Reference

Ezekiel 34:2

Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God unto the shepherds; Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the flocks?
1

And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,

2

Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God unto the shepherds; Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the flocks?

3

Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed: but ye feed not the flock.

4

The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost; but with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them.

Why This Verse Was Tagged

Prophets & Social Justice
Keyword Match
90% relevance

This verse contains specific terms directly associated with this theme.

Prophetic Methods of Communication
Keyword Match
50% relevance

This verse contains specific terms directly associated with this theme.

Counter-Arguments

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

Literal Fulfillment

The verse is a prophetic denunciation of corrupt leaders using the metaphor of shepherds and flocks, which is a common biblical trope for rulers and their people, and does not describe a concrete, physical event to be literally fulfilled in the sense of a specific historical or future occurrence.

Prophets & Social Justice

The verse primarily addresses the failure of leadership to fulfill their designated role of caring for the flock, rather than explicitly mentioning the poor, oppressed, or specific forms of economic exploitation or unjust systems.

Prophetic Methods of Communication

The verse describes a command given to a prophet to deliver a message, but it does not specify *how* that command or message was received by the prophet (e.g., through a dream, vision, or audible voice).