The Meaning of Ezekiel 34:5 Explained

Ezekiel 34:5

KJV: And they were scattered, because there is no shepherd: and they became meat to all the beasts of the field, when they were scattered.

YLT: And they are scattered from want of a shepherd, And are for food to every beast of the field, Yea, they are scattered.

Darby: And they were scattered because there was no shepherd; and they became meat to all the beasts of the field, and were scattered.

ASV: And they were scattered, because there was no shepherd; and they became food to all the beasts of the field, and were scattered.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And they were scattered,  because [there is] no shepherd:  and they became meat  to all the beasts  of the field,  when they were scattered. 

What does Ezekiel 34:5 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 34:5 mean?

So they were scattered because [there] [was] no shepherd and they became food for all the beasts of the field and when they were scattered
וַתְּפוּצֶ֖ינָה מִבְּלִ֣י רֹעֶ֑ה וַתִּהְיֶ֧ינָה לְאָכְלָ֛ה לְכָל־ חַיַּ֥ת הַשָּׂדֶ֖ה וַתְּפוּצֶֽינָה

וַתְּפוּצֶ֖ינָה  So  they  were  scattered 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person feminine plural
Root: פּוּץ 
Sense: to scatter, be dispersed, be scattered.
מִבְּלִ֣י  because  [there]  [was]  no 
Parse: Preposition-m, Adverb
Root: בְּלִי 
Sense: wearing out adv of negation.
רֹעֶ֑ה  shepherd 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: רָעָה 
Sense: to pasture, tend, graze, feed.
וַתִּהְיֶ֧ינָה  and  they  became 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person feminine plural
Root: אֶהְיֶה 
Sense: to be, become, come to pass, exist, happen, fall out.
לְאָכְלָ֛ה  food 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, feminine singular
Root: אָכְלָה  
Sense: food.
לְכָל־  for  all 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: כֹּל  
Sense: all, the whole.
חַיַּ֥ת  the  beasts 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: חַי 
Sense: living, alive.
הַשָּׂדֶ֖ה  of  the  field 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: שָׂדֶה 
Sense: field, land.
וַתְּפוּצֶֽינָה  and  when  they  were  scattered 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person feminine plural
Root: פּוּץ 
Sense: to scatter, be dispersed, be scattered.