Ezekiel 34:3

Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed: but ye feed not the flock. YE EAT THE FAT, [ hacheeleb (H2459)] - or, by differently pointing the Hebrew, 'milk' [hachaalaab]: so the Septuagint Thus the repetition, "the fat," and "them that are fed," is avoided; also the eating of "the fat" would not probably be put before the "killing" of the sheep. The eating of sheep or goats' milk as food (Deuteronomy 32:14, "Butter of kine and milk of sheep;" Proverbs 27:27) was unobjectionable, had not these shepherds milked them too often, and that without duly "feeding" them (Bochart); ...

1-6 The people became as sheep without a shepherd, were given up as a prey to their enemies, and the land was utterly desolated. No rank or office can exempt from the reproofs of God's word, men who neglect their duty, and abuse the trust reposed in them....

Verse Ezekiel 34:3. _YE EAT THE FAT_] I think החלב _hacheleb_ should be translated _the milk_; and so most of the Versions understand it. Or they lived on the _fat sheep_, and took the _wool_ of all. "The _priests_," says _Calmet_, "ate the tithes, the first-fruits, and the offerings of the people; the _princes_ received the tributes and imposts; and instead of instructing and protecting them, the latter took away their _lives_ by the cruelties they practiced against them: the former destroyed their _souls_ by the poison of their doctrine, and by their bad example. The _fat sheep_ point out the _rich_, to whom these pastors often disguised the truth, by a cruel condescension and complaisance....

EXPOSITION EZEKIEL 34:1 AND THE WORD OF THE LORD, etc. As no date is given, we may infer that what follows came as an almost immediate sequel to that which precedes it. The kernel of the chapter is found in the Messianic prophecies of Ezekiel 34:23, Ezekiel 34:24, as the first stage in the restoration of Israel which is beginning to open to the prophet's gaze. We can hardly avoid seeing in it the deliberate expression of words that had been spoken by Ezekiel's master (Jeremiah 23:1), and which in his case also were followed by a directly Messianic announcement. In...

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 milked their subjects too much, oppressed them with heavy taxes, and got their substance into their own hands. The Targum is, "ye eat the good;'' they got possessed of the best of their substance; as did also their ecclesiastical rulers, who were greedy shepherds, that could never have enough; they looked for their gain from their quarter, and even devoured widows' houses, Isaiah 56:11: ye clothe

Ezekiel 34:1. The shepherds of Israel were the kings and princes and all who had authority over them. The prophet Jeremiah had received a similar message Jeremiah 23:1. These shepherds of Israel were responsible for the deplorable condition of the flock. Utterly selfish, they cared not for the sheep of His pasture; they feared not God nor did they have a heart for God's people. The flock was scattered and spoiled. Such was the sad condition of the people Israel. And when the Lord Jesus appeared in their midst to seek the lost sheep of the house of Israel, He found them as sheep without a shepherd, and He had compassion upon them Mark 6:34. But they rejected Him and the Shepherd was smitten. Zechariah's prophecy was fulfilled

IMPORTANCE OF GOOD GOVERNMENT. But besides moral excellence on the part of its citizens (Ezekiel 33) a state needs good government. This chapter is a very severe indictment of the rulers or kings of Israel in the past, who are compared to shepherds and the figure is maintained throughout the chapter that have neglected or abused the flock. Governors should govern in the interests of the governed; but those shepherds had used their power to feed themselves and not the flock they are even compared in Ezekiel 34:10 to ravenous beasts (notice mouth). It was this misgovernment that in part accounted for the miseries, the defeats, the exile of Israel....

KILL. kill for sacrifice, and eating. Hebrew. _zaback_. App-48. THEM THAT ARE FED. the fat ewe....

_Ye eat the fat_ LXX. the _milk_(the consonants are the same). Cf. Isaiah 7:22; Zechariah 11:16....

THE FAT— _The milk._ Houbigant; with all the versions....