Bible Verses and Early Church Commentary | Historical Christian Faith

[AD 420] Jerome on Ezekiel 20:35-36:38

(Verse 35, 36, and following) And I will bring you into a desert of peoples, and there I will judge you face to face. Just as I contended with your fathers in the desert of the land of Egypt, so I will judge you, says the Lord. And I will subject you to my scepter, and I will bring you into the bonds of the covenant, and I will choose from among you the transgressors and the wicked: from their place of residence I will bring them out, and they will not enter the land of Israel, and you will know that I am the Lord. Thus says the Lord: I will do for you who are in Babylon, and now serve idols, what I did for your ancestors in Egypt. I will lead you into the desert of the peoples, and there I will judge you face to face, just as I contended with them in judgment when they came out of Egypt. And after I have judged you, I will subject you to my scepter and rule, and I will make a covenant with you and bring you into your land with the bonds of love, so that bound by my love, you will never be able to depart from me. But I will choose from among you the transgressors and the wicked, who persist in the hardness of their hearts in evil deeds, not for possession, but for rejection. And I will indeed bring them out of the land of their dwelling, so that when they are brought out, they will not enter the land of Israel; but they will perish in various regions. And by the distinction between good and evil, you shall know that I am the Lord, who judges all things. The rest of the discourse hastens, and we briefly go through each point, in order to provide only the meaning to the readers.

