I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick: but I will destroy the fat and the strong; I will feed them with judgment.
Upon reading the foregoing articles of impeachment drawn up, in God's name, against the shepherds of Israel, we cannot but look upon the shepherds with a just indignation, and upon the flock with a tender compassion. God, by the prophet, here expresses both in a high degree; and the shepherds are called upon (Eze 34:7, Eze 34:9) to hear the word of the Lord, to hear this word.
Commenting on Ezekiel 34:7-16
And as for you, O my flock, thus saith the Lord God,.... Having done with the shepherds, and the complaint against them, the Lord proceeds to take notice of the flock, or the people themselves, and the evils that were among them; for in the Lord's own flock, in the nation and church of Israel, as now in the visible congregated churches of Christ, there...
In contrast to the unfaithful shepherds (Eze 34:4). The several duties neglected by them I will faithfully discharge. fat . . . strong--that is, those rendered wanton by prosperity (Deu 32:15; Jer 5:28), who use their strength to oppress the weak. Compare Eze 34:20, "the fat cattle" (Isa 10:16). The image is from fat cattle that wax refractory.