Ezekiel 34:18
New International Version
Is it not enough for you to feed on the good pasture? Must you also trample the rest of your pasture with your feet? Is it not enough for you to drink clear water? Must you also muddy the rest with your feet?

New Living Translation
Isn’t it enough for you to keep the best of the pastures for yourselves? Must you also trample down the rest? Isn’t it enough for you to drink clear water for yourselves? Must you also muddy the rest with your feet?

English Standard Version
Is it not enough for you to feed on the good pasture, that you must tread down with your feet the rest of your pasture; and to drink of clear water, that you must muddy the rest of the water with your feet?

Berean Standard Bible
Is it not enough for you to feed on the good pasture? Must you also trample the rest of the pasture with your feet? Is it not enough for you to drink the clear waters? Must you also muddy the rest with your feet?

King James Bible
Seemeth it a small thing unto you to have eaten up the good pasture, but ye must tread down with your feet the residue of your pastures? and to have drunk of the deep waters, but ye must foul the residue with your feet?

New King James Version
Is it too little for you to have eaten up the good pasture, that you must tread down with your feet the residue of your pasture—and to have drunk of the clear waters, that you must foul the residue with your feet?

New American Standard Bible
Is it too little a thing for you to feed in the good pasture, that you must trample with your feet the rest of your pastures? Or too little for you to drink the clear waters, that you must muddy the rest with your feet?

NASB 1995
‘Is it too slight a thing for you that you should feed in the good pasture, that you must tread down with your feet the rest of your pastures? Or that you should drink of the clear waters, that you must foul the rest with your feet?

NASB 1977
‘Is it too slight a thing for you that you should feed in the good pasture, that you must tread down with your feet the rest of your pastures? Or that you should drink of the clear waters, that you must foul the rest with your feet?

Legacy Standard Bible
Is it too slight a thing for you that you should be shepherded in the good pasture, that you must tread down with your feet the rest of your pastures? Or that you should drink of the clear waters, that you must foul the rest with your feet?

Amplified Bible
Is it too little a thing for you that you [unrighteous ones who are well-fed] feed in the best pasture, yet you must trample down with your feet [of wickedness] the rest of your pastures? Or that you drink clear [still] water, yet you must muddy with your feet [of wickedness] the rest [of the water]?

Christian Standard Bible
Isn’t it enough for you to feed on the good pasture? Must you also trample the rest of the pasture with your feet? Or isn’t it enough that you drink the clear water? Must you also muddy the rest with your feet?

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Isn’t it enough for you to feed on the good pasture? Must you also trample the rest of the pasture with your feet? Or isn’t it enough that you drink the clear water? Must you also muddy the rest with your feet?

American Standard Version
Seemeth it a small thing unto you to have fed upon the good pasture, but ye must tread down with your feet the residue of your pasture? and to have drunk of the clear waters, but ye must foul the residue with your feet?

Contemporary English Version
Some of you eat the greenest grass, then trample down what's left when you finish. Others drink clean water, then step in the water to make the rest of it muddy.

English Revised Version
Seemeth it a small thing unto you to have fed upon the good pasture, but ye must tread down with your feet the residue of your pasture? and to have drunk of the clear waters, but ye must foul the residue with your feet?

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Isn't it enough for you to feed on the good pasture? Must you trample the rest of the pasture with your feet? You drink clean water. Must you muddy the rest of the water with your feet?

Good News Translation
Some of you are not satisfied with eating the best grass; you even trample down what you don't eat! You drink the clear water and muddy what you don't drink!

International Standard Version
Is it such an insignificant thing to you that you're feeding in good pastures but trampling down the other pastures with your feet? Or that as you're drinking from the clear streams you're muddying the rest with your feet?

Majority Standard Bible
Is it not enough for you to feed on the good pasture? Must you also trample the rest of the pasture with your feet? Is it not enough for you to drink the clear waters? Must you also muddy the rest with your feet?

NET Bible
Is it not enough for you to feed on the good pasture, that you must trample the rest of your pastures with your feet? When you drink clean water, must you muddy the rest of the water by trampling it with your feet?