Source: Commentary on Ezekiel

[AD 420] Jerome on Ezekiel 34:1-31

(Chapter 34.) And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds (or to the shepherds) of Israel, prophesy, and say to the shepherds: Thus says the Lord God: Woe to the shepherds of Israel who have been feeding themselves. (Or: O shepherds of Israel, do the shepherds not feed themselves?) Do not the flocks feed on the shepherds? (Or do the sheep not feed the shepherds?) You have eaten the curds, and you have clothed yourselves with the wool, and you have slaughtered the fat animals, but you have not fed my flock. You did not strengthen what was weak (or comforted); and you did not heal what was sick; you did not bind up what was broken, and you did not bring back what was cast away (or wandering); you did not seek what was lost; but with severity you commanded them, and with power (or what happened to be, you afflicted them with labor). And my sheep were scattered because there was no shepherd (or shepherds), and they became a prey to all the beasts of the field, and they were scattered. My flocks (or sheep) had wandered upon all the mountains, and upon every high hill, and were scattered upon the face of the whole earth; and there was none to seek them, there was no one, I say, to seek (or bring back) them. Therefore, O shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: As I live, says the Lord God, forasmuch as my flocks (or sheep) have been made a prey, and my sheep have been devoured by every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd (or shepherds), for my shepherds sought not after my flock, but the shepherds fed themselves, and did not feed my flocks. Therefore, shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: thus says the Lord God: Behold, I myself will require my flock from their hand, and I will make them cease to shepherd my flock any longer; neither shall the shepherds feed themselves (or the sheep) any longer, and I will deliver my flock (or sheep) from their mouth, and they shall no longer be food for them. For thus says the Lord God: Behold, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out. As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his dispersed sheep (or when there is darkness and clouds among his separated sheep), so will I seek out my sheep and will deliver them from all the places where they were scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness. And I will bring them (whether female or male) from the peoples (or from the nations), and I will gather them (whether female or male) from the lands (or from the regions), and I will bring them (whether female or male) into their own land, and I will feed them (whether female or male) on the mountains of Israel, in the ravines and in all the inhabited places of the land. In the most fertile pastures I will feed them (whether female or male), and they will be grazing their (or their sheep's) pastures on the high mountains of Israel: there they will rest in green grass, and in rich pastures they will graze on the mountains of Israel. I will feed my sheep, and I will make them lie down (or rest), says the Lord God. I will seek what was lost, and I will bring back what was cast away (or wandered): and I will bind up what was broken, and I will strengthen (or comfort) what was weak: and I will watch over the fat and strong ones, and I will feed them with judgment (or justice). But you, my flock (or sheep), this says the Lord God: Behold, I judge between the sheep, and between rams and goats. Was it not enough for you to graze on good pastures? Moreover, you trampled the remnants of your pastures with your feet, and when you drank the purest water, you disturbed the rest with your feet. And my sheep, which were trampled by your feet, were fed, and those feet of yours that disturbed, they drank. Therefore, thus says the Lord God to them: Behold, I myself will judge between the fat livestock and the lean (or between the strong and the weak livestock): because you pushed with your sides and shoulders, and with your horns you scattered all the weak animals until they were scattered outside. I will save my flock, and it will no longer be plundered, and I will judge between sheep and sheep (or between ram and ram). And I will raise up over them (here and elsewhere) (or over them) one shepherd who will feed them (or him), my servant David: he will feed them (or him): and he will be their shepherd. But I, the Lord, will be their God, and my servant David will be prince among them. I, the Lord, have spoken. And I will make a covenant (or testament) of peace with them, and I will cause the most harmful beasts to cease from the earth, and those who dwell in the wilderness will sleep safely in the woods. And I will place them around my hill as a blessing, and I will bring rain in its season, and the rains will be a blessing. And the trees of the field will yield their fruit, and the land will give its increase, and they will dwell in their land without fear (or in the hope of peace), and they shall know that I am the Lord, when I break the yoke and deliver them from the hand of those who have enslaved them. And they will no longer be plundered by the nations, nor will the beasts of the earth devour them, but they will dwell securely (or in hope) without any fear. And I will raise up for them a renowned offspring (or a peaceable plantation), and they will no longer be cut off (or destroyed) by famine in the land, nor bear the reproach of the nations anymore. And they will know that I am the Lord their God, for I am with them, and they are my people, the house of Israel, declares the Lord God. But you, my flock, are men, the flock of my pasture (or sheep), and I am the Lord your God, says the Lord God. I have often advised to mix both editions, in order to magnify the greatness of the books, in those parts only, which do not differ much from themselves in translation. After the capture of Jerusalem, after he announced in Babylon that he had fled, he spoke about those who dwelt in the ruined Jerusalem, and then about those who were placed in captivity but nevertheless persisted in evil, unwilling to hear the words of the prophets: now he directs his speech to the shepherds, that is, to the leaders, whose fault the sheep, that is, the people, were scattered. And this should be noted, that from the twelfth year, tenth month, fifth day of the month of transmigration, or captivity of Jechoniah, and those who were captured with him, until the twenty-fifth year, when the temple is built on the mountain of the city, and the incredible sacraments of the Church are revealed, there is no middle year, and no specific time is mentioned; but it is simply said: The word of the Lord came to me, saying: Son of man, speak to those and to them, that we may understand everything that is read in thirteen years, at different times; and yet certain intervals of time are not specified among them. But the word is directed to the shepherds of Israel, whom we must understand as either kings, or princes, scribes and Pharisees, and teachers of the Jewish people. Or certainly in the Gospel people, the bishops, presbyters, and deacons: or according to mystical understanding, the Angels of the individual Churches, to whom John wrote in his Apocalypse (Apoc. I), and whose Angels daily see the face of God (Matthew XV). And it is said first: Woe to the shepherds of Israel, who, although they should feed the Lord's flock and provide for its salvation, hasten to satisfy their own luxury. Therefore, great caution must be taken, and those precepts must be observed: Do not seek to become a judge, lest you may not be able to remove injustices (Eccli. VII, 6). And again: The greater you are, the more you should humble yourself, and in the sight of the Lord you will find favor (Ibid. III, 29). And again: They have made you a leader, do not be exalted, but be among them as one of them (Eccli. XXXII, 1). Thus the Apostle says that he is like a little child and a nursing infant among the disciples (I Cor. III). And that which follows: You were eating milk, and were clothed with wool, speaks metaphorically of the shepherds to the princes, of whom it is written elsewhere: Who devour my people like bread (Ps. LII, 5). Understand all food in milk: in wool, the various variety of garments. But when it is said: And you killed the fat, it speaks of the rich in the people, whom the wicked princes are said to slay in the churches, while they preach to them, and dare not rebuke their vices. Concerning whom the prophet also says: 'My people, who call you blessed, deceive you and undermine the path of your feet' (Isaiah 3:12). Concerning whom also James speaks (James 2:3), that when they enter, they are honored with precious clothing and a gold ring, and to the holy poor it is said: 'But you, sit on a stool, or on the ground, or stand.' They do not strengthen or consolidate what is weak. And Paul also speaks: Receive the weak (Rom. XIV, 1). And: receive the weak in faith. And: Many among you are weak and sick. To whom divine speech is sent, about which it is written in the Psalms: He sent his word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions (Ps. CV, 10). And he says that what is broken is not bound: not considering mortal wounds in the people, such as adultery, murder, sacrilege. And they do not bring back what has been rejected or what they have seen to be in error, allowing them to be deceived by heretics. And they do not seek what has been lost, not desiring to save those who are perishing, but rather to devour those who are in the Churches: but they command them with severity and with power, which properly belongs to the superciliousness of the bishops, namely, those who disgrace the dignity of their name by their actions and assume pride in humility, so that they consider themselves to have gained honor, not burden: and they strive to oppress anyone in the Church whom they see as powerful and as having the word of God. Where in the Septuagint it is written: And what was by chance, you afflicted with labor. And the people of God was dispersed, either by vices or by the error of heretics: because there was no good shepherd who would lay down his life for the sheep: but all were mercenaries, who only considered their own profit from the flocks, and when they saw a wolf, they fled. By their negligence, the flock of the Lord is devoured by the beasts of