What is the meaning of Ezekiel 34:21?

Since you shove with flank and shoulder

• Ezekiel pictures well-fed sheep muscling their way into the best pasture. In plain terms, the strong—especially Israel’s civil and spiritual leaders—used their position for selfish gain (Ezekiel 34:2-4).

• The physical image highlights deliberate, forceful action. “Flank and shoulder” suggest calculated pressure, not accidental bumps. The Lord exposes intentional exploitation (Isaiah 56:11; Micah 3:1-3).

• By describing the sin so graphically, God makes clear that abuse of authority offends Him as surely as idolatry or immorality. Scripture repeatedly warns shepherds to feed the flock, not themselves (1 Peter 5:2-3; John 21:15-17).

---

butting all the weak ones with your horns

• Horns symbolize power (1 Samuel 2:10). Here the powerful weaponize their influence against “the weak”—the poor, the marginalized, the spiritually needy (Psalm 82:3-4; James 1:27).

• Instead of protecting stragglers, the strong wound them. Jesus later confronts the same attitude in the Pharisees who “tie up heavy burdens” and “devour widows’ houses” (Matthew 23:4, 14).

• The Lord promises to “bind up the injured and strengthen the weak” Himself (Ezekiel 34:16). Yet He also holds the aggressors accountable: “I will judge between one sheep and another” (v. 17).

---

until you have scattered them abroad

• The ultimate outcome of selfish leadership is dispersion. Israel’s exile—sheep flung far from the fold—traces back to corrupt shepherds (Jeremiah 23:2; Zechariah 10:2).

• Scattered sheep become easy prey (Ezekiel 34:5-6). Jesus sees the crowds of His day “harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd” (Matthew 9:36), echoing this prophecy.

• God’s response is both judgment and rescue. He will “save My flock” and install “One Shepherd…My servant David,” fulfilled in Christ (Ezekiel 34:22-24; John 10:11-16).

---

summary

Ezekiel 34:21 exposes leaders who push, butt, and scatter the vulnerable to satisfy themselves. God condemns such misuse of power, promises justice, and personally steps in through the Messiah to gather, heal, and guard His people. The verse warns every generation against exploiting influence and calls believers to reflect the Chief Shepherd’s heart for the weak.