New Heart English Bible
Does it seem a small thing to you to have fed on the good pasture, but you must tread down with your feet the residue of your pasture? And to have drunk of the clear waters, but you must foul the residue with your feet?

Webster's Bible Translation
Seemeth it a small thing to you to have eaten up the good pasture, but ye must tread down with your feet the residue of your pastures? and to have drank of the deep waters, but ye must foul the residue with your feet?

World English Bible
Does it seem a small thing to you to have fed on the good pasture, but you must tread down with your feet the residue of your pasture? And to have drunk of the clear waters, but must you foul the residue with your feet?
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
Is it a little thing for you—[that] you enjoy the good pasture, "" And tread down the remnant of your pasture with your feet, "" And drink a depth of waters, "" And trample the remainder with your feet,

Young's Literal Translation
Is it a little thing for you -- the good pasture ye enjoy, And the remnant of your pasture ye tread down with your feet, And a depth of waters ye do drink, And the remainder with your feet ye trample,

Smith's Literal Translation
Is it small for you ye will feed the good pasture, and the remainder of your pastures ye will tread down with your feet? and ye will drink front the settled waters and that being left they will tread with your feet.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
Was it not enough for you to feed upon good pastures? but you must also tread down with your feet the residue of your pastures: and when you drank the dearest water, you troubled the rest with your feet.

Catholic Public Domain Version
Was it not enough for you to feed upon good pastures? For you even trample with your feet upon the remainder of your pastures. And when you drank the purist water, you disturbed the remainder with your feet.

New American Bible
Was it not enough for you to graze on the best pasture, that you had to trample the rest of your pastures with your hooves? Or to drink the clearest water, that you had to pollute the rest with your hooves?

New Revised Standard Version
Is it not enough for you to feed on the good pasture, but you must tread down with your feet the rest of your pasture? When you drink of clear water, must you foul the rest with your feet?
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
Is it not enough for you, O shepherds, to feed on good pastures, but you must tread down under your feet the rest of your pasture? And to have drunk water, but you must foul with your feet that which is left?

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
Is the good pasture not enough for you, Shepherds, which you graze, and the rest of your pasture you tread on with your feet, and you drink water, and the rest that are left you are troubling with your feet?
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
Seemeth it a small thing unto you to have fed upon the good pasture, but ye must tread down with your feet the residue of your pasture? and to have drunk of the settled waters, but ye must foul the residue with your feet?

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And is it not enough for you that ye fed on the good pasture, that ye trampled with your feet the remnant of your pasture? and that ye drank the standing water, that ye disturbed the residue with your feet?

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
The Good Shepherd
17This is what the Lord GOD says to you, My flock: ‘I will judge between one sheep and another, between the rams and the goats. 18Is it not enough for you to feed on the good pasture? Must you also trample the rest of the pasture with your feet? Is it not enough for you to drink the clear waters? Must you also muddy the rest with your feet? 19Why must My flock feed on what your feet have trampled, and drink what your feet have muddied?’…

Cross References
Jeremiah 23:1-2
“Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of My pasture!” declares the LORD. / Therefore this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says about the shepherds who tend My people: “You have scattered My flock and driven them away, and have not attended to them. Behold, I will attend to you for the evil of your deeds, declares the LORD.

Isaiah 56:11-12
Like ravenous dogs, they are never satisfied. They are shepherds with no discernment; they all turn to their own way, each one seeking his own gain: / “Come, let me get the wine, let us imbibe the strong drink, and tomorrow will be like today, only far better!”

Zechariah 11:15-17
And the LORD said to me: “Take up once more the equipment of a foolish shepherd. / For behold, I will raise up a shepherd in the land who will neither care for the lost, nor seek the young, nor heal the broken, nor sustain the healthy, but he will devour the flesh of the choice sheep and tear off their hooves. / Woe to the worthless shepherd, who deserts the flock! May a sword strike his arm and his right eye! May his arm be completely withered and his right eye utterly blinded!”

Jeremiah 50:6-7
My people are lost sheep; their shepherds have led them astray, causing them to roam the mountains. They have wandered from mountain to hill; they have forgotten their resting place. / All who found them devoured them, and their enemies said, ‘We are not guilty, for they have sinned against the LORD, their true pasture, the LORD, the hope of their fathers.’