the field, of which it is written: You have set darkness, and it became night: in it all the beasts of the field shall pass, the lion's whelps roaring, that they may snatch and seek food from God (Ps. 103:20-21). And they are scattered and wander on all the mountains, which rise up against the knowledge of God, and on every lofty hill, which through heretical pride despise the simplicity of the Church. And they are scattered over the whole face of the earth, seeking earthly things, not heavenly. And there was no one who would seek or lead them back, because they are occupied with pleasures and do not care for the losses of the Lord's flock. Therefore, the word of the Lord is addressed to the wicked shepherds, because they have done these things that I have explained above, and which are enumerated a second time: Behold, I myself will come to the shepherds and seek my flock from their hand, for it is expedient that the millstone of the donkey be tied around their neck (Matthew 18), rather than they cause the least scandal to my people. And this will be their punishment or rather the greatest punishment, that they shall no longer pasture my flock: lest under the excuse of feeding the sheep they feed on themselves, and gather riches: And I will deliver my people from their mouth. I will require, says the Lord, from their hand, and I will deliver from their mouth what is devoured by greedy jaws. But when He shall require the sheep, He will visit them as if they were sick and emaciated, and scattered by the negligence of the shepherds: and He will deliver from all places in the day of the cloud and darkness, of which also Joel speaks: The day of the Lord is near, and it is the day of darkness and gloom, and the day of clouds and mist (Joel. II, 1, 2). Then they shall be brought out from the lands, to be brought into their own land, which is the land of the living: and he himself shall feed them in the mountains of Israel, of which David speaks: I have lifted up my eyes to the mountains, from whence shall come my help (Ps. CXX, 1). And not only in the mountains, but in the rivers, and in all the seats of the earth, in fertile pastures, and on the high mountain, of which Isaiah and Micah prophesy more fully (Isa. II; Mic. IV, VII): or in the high mountains of Israel. There they will rest in green pastures, and they will say: The Lord feeds me, and nothing will be lacking to me; he has placed me there in the place of pasture. He has led me forth above the waters of refreshment (Ps. 22:1-2). And they will be fed in the richest pastures on the mountains of Israel. It is an endless promise and hope of blessedness, when the Lord himself promises, saying: I will feed my sheep, and I will never commit them to evil shepherds, and I will make them lie down, says the Lord God, so that they may rest in the bosom of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Then what was lost among the peoples of the nations will be sought after, and what had wandered in the persuasion of heretics will be brought back, and what was broken will be bound up, and what was crushed and weak will be strengthened, so that what is written may be fulfilled: He heals their infirmities and binds up their wounds (Psalm 147:3). For a broken and humbled heart, God will not despise (Psalm 51:19). Therefore, even the holy one says: Heal me, O Lord, for my bones are troubled (Psalm 6:2). And in the thirty-seventh Psalm (Verse 4) the penitent says: There is no peace in my bones because of the face of my sins: and what is fat, he says, I will keep: lest it be devoured by beasts. And he will feed his sheep in judgment, knowing to which sheep what pastures are owed. For there are many mansions with the Father (John XIV). And: The Father does not judge anyone: but he has given all judgment to the Son (Ibid., V). But these things he spoke against the shepherds: now he speaks to the sheep, that is, to the people: and to the flock of both kinds of livestock, that is, the sheep and the goats: and not only to the sheep and goats, but also to the rams and the bucks, who are the leaders in the flocks, to whom he says: Was it not enough for you to feed on the good pastures of the Scriptures? But in addition, you were trampling on the remnants of your pastures with your feet. And while you were drinking the purest waters of God's teachings, you were disturbing the remaining waters with your feet, so that my people would eat and drink trampled pastures and tainted waters because of your fault, which in itself was good but became corrupted and violated. Indeed, this is what all heretics do, they pick apart the words of the Scriptures and, to the best of their ability, stain them. But even the ecclesiastical men who do not preserve the truth of the doctrines, but instead fabricate them from their own hearts, and hold their presumption as a teacher, are held captive by a similar error. When they persuade the people that the things they invent are true, and when they incite applause and cheers in a theatrical manner, they become forgetful of their own ignorance, and with raised eyebrows, weighing their words, and brandishing them, they assume the authority of teachers for themselves. Let us therefore see what judgment there is between one flock and another: and by what judgment the good and true shepherd, who has received all judgment from the Father, may judge them. Behold, he says, I myself judge between the fat flock and the lean, or between the strong and the weak. For the strong push and butt the weak with their sides and shoulders, and they fan them with their horns, not knowing that the bull should be punished by the law of the horn (Exodus 21). But they keep pushing on the sides, and they fan with their horns until they scatter and drive the sheep outside. For the pride of the ancestors and the injustice of the leaders, they are frequently driven out of the Church, so that they may be scattered by the Lord, whom He Himself saved. But the Lord will not let them continue to plunder, and He will judge between sheep and sheep: not between the names of dignitaries, by which the leaders swell with pride; but between man and man, according to what each servant of the Lord is. Then He will raise up one shepherd, who says in the Gospel: I am the good shepherd (John 10:11); His servant David according to what form of a servant He deigned to assume (Philippians 2); who is interpreted as 'mighty by hand'. He Himself will pasture them, and the Lord will be their God, either the Son and the Father, or certainly the shepherd according to assumed flesh: But the Lord, and God, according to the Word which was in the beginning with God. That David, as the rational animal advances in the flock, will by no means be called a shepherd, but rather a prince among them, about whom it is written: But there is one among you whom you do not know (John 1:26). Then he will make a covenant of peace with them, not of war or discord, for his dwelling place is in peace (Psalm 75), but the peace of Christ, which surpasses all understanding (Philippians 4), who says: My peace I give to you: my peace I leave with you (John 14, 27). And he will cause the most harmful creatures to cease from the earth, vices, or disturbances, by which human souls are tormented: or opposing powers, by which they are attacked. And those who dwell in the wilderness shall sleep securely in the forests. For the Lord will reveal the hidden places of the woods, and in His temple all shall declare glory (Ps. 28:9). And with the beasts driven away and the land reduced to solitude, those who sleep securely shall say: The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear (Ps. 26:1)? And He will place them, who sleep securely, around His mountain or hill, and they shall receive blessings. Then he will give rain in its season, and there will be rain of blessings, which he promises in the blessings of Deuteronomy (Deut. XXVIII). And he will give, it is said, the tree of life, of which it is written in Genesis (Genes. II): and the tree of wisdom, of which it is said, It is a tree of life to all who take hold of it (Prov. III, 18). And he will give its fruit, when the earth also gives its fruit: whether it be the trees of the regions, a great multitude of the saints. And the earth will give its fruit: for truth has arisen from the earth (Ps. 84, 12). And they shall be in their land without fear, or in the hope of peace, in the land of the living, in the land of the meek, of whom it is written: Blessed are the meek; for they shall possess the land (Matt. 5, 4): so that they may know by the happiness of all things that He is the Lord: when He has broken the chains, or the iron circle of their yoke, with which they were oppressed as if by a most severe power, and has freed them from the hand of those who held them in power or afflicted them with servitude. For everyone is a slave of whoever conquers them. And they will no longer be a prey to demonic nations; nor will the beasts of the earth devour those of whom we have spoken: but they will dwell confidently without any fear, according to the above explanation. And I will raise up for them a named offspring, or a planting of peace, which is spoken of in the Gospel: I am the true vine (John 15:1). And they will no longer be diminished by hunger on the earth. Therefore, hunger is on earth: the hunger to hear the word of God, which, under a good shepherd and a named branch, and celebrated in the speech of all, and the planting of peace, will never be on earth; nor will they be subjected any longer to the reproaches of the nations, saying: Where is their God (Psalm 113, 10)? And after all this, it is known that not only is He the Lord, as He Himself had said before, but with the addition that He is the Lord of all and truly their God, with those who says in the Gospel to the Apostles: Behold, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world (Matthew 28, 20). But when He Himself shall be their Lord God, then they shall also be His people, not anyone, but those who have merited to be called the house of Israel. And so that we may not think that all that has been said pertains to shepherds and goats and rams, He solves the riddle, or rather the metaphor, and states more plainly: But you are My sheep, and you, men, are the sheep of My pasture. Therefore, every divine word is for human beings, to whom He says: I am the Lord your God, says the Lord God.

