Ezekiel 34:17 - Exposition

Behold, I judge between cattle and cattle . It may be worth while to note, as modern English usage tends to limit the range of the word, that it is commonly used in the Old Testament of sheep rather than of kine ( Genesis 30:34-42 ; Genesis 31:8-12 ). In Genesis 30:32 we have the same Hebrew word as that which Ezekiel uses. Between the rams and the he-goats . The words, at first, seem to point to a division like that of Matthew 25:32 , and may, perhaps, have suggested it. Here, however, the contrast lies, not between the sheep and goats as such, but between the strong and the weak of each class. The "rams" are as much the object of the shepherd's discipline of judgment as the "he-goats." Both stand as the representative of the rapacious self-seeking classes who oppressed the poor and needy, and, not content with being the first to feed on the pastures and to drink of the waters, trampled on the former and defiled the latter. So in the next verse the contrast lies between the "fat cattle," whether sheep or goats, and the "lean."