֙ וַאֲנִ֣י אַרְבִּיצֵ֔ם נְאֻ֖ם אֲדֹנָ֥י יְהוִֽה

אֶרְעֶ֤ה  will  feed 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, first person common singular
Root: רָעָה 
Sense: to pasture, tend, graze, feed.
צֹאנִי֙  My  flock 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct, first person common singular
Root: צֹאן  
Sense: small cattle, sheep, sheep and goats, flock, flocks.
וַאֲנִ֣י  and  I 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Pronoun, first person common singular
Root: אֲנִי  
Sense: I (first pers.
אַרְבִּיצֵ֔ם  will  make  them  lie  down 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Imperfect, first person common singular, third person masculine plural
Root: רָבַץ  
Sense: to stretch oneself out, lie down, lie stretched out.
נְאֻ֖ם  says 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: נְאֻם  
Sense: (Qal) utterance, declaration (of prophet).
אֲדֹנָ֥י  the  Lord 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: אֲדֹנָי  
Sense: my lord, lord.
יְהוִֽה  GOD 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: Jehovah—used primarily in the combination ‘Lord Jehovah’.