Source: Commentary on Ezekiel

[AD 220] Tertullian on Ezekiel 34:2

Quite clearly he states that they have caused the sheep to be lost and to be devoured by the beasts of the field; nor, if they are abandoned, could they avoid being lost in death and devoured. But he does not say that they should be restored after they have been lost in death and devoured.

Source: ON PURITY 7

[AD 345] Aphrahat the Persian Sage on Ezekiel 34:2

But when the great pastor, the chief of pastors, comes, he will call and visit his sheep and will take knowledge of his flock. And he will bring forward those pastors, and will extract an account from them and will condemn them for their deeds. And those who fed the sheep well, them the chief of pastors will cause to rejoice and to inherit life and rest.

Source: DEMONSTRATIONS 10:3

[AD 420] Jerome on Ezekiel 34:2

This is directed at the shepherds of Israel, whom we must take to be kings and leaders, scribes and Pharisees and teachers of the Jewish people; and the gospel community, their bishops, presbyters and deacons, or if we interpret it mystically, the angels of the various churches, to whom John wrote in his Apocalypse and whose angels daily behold the face of God.

Source: COMMENTARY ON EZEKIEL 11:34.1-31

[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Ezekiel 34:2

You see, we whom the Lord has deigned, thanks to no merits of ours, to set in this high station (about which a very strict account indeed has to be rendered) have two things about us that must be clearly distinguished: one, that we are Christians, the other, that we are placed in charge. Being Christians is for our sake; being in charge is for yours. It is to our advantage that we are Christians, only to yours that we are in charge.

Source: SERMON 46:2

[AD 380] Apostolic Constitutions on Ezekiel 34:3

Let him use those tenths and first-fruits, which are given according to the command of God, as a man of God; as also let him dispense in a right manner the free-will offerings which are brought in on account of the poor, to the orphans, the widows, the afflicted, and strangers in distress, as having that God for the examiner of his accounts who has committed the disposition to him. Distribute to all those in want with righteousness, and yourselves use the things which belong to the Lord, but do not abuse them; eating of them, but not eating them all up by yourselves: communicate with those that are in want, and thereby show yourselves unblameable before God. For if you shall consume them by yourselves, you will be reproached by God, who says to such unsatiable people, who alone devour all, "You eat up the milk, and clothe yourselves with the wool;" [Ezekiel 34:3] and in another passage, "Must you alone live upon the earth"? [Isaiah 5:8] Upon which account you are commanded in the law, "You shall love your neighbour as yourself." [Leviticus 19:18] Now we say these things, not as if you might not partake of the fruits of your labours; for it is written, "You shall not muzzle the mouth of the ox which treads out the grain;" [Deuteronomy 25:4; 1 Corinthians 9:9] but that you should do it with moderation and righteousness. As, therefore, the ox that labours in the threshing-floor without a muzzle eats indeed, but does not eat all up; so do you who labour in the threshing-floor, that is, in the Church of God, eat of the Church: which was also the case of the Levites, who served in the tabernacle of the testimony, which was in all things a type of the Church.