Micah 3:1-3
Then I said: “Hear now, O leaders of Jacob, you rulers of the house of Israel. Should you not know justice? / You hate good and love evil. You tear the skin from my people and strip the flesh from their bones. / You eat the flesh of my people after stripping off their skin and breaking their bones. You chop them up like flesh for the cooking pot, like meat in a cauldron.”

Matthew 23:13-15
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let in those who wish to enter. / Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let in those who wish to enter. / Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You traverse land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are.

John 10:12-13
The hired hand is not the shepherd, and the sheep are not his own. When he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf pounces on them and scatters the flock. / The man runs away because he is a hired servant and is unconcerned for the sheep.

Matthew 15:14
Disregard them! They are blind guides. If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit.”

Luke 11:52
Woe to you experts in the law! For you have taken away the key to knowledge. You yourselves have not entered, and you have hindered those who were entering.”

2 Peter 2:1-3
Now there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves. / Many will follow in their depravity, and because of them the way of truth will be defamed. / In their greed, these false teachers will exploit you with deceptive words. The longstanding verdict against them remains in force, and their destruction does not sleep.

Jude 1:12
These men are hidden reefs in your love feasts, shamelessly feasting with you but shepherding only themselves. They are clouds without water, carried along by the wind; fruitless trees in autumn, twice dead after being uprooted.

Matthew 7:15
Beware of false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.

Acts 20:29-30
I know that after my departure, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. / Even from your own number, men will rise up and distort the truth to draw away disciples after them.

1 Peter 5:2-3
Be shepherds of God’s flock that is among you, watching over them not out of compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not out of greed, but out of eagerness; / not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.

1 Timothy 6:3-5
If anyone teaches another doctrine and disagrees with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and with godly teaching, / he is conceited and understands nothing. Instead, he has an unhealthy interest in controversies and disputes about words, out of which come envy, strife, abusive talk, evil suspicions, / and constant friction between men of depraved mind who are devoid of the truth. These men regard godliness as a means of gain.


Treasury of Scripture

Seems it a small thing to you to have eaten up the good pasture, but you must tread down with your feet the residue of your pastures? and to have drunk of the deep waters, but you must foul the residue with your feet?

a small

Ezekiel 16:20,47
Moreover thou hast taken thy sons and thy daughters, whom thou hast borne unto me, and these hast thou sacrificed unto them to be devoured. Is this of thy whoredoms a small matter, …

Genesis 30:15
And she said unto her, Is it a small matter that thou hast taken my husband? and wouldest thou take away my son's mandrakes also? And Rachel said, Therefore he shall lie with thee to night for thy son's mandrakes.

Numbers 16:9,13
Seemeth it but a small thing unto you, that the God of Israel hath separated you from the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to himself to do the service of the tabernacle of the LORD, and to stand before the congregation to minister unto them? …

to have

Ezekiel 34:2,3
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? …

Micah 2:2
And they covet fields, and take them by violence; and houses, and take them away: so they oppress a man and his house, even a man and his heritage.

bread

Ezekiel 32:2
Son of man, take up a lamentation for Pharaoh king of Egypt, and say unto him, Thou art like a young lion of the nations, and thou art as a whale in the seas: and thou camest forth with thy rivers, and troubledst the waters with thy feet, and fouledst their rivers.

Matthew 15:6-9
And honour not his father or his mother, he shall be free. Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition…

Matthew 23:13
But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in.

Jump to Previous
Clear Deep Drank Drink Drunk Eaten Enough Fed Feet Foul Good Muddy Pasture Pastures Residue Seemeth Seems Settled Slight Small Trample Tread Water Waters
Jump to Next
Clear Deep Drank Drink Drunk Eaten Enough Fed Feet Foul Good Muddy Pasture Pastures Residue Seemeth Seems Settled Slight Small Trample Tread Water Waters
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














Is it not enough for you to feed on the good pasture?
This phrase challenges the selfishness and greed of the leaders of Israel, symbolized as shepherds. The "good pasture" represents the abundant blessings and provisions God has given. In Hebrew, "pasture" (מִרְעֶה, mir'eh) signifies a place of nourishment and rest. Historically, the leaders were entrusted with the care of God's people, yet they exploited these resources for personal gain. This rhetorical question underscores the sufficiency of God's provision and the leaders' failure to appreciate and steward it responsibly.

