What Does Ezekiel 34:17 Mean in the King James?
And as for you, O my flock, thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I judge between cattle and cattle, between the rams and the he goats.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
The shepherd’s judgment sees distinctions within one flock: belonging together does not make its members indistinguishable.
THE MEANING
You are named as part of the flock, yet the LORD’s attention does not flatten its members into one mass. The verse describes judgment that distinguishes sheep from sheep, rams from he-goats. Belonging and difference remain visible together.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The verse undoes the belief that being counted among the flock means every member is regarded as the same.
THE ROOT
שֹׁפֵט
shofet
GROWS FROM
שפט
To judge, decide, or govern.
“judge” in this verse is shofet. The Hebrew verb carries judgment as an act of deciding and discerning. Here the judgment takes place within the flock itself, making distinctions visible among those who belong to it.
ALSO GROWS
shaphat: To judge or decide.
שָׁפַט
The verb shares the root directly: the LORD’s judgment is the act of distinguishing the animals named in the verse.
mishpat: Judgment, decision, or justice.
מִשְׁפָּט
This branch names the judgment or decision that emerges when distinctions are made.
בֵּין
bein
GROWS FROM
בין
To discern or distinguish; between.
English makes “between” sound like a bare relation or position. Hebrew bein shares its consonants with words for discernment and understanding, so the phrase carries the idea of perceiving difference within the flock.
ALSO GROWS
bin: To discern or understand.
בִּין
This verb brings the act of perception into the word “between”: judgment sees how one differs from another.
tevunah: Understanding or discernment.
תְּבוּנָה
This related form names the discernment that makes distinctions intelligible.
THE PATTERN
Judgment makes distinctions visible within a gathered people or flock.
Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD unto them; Behold, I, even I, will judge between the fat cattle and between the lean cattle.Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not.And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:THE THREAD
Therefore will I save my flock, and they shall no more be a prey; and I will judge between cattle and cattle.The same Hebrew verb, שפט (shaphat), appears again in the judgment between the cattle. Here it stands beside the flock no longer being prey, connecting the shepherd’s distinction among them with their protection.
Read the SDV Bible.
Every verse has a Deep Dive in the app.
The iPhone Bible app with the Selah Decoded Version.
Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us