Source: Apostolic Constitutions (Book II), Section 4, XXV

[AD 420] Jerome on Ezekiel 34:3

They do not look for what has perished. They do not desire to save the lost, any more than to devour those who are in the churches. They govern them harshly and infuriatingly, behaving haughtily as is expected of them. They adorn the dignity of their office with their works and take on pride instead of humility. They think that they have assumed honor rather than the burden of their work, and whoever they see coming forward in the church preaching the word of God, they set out to oppress.

Source: COMMENTARY ON EZEKIEL 11:34.1-31

[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Ezekiel 34:3

In the same way, everyone who leads a bad life for all those to see whom he has been put in charge of, as far as he is concerned is killing even the strong ones. Any who imitate him die; whoever does not imitate him lives.

Source: SERMON 46:9

[AD 1022] Symeon the New Theologian on Ezekiel 34:3

Hasten then to increase the flock of your master! Do not turn aside to relaxations or pleasures of the body or vilely squander the wool and the fat of Christ’s sheep by hoarding up the goods of the monastery for your own benefit rather than of the brothers, so that you may enjoy yourself. Do nothing whatever, do not say anything for the sake of human glory, that does not pertain to the good of your monastery.

Source: DISCOURSES 18:17

[AD 258] Cyprian on Ezekiel 34:4

And since it is incumbent on us who seem to be in charge and in the place of shepherds to guard the flock, if we should be found negligent, what will be said to us was said to our predecessors who were such negligent leaders.

Source: Epistle II:1

[AD 258] Cyprian on Ezekiel 34:4

If we scorn the repentance of those who have in some degree the assurance of a bearable conscience, immediately they are drawn by the devil’s invitation into heresy or schism with their wife and children, whom they had kept unharmed. And it will be charged against us on judgment day that we have not cared for the wounded sheep and have lost many innocent ones because of one wounded.

Source: Epistle LI:15

[AD 407] John Chrysostom on Ezekiel 34:4

Do you see a shepherd’s vigilance? Do you see his heightened interest? What excuse could they have to whom rational flocks are entrusted but who are guilty of great negligence and day after day, in the prophet’s words, slaughter some of them and look on without intending to take any care of others made the prey of wild beasts or the spoils of other people—even when the labor involved is slight and attention easy? It is a soul, after all, that is to be instructed; but that involves much labor for body and soul.

Source: HOMILIES ON GENESIS 57:32

[AD 407] John Chrysostom on Ezekiel 34:4

Christ showed that he was different from those who neglect the flock when it is being preyed on by wolves, since he did not neglect them and even laid down his life for them so that the sheep might not perish.

Source: HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 60

[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Ezekiel 34:4

As regards the feeble it is to be feared that some trial may happen to him and break him. But the sick person is already ill with some kind of greed and prevented by some kind of greed from entering on the way of God, from submitting to the yoke of Christ. Think of people who want to lead a good life, who are already determined to lead a good life and are less capable of enduring evil, while they are quite ready to do good. But it is part of a Christian’s strength not only to do what is good but also to put up with what is bad.

Source: SERMON 46:13

[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Ezekiel 34:4

The shepherds who feed themselves and not the sheep are being told what they are diligent about and what they are negligent about.

Source: SERMON 46:3

[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Ezekiel 34:4

If I do not worry about the one that strays and gets lost, even the one that is strong will think it is rather fun to stray and get lost. I do indeed desire outward gains, but I am more afraid of inner losses.

Source: SERMON 46:15

[AD 542] Caesarius of Arles on Ezekiel 34:4

Since we have been appointed by the Lord to direct the ship of his church, let us with his help and the direction of the two Testaments so govern the ship of his church that we may not through some negligence turn aside either to the right or to the left but may without effort keep a straight course of life in the midst of the great dangers of this world. Just as any ship cannot gather earthly profits without many labors, so the ship of the church cannot obtain the gains and joy of the eternal homeland without many tribulations. For just as pilots of ships, if they fail to be alert because of an excessive desire for sleep or false sense of security and do not show the sailors what they should do, immediately suffer shipwreck, so unless the church’s pilots with all vigilance teach, terrify, sometimes even censure and occasionally punish lightly, at times even threatening the day of judgment with severity and thus showing how to keep the straight path of eternal life, it is to be feared that they will receive judgment where they might have had a remedy. For this reason, with the inspiration and assistance of the Lord, let us endeavor as far as it lies in our power to inform by word and example the people entrusted to our care.

Source: SERMONS 1:19

[AD 548] Benedict of Nursia on Ezekiel 34:4

It is the abbot’s responsibility to have great concern and to act with all speed, discernment and diligence in order not to lose any of the sheep entrusted to him. He should realize that he has undertaken care of the sick, not tyranny over the healthy. RULE OF ST.

