Adam Clarke's Bible Commentary Verse 4. The diseased have ye not strengthened] No person is fit for the office of a shepherd, who does not well understand the diseases to which sheep are incident, and the mode of cure. And is any man fit for the pastoral office, or to be a shepherd of souls, who is not well acquainted with the disease of sin in all its varieties, and the remedy for this disease, and the proper mode of administering it, in those various cases? He who does not know Jesus Christ as his own saviour, never can recommend him to others. He who is not saved, will not save.
Neither have ye healed that which was sick] The prophet first speaks of the general disease; next, of the different kinds of spiritual infirmity.
Neither have ye bound up that which was broken] If a sheep have broken a leg, a proper shepherd knows how to set the bones, and splint and bind it till the bones knit and become strong. And the skillful spiritual pastor knows, if one of the flock be overtaken in a fault, how to restore such. Those sudden falls, where there was not a strong propensity to sin, are, to the soul, as a broken bone to the body.
Neither have ye brought again] A proper shepherd loves his sheep: he feels interested for their welfare; he acquaints himself with them all, so that he knows and can distinguish each. He knows also their number, and frequently counts to see that none is missing; if one be lost or strayed, he goes immediately and seeks it; and as he is constantly on the watch, it cannot have strayed far before he is apprised of its absence from the flock; and the less it has strayed, the sooner it is found and brought back to the fold.
The shepherds of Israel knew nothing about their flock; they might have been diseased, infirm, bruised, maimed, their limbs broken, strayed, and lost; for they watched not over them. When they got fat sheep and wool for their table and their clothing, they regarded nothing else; as they considered the flock given them for their own use, and scarcely ever supposed that they were to give any thing in return for the milk and the wool.
But with force and with cruelty] Exacting tithes and dues by the strong arm of the law, with the most ungodly feeling; and with a cruelty of disposition that proved it was the fat and the wool they sought, and not the safety or comfort of the flock.
Matthew Henry Commentary
- The fall of Egypt. (Ezek. 32:1-16) It is like that of other nations (Ezek. 32:17-32)
Ezek. 32:1-16 It becomes us to weep and tremble for those who will no weep and tremble for themselves. Great oppressors are, in God' account, no better than beasts of prey. Those who admire the pomp of this world, will wonder at the ruin of that pomp; which to those wh know the vanity of all things here below, is no surprise. When other are ruined by sin, we have to fear, knowing ourselves guilty. The instruments of the desolation are formidable. And the instances of the desolation are frightful. The waters of Egypt shall run like oil, whic signifies there should be universal sadness and heaviness upon the whole nation. God can soon empty those of this world's goods who have the greatest fulness of them. By enlarging the matters of our joy, we increase the occasions of our sorrow. How weak and helpless, as to God are the most powerful of mankind! The destruction of Egypt was a typ of the destruction of the enemies of Christ.
Ezek. 32:17-32 Divers nations are mentioned as gone down to the grav before Egypt, who are ready to give her a scornful reception; thes nations had been lately ruined and wasted. But though Judah an Jerusalem were about this time ruined and laid waste, yet they are no mentioned here. Though they suffered the same affliction, and by the same hand, yet the kind design for which they were afflicted, and the mercy God reserved for them, altered its nature. It was not to them going down to the pit, as it was to the heathen. Pharaoh shall see, an be comforted; but the comfort wicked ones have after death, is poor comfort, not real, but only in fancy. The view this prophecy gives of ruined states shows something of this present world, and the empire of death in it. Come and see the calamitous state of human life. As if me did not die fast enough, they are ingenious at finding out ways to destroy one another. Also of the other world; though the destruction of nations as such, seems chiefly intended, here is plain allusion to the everlasting ruin of impenitent sinners. How are men deceived by Satan What are the objects they pursue through scenes of bloodshed, and their many sins? Surely man disquiets himself in vain, whether he pursue wealth, fame, power, or pleasure. The hour cometh, when all that are in their graves shall hear the voice of Christ, and shall come forth those that have done good to the resurrection of life, and those tha have done evil to the resurrection of damnation _________________________________________________
Original Hebrew את853 הנחלות2470 לא3808 חזקתם2388 ואת853 החולה2470 לא3808 רפאתם7495 ולנשׁברת7665 לא3808 חבשׁתם2280 ואת853 הנדחת5080 לא3808 השׁבתם7725 ואת853 האבדת6 לא3808 בקשׁתם1245 ובחזקה2394 רדיתם7287 אתם853 ובפרך׃6531
