Reference

Ezekiel 34:11

For thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep, and seek them out.
9

Therefore, O ye shepherds, hear the word of the Lord;

10

Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against the shepherds; and I will require my flock at their hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the flock; neither shall the shepherds feed themselves any more; for I will deliver my flock from their mouth, that they may not be meat for them.

11

For thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep, and seek them out.

12

As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered; so will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day.

13

And I will bring them out from the people, and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land, and feed them upon the mountains of Israel by the rivers, and in all the inhabited places of the country.

Counter-Arguments

The strongest case that this verse does not belong in this theme.

Literal Fulfillment

While the verse uses concrete language ("search," "seek out"), the "sheep" are often interpreted metaphorically as God's people, suggesting a spiritual or symbolic fulfillment rather than a strictly literal, physical search for actual animals.

Prophetic Methods of Communication

This verse describes God's actions ("search my sheep, and seek them out") and is introduced by a prophetic formula ("For thus saith the Lord God"), but it does not detail the *method* by which God communicates revelation to the prophet. The focus is on the message's content, not its transmission.