Source: BENEDICT 27:5-6

[AD 604] Gregory the Dialogist on Ezekiel 34:4

When any one who has fallen into sin is recalled to a state of righteousness by the vigor of pastoral care, one who had been cast away is brought back. As a ligature binds a fracture, so discipline subdues a sin, in order that the wound’s bleeding should not lead to death for lack of sufficient compression. But often a fracture is made worse, when it is bound together without sufficient care such that the cut is more severely felt from being bound too tightly.

Source: PASTORAL RULE 2:6

[AD 348] Pachomius the Great on Ezekiel 34:5

Let us struggle, my beloved, during these six days of the Passover, for they are given to us each year for the redemption of our souls, that we may spend them in the works of God.… He sent to us the great Shepherd of the sheep that were scattered, to gather us back into his holy fold.

Source: INSTRUCTIONS 2:1-2

[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Ezekiel 34:6

Pursuing all earthly objects, things that glitter obviously on the face of the earth, they love them, they set their hearts on them. They do not want to die, that their life may be hidden with Christ.… Not all heretics are to be found all over the face of the earth, but still heretics are to be found all over the face of the earth. Some here, others there, but there is no lack of them anywhere.

Source: SERMONS 46:18

[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Ezekiel 34:8

But which shepherds are dead? Those who seek their own advantage, not that of Jesus Christ. So will there be shepherds, and will they be found, who do not seek their own advantage but that of Jesus Christ? There certainly will be, and they will certainly be found; they are not lacking, and they won’t be lacking. So let us see what the Lord has to say, who says he lives; whether he says he is going to take the sheep away from the bad shepherds, who feed themselves, not the sheep, and give them to good shepherds, who feed the sheep, not themselves.

Source: SERMONS 46:19

[AD 420] Jerome on Ezekiel 34:9-10

I myself will go to the shepherds and will seek out my flock from the hand of those who find it convenient to have a millstone placed around their neck.

Source: COMMENTARY ON EZEKIEL 11:34.1-31

[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Ezekiel 34:9-10

Listen and learn, you sheep of God; from the bad shepherds God will require his sheep, and from their hands he will require their death.… So let us see, because that is what I had proposed to do, whether he takes the sheep away from the bad shepherds and gives them to good shepherds.

Source: SERMON 46:20-21

[AD 458] Theodoret of Cyrus on Ezekiel 34:9-10

These words predict the end both of the kingdom of the Jews and the priesthood. I will free my flocks, he says, from those who look after them badly, who have steered them with no kind of providence but have only continued to devour them. Therefore through our Lord and Savior they are granted salvation.

Source: COMMENTARY ON EZEKIEL 13:34

[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Ezekiel 34:11

Rain and fog, the errors of this world; a great darkness arising from human lusts, a thick fog covering the earth. And it is difficult for the sheep not to go astray in this fog. But the shepherd does not desert them. He seeks them, his piercing gaze penetrates the fog, the thick darkness of the clouds does not prevent him.

Source: SERMON 46:23

[AD 390] Gregory of Nazianzus on Ezekiel 34:12

He is shepherd to shepherds and a guide to guides: that we may feed his flock with knowledge, not with the instruments of a foolish shepherd.

Source: IN DEFENSE OF HIS FLIGHT TO PONTUS, ORATION 2:117

[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Ezekiel 34:12

When it is difficult for them to be found, now I will find them. The fog is dense, the storm cloud thick; nothing escapes his eyes.

Source: SERMON 46:23

[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Ezekiel 34:13

He established the mountains of Israel, the authors of the divine Scriptures. Feed there, in order to feed without a qualm. Whatever you hear from that source, let that taste good to you; anything from outside, spit it out. In order not to go astray in the fog, listen to the voice of the Shepherd. Gather yourselves to the mountains of holy Scripture. There you will find your heart’s desire, there is nothing poisonous there, nothing unsuitable; they are the richest pastures.

Source: SERMON 46:24

[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Ezekiel 34:13

There, life is wisdom, through which all these things come into being, both those that have been and those that will be. Yet, it is not made but is as it was, and thus it will be forever. Or rather, to have been in the past or to be in the future does not pertain to it, but simply to be, for it is eternal. To be in the past or to be in the future is not to be eternal.

Source: Confessions 10.24

[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Ezekiel 34:14

This is feeding Christ, this is feeding for Christ, this is feeding in Christ, not feeding oneself apart from Christ. There is not really a dearth of shepherds.

Source: SERMON 46:30

[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Ezekiel 34:15

Lift up your eyes to the mountains, by all means, from where help shall come to you—but pay attention to him saying, I myself will be the shepherd.

Source: SERMON 46:25

[AD 215] Clement of Alexandria on Ezekiel 34:16

This is the promise of him who is the good Shepherd.

Source: CHRIST THE EDUCATOR 1:9.84

[AD 379] Basil of Caesarea on Ezekiel 34:16

If you are a shepherd, take care that none of your pastoral duties is neglected. And what are these duties? To bring back that which is lost, to bind up that which was broken, to heal that which is diseased.