Must you also trample the rest with your feet?
Here, the imagery shifts to the destructive actions of the leaders. "Trample" (רָמַס, ramas) in Hebrew conveys a sense of ruin and disregard. The leaders' actions not only consumed resources but also spoiled what remained for others. This reflects a broader biblical principle of stewardship and community responsibility, emphasizing that blessings are meant to be shared, not hoarded or destroyed.

Is it not enough for you to drink the clear water?
The "clear water" symbolizes purity and life-giving sustenance. Water, in biblical times, was a precious resource, essential for survival. The Hebrew word for "clear" (בָּרוּר, barur) implies something pure and untainted. This phrase highlights the leaders' access to God's unblemished gifts, which should have been a source of gratitude and careful management.

Must you also muddy the rest with your feet?
"Muddy" (עָכַר, akar) suggests corruption and defilement. The leaders' actions not only deprived others of clean water but also tainted what was left. This reflects a spiritual truth: selfishness and sin can corrupt the blessings meant for communal benefit. The imagery of "feet" suggests intentionality and carelessness, as their actions directly impacted the well-being of the community.

(18) Tread down . . . foul the residue.--The charge against them is that they not only first supplied and took care of themselves, but with careless insolence destroyed what should have been for others.



Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
Is it not enough
הַמְעַ֣ט (ham·‘aṭ)
Article | Adjective - masculine singular
Strong's 4592: A little, fewness, a few

for
מִכֶּ֗ם (mik·kem)
Preposition | second person masculine plural
Strong's 4480: A part of, from, out of

you to feed on
תִּרְע֔וּ (tir·‘ū)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - second person masculine plural
Strong's 7462: To tend a, flock, pasture it, in, to graze, to rule, to associate with

the good
הַטּוֹב֙ (haṭ·ṭō·wḇ)
Article | Adjective - masculine singular
Strong's 2896: Pleasant, agreeable, good

pasture?
הַמִּרְעֶ֤ה (ham·mir·‘eh)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 4829: Pasture, the haunt of wild animals

Must you also trample
תִּרְמְס֖וּ (tir·mə·sū)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - second person masculine plural
Strong's 7429: To tread upon

the rest
וְיֶ֙תֶר֙ (wə·ye·ṯer)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 3499: An overhanging, an excess, superiority, remainder, a small rope

of the pasture
מִרְעֵיכֶ֔ם (mir·‘ê·ḵem)
Noun - masculine plural construct | second person masculine plural
Strong's 4829: Pasture, the haunt of wild animals

with your feet?
בְּרַגְלֵיכֶ֑ם (bə·raḡ·lê·ḵem)
Preposition-b | Noun - fdc | second person masculine plural
Strong's 7272: A foot, a step, the pudenda

Is not it enough for you to drink
תִּשְׁתּ֔וּ (tiš·tū)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - second person masculine plural
Strong's 8354: To imbibe

the clear
וּמִשְׁקַע־ (ū·miš·qa‘-)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 4950: What is settled or clarified

water?
מַ֣יִם (ma·yim)
Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 4325: Water, juice, urine, semen

Must you also muddy
תִּרְפֹּשֽׂוּן׃ (tir·pō·śūn)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - second person masculine plural | Paragogic nun
Strong's 7515: To trample, roil water

the rest
הַנּ֣וֹתָרִ֔ים (han·nō·w·ṯā·rîm)
Article | Verb - Nifal - Participle - masculine plural
Strong's 3498: To jut over, exceed, to excel, to remain, be left, to leave, cause to abound, preserve

with your feet?
בְּרַגְלֵיכֶ֖ם (bə·raḡ·lê·ḵem)
Preposition-b | Noun - fdc | second person masculine plural
Strong's 7272: A foot, a step, the pudenda


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OT Prophets: Ezekiel 34:18 Seems it a small thing to you (Ezek. Eze Ezk)
Ezekiel 34:17
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