Source: HOMILY ON THE WORDS “GIVE HEED TO THYSELF.”

[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Ezekiel 34:16

The Lord did not say, “I will provide other good shepherds to do these things,” but “I myself,” he said, “will do them. I will commit my sheep to nobody else.” You are all right, brothers; you are all right, you sheep. It is we bishops, it seems, who have got to worry, there being apparently not a single good shepherd.

Source: SERMON 46:26

[AD 458] Theodoret of Cyrus on Ezekiel 34:16

The words against the false shepherds have been hidden, as well as the prediction of God’s attentiveness to come. He turns his words to the flocks and teaches the useless shepherds how not to fall back in any way in defending them.

Source: COMMENTARY ON EZEKIEL 13:34

[AD 585] Cassiodorus on Ezekiel 34:16

In every good deed we are anticipated by the Lord’s grace. He deigns to inspire us to make us wish to entreat him.

Source: EXPOSITIONS OF THE PSALMS 118:10

[AD 604] Gregory the Dialogist on Ezekiel 34:16

If we are negligent, does almighty God desert his sheep? No; he himself will pasture them, as he promised through the prophet.

Source: FORTY GOSPEL HOMILIES 19

[AD 604] Gregory the Dialogist on Ezekiel 34:16

We must all of us strive zealously to make known to the church both the dreadfulness of the coming judgment and the kingdom of heaven’s delight. Those who are not in a position to address a large assembly should instruct individuals, offering instruction in personal talks; they should try to serve those around them through simple encouragement.… You who are pastors, consider that you are pasturing God’s flock. We often see a block of salt put out for animals to lick for their well-being. Priests among their people should be like blocks of salt. They should counsel everyone in their flocks in such a way that all those with whom they come in contact may be seasoned with eternal life as if they had been sprinkled with salt. We who preach are not the salt of the earth unless we season the hearts of those who listen to us. We are really preaching to others if we ourselves do what we say, if we are pierced with God’s love, if, since we cannot avoid sin, our tears wash away the stains on our life that come with each new day. We truly feel remorse when we take to heart the lives of our forebears in the faith so that we are diminished in our own eyes. Then do we truly feel remorse, when we attentively examine God’s teachings and adopt for our own use what those we revere themselves used for theirs. And while we are moved to remorse on our own account, let us also take responsibility for the lives of those entrusted to our care. Our own bitter compunction should not divert us from concern for our neighbor. What good to love and strive to do good for our neighbor and abandon ourselves? We must realize that our passion for justice in the face of another’s evil must never cause us to lose the virtue of gentleness. Priests must not be quick-tempered or rash; they must instead be temperate and thoughtful. We must support those we challenge and challenge those we support. If we neglect this, our work will lack either courage or gentleness. What shall we call the human soul but the food of the Lord? It is created to become nothing less than Christ’s body and to bring about growth in the eternal church. We priests are to season this food. Cease to pray, cease to teach, and the salt loses its taste.

Source: FORTY GOSPEL HOMILIES 17

[AD 253] Origen of Alexandria on Ezekiel 34:17

We who desire to be flocks of the shepherd must never try to escape from being fed even by the very things that seem to diverge from Scripture and are trampled on because of the discordance of what is said by those who neither want nor can use the nourishment that Scripture gives in all its fullness.

Source: HOMILIES ON EZEKIEL, PREFACE

[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Ezekiel 34:17

If you really think, brothers, what a very great blessing it is to be God’s flock, you must be filled even in the midst of these tears and troubles of ours with very great joy.

Source: SERMON 47:3

[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Ezekiel 34:17

What are he-goats doing here in God’s flock? In the same pastures, at the same springs, he-goats, though destined for the left hand, are mixing with those of the right hand, and those who are going to be separated are first tolerated. And this is to exercise the sheep in a patience after the likeness of God’s own patience.

Source: SERMON 47:6

[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Ezekiel 34:17

I am judging. What a relief, what reassurance! [The Lord] is judging; the good can be reassured. No opponent can corrupt their judge, no counselor twist him round their little finger or witness play fast and loose with him. But just as the good can be reassured, so to the same extent the bad should be afraid. He is not the sort of judge things can be kept hidden from. Do you imagine, after all, that God as judge is going to examine witnesses, to learn from them who you may be? How can he possibly be mistaken about who you may be, seeing that he knew what you were going to be?

Source: SERMON 47:7

[AD 420] Jerome on Ezekiel 34:18

Now he speaks to the sheep, that is, the people, and to the flock of either kind, that is, of sheep and she-goats but also to rams and he-goats who are leaders among flocks. To them he says, “Is it not enough for you to be fed for the good nourishment the Scriptures provide? But you crush under your feet what remains of your food, and when you have drunk the purest water that are the words of God, you disturb with your feet the waters that remain, so that my people chew food that is trodden on by you and drink water that has been disturbed by you.”

Source: COMMENTARY ON EZEKIEL 11:34.1-31

[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Ezekiel 34:18

God’s pastures are good, and God’s springs are pure. We have them in the holy Scriptures.

Source: SERMON 47:9

[AD 604] Gregory the Dialogist on Ezekiel 34:18

The shepherds drink water that is most pure when with right understanding they imbibe the streams of truth. But to dirty the same water with their feet is to corrupt the studies of holy meditation by evil living.

Source: PASTORAL RULE 1:2

[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Ezekiel 34:20

He makes no further mention of the he-goats. He mentioned them once, so that we would know they exist. He knows them well. After that he speaks as if all are sheep.

Source: SERMON 47:15

[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Ezekiel 34:21-22

If we lament the many sheep that are straying outside, woe to those whose shoulders and sides and horns have brought it about. It is only strong sheep who would do this. Who are the strong? Those who rely on their own righteousness. None but those who called themselves just divided the sheep and drove them outside. Shoulders bold at shoving, because they do not bear God’s burden; evil sides, conspiracies of friends, companions in obstinacy; horns lifted up, high and mighty pride. Shove with sides and shoulders, flail with your horns, drive outside what you have not bought. Certainly this is your whole case, that you are just and others are unjust, and it was unfitting that the just should remain with the unjust, unfitting, that is to say, that the corn should remain among the weeds, unfitting that the sheep should feed among the goats until the shepherd should come who would make no mistake in separating them.

Source: SERMON 47:16

[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Ezekiel 34:21-22

Just as we must abominate their injustice and cruelty, so we must praise the mercy of our Shepherd, who is truly our God; he will save his sheep. Perhaps, my brothers, he is doing this when we say this, doing it through the least of his servants, doing it perhaps through unworthy servants. Let him save his sheep; let them hear the voice of their Shepherd and follow him. Do not let them look for a proof of the church from the mouth of people. Let them look for it from the mouth of God, look for it from the mouth of Christ. Whoever he calls ungodly is ungodly, whoever he calls just is just, whoever he calls a sheep is a sheep, whoever he calls a goat is a goat. He himself is truth, let him speak, let the church be sought from him. Tell us, Lord, where is your church?

Source: SERMON 47:19

[AD 253] Origen of Alexandria on Ezekiel 34:23

David also is called the Christ, as when Ezekiel prophesied to the shepherds and added, in the person of God, “I will raise up David my servant, who will shepherd them.” For the patriarch David will not be raised up to shepherd the saints, but Christ.

Source: COMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 1:146

[AD 407] John Chrysostom on Ezekiel 34:23

For both Ezekiel and other prophets besides speak of David as coming and rising again; not meaning him who was dead but those who were emulating his virtue.

Source: HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW 2:6

[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Ezekiel 34:23

You will readily understand, brothers, that it is a prophecy of Christ coming to people from the seed of David, if you realize the dates. This prophet Ezekiel lived in the time of the captivity, which resulted from the exile of the people to Babylonia. From the time of David to the time of the exile there are fourteen generations.

Source: SERMON 47:20

[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Ezekiel 34:24

Pay close attention, brothers. Note the unity of the godhead, and yet the distribution of persons, in case we should say that he who is the Father is the Son, or that he who is the Son is the Father.

Source: SERMON 47:21

[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Ezekiel 34:25

What is “in the desert”? In solitude. What is in solitude? Inside, in the conscience. It is a solitude indeed, because not only do no other human beings cross it, they do not even see it. Let us dwell there in hope, because we are not yet there in fact. After all, everything we have outside chops and changes with the storms and trials of the world. The desert is inside; that is where we should interrogate our faith.

Source: SERMON 47:23

[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Ezekiel 34:26

There is also, of course, the bad sort of thunder shower, that knocks down the house built on sand, that it is a great thing even for the house founded on the rock to stand up against. That is the thunder shower of temptation, bent on devastation, not on irrigation, of the earth.

Source: SERMON 47:24

[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Ezekiel 34:27

[The fruitful trees are] in the plain, on level ground, not in rugged places, in a relatively easy life. Having things fairly easy in this life, with nothing steep or rugged, toilsome, difficult to cope with, this he calls the plain. Such is the life of many of the faithful in the church of God, who have their wives and husbands, children, families. They are like trees in the plain; they are not strong enough to climb anything steep or rugged. But only let them receive the shower; these trees too will give their fruit.

Source: SERMON 47:25

[AD 420] Jerome on Ezekiel 34:29

There will never be any more pillage among races filled with the devil, nor will the beasts of the earth devour those of whom we have spoken, but they will live faithfully and away from any terror.

Source: COMMENTARY ON EZEKIEL 11:34.1-31

[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Ezekiel 34:29

The church has been raised up to such a pinnacle in the name of Christ that all who curse are now put to shame and dare not curse anymore.

Source: SERMON 47:28

[AD 420] Jerome on Ezekiel 34:30

A famine, a famine of hearing the Word of God, will never take place on the earth under a good shepherd descended from a famous stock, whose words are acclaimed by everyone and who sows peace on the earth.

Source: COMMENTARY ON EZEKIEL 11:34.1-31

[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Ezekiel 34:31

O how blessed we are with such a possession and such a possessor! Because as well as him possessing us, we also possess him. He possesses us in order to tend us, and we possess him in order to tend him. But we tend him with worship as God, he tends us with cultivation as a field.

Source: SERMON 47:30