ple.ces of the oountry, serves as a parable or of that prophecy), to a line of true rulere, that which is to follow on the restoration or each faithfully representing the ideal David Israel. The sheep that had been wandering 811 the faithful Ruler, the true Shepherd of his so long in the wilderness should e.t le.et lie people (Pe. lxxviii. 71; comp. eh. xxxvii. 24; down in a fat pasture (ver. 15), and the xiv. 8, 9). tender care or the Shepherd should watch Ver. 25.-I will make with them a cove- with e.n individualizing pity over ea.eh sheep nant of peaoe. The whole verse is an echo that he.cl been brought be.ck. Every broken of Lev. x:xvi. 6, in part also of Hos. ii. 20 limb should be bonnd op. Every sickness [English version, ver. 18). The words are should be treated with its appropriate means fess definil:.e e.s to the nature of the covenant of healing. than those of Jer. xxxi. 81, but probably the Ver. 16.-I will destroy the fat and the same thoaght underlies both. Sins a.re strong. What follows introduces another pardoned, the capacity for righteousness, feature into the pnre.ble, and is hardly less righteousness itself, are given. In bright thnn e.n anticipation of the great scene of contrast with the picture of a country judgment in Matt. xxv. 82. The "fat and haunted by the lion, the jackal. and the theetrong," as contrasted with the ''broken" wolf-the " evil beasts" of eh. xiv. 15-so and the "sick," a.re, when we inl:.erpret the that no man could paaa through without parable, the noble and wealthy who, under risk, we have that of a laud from which the kings of J ude.h, had been e.llowed to such evil beasts have been cleared out, so work their evil will upon the people. Of that men may sleep eafely even in the these he says tho.t he will feed them with wildemeaa and the woods. The Iangne.ge, (better, in) judgment, that for them there however, is figurative rather than lit.era!. must be the discipline of punishment. 1'hey As the "sheep " are the people of the truo too are his sheep, but they require a dif. Israel, so the evil beuta most, at least, in- ferent treatment from the others. clude the enemies, Chaldeans, Edomites, Ver. 17.-Behold, I judge between oattle Philistines, and others, that had before me.de and cattle. It may be worth while to note, havoc of them. ae modem English usage tends to limit the Ver. 26.-Round about my hill Ezekiel's range of the word, that it is commonly used thoughts, like those of Micah iv. 1 and Isa. in the Old Testament of sheep rather thnn ii. 2, cluster round the hill of Zion, the of kine (Gen. xxx. 81--42; xxxi. 8-12). mountain of Jehove.h, e.s the oentre of the In Gen. XXL 82 we have the same Hebrow restored Israel. In the.t le.nd, as the pro- word e.s thnt which Ezekiel uses. :Between phet saw it here, e.nd still more in the the rams and the he-goats. The words, at closing vision of his book (oh. xlvii 12), first, seem to point to a division like tbnt there were, outwe.rdly as well as spiritually, of Matt. xxv. 82, and may, perhaps, have to be showers of blessing (the phrase is suggested it. Here, however, the contrast peouliar to Ezekiel), and the land should lies, not between the sheep and goats as yield its fruits. such, but between the strong and the weak Vere. 27, 28.-When I have broken the of ea.oh class. The "re.ms" are e.s much tlie bands of their yoke. The underlying mean- object of the shepherd's discipline of judg- ing of the figurative language of ver. 25 is inent e.e tho "he-goats." Both stand e.s the now utterly explained. Israel is to be dc- representative of the rapacious self-seeking livered from its Oheldee.n and other oppres- clnssee who oppressed the poor and needy, sors. The "yoke shall be broken." They and, not content with being the first to feed shull no more be a prey to the heathen. Nona on the pastures and to drink of the waters, ahall make them afraid. trampled on the former and defiled the Ver. 29.-A plant of renown. The words latter. So in the uext verse the contrast at first suggest tl.Je thought that Ezekiel lies between the "fat cattle," whether sheep was reproduciug the ideal picture of the or goats, and the '' lean." " 1.Jrn.nch," the "root," the "stem," the Ver. 28.-And I will set up one Shepherd "plant," cf Isa. xi. 1 ; J er. xxiii. 5; Zech. over th~~- _Here, more tho.n ever, we have vi. 12. Here, however, the word is collective, an antio1pe.t1on of our Lord's teaching in and is translated "plantation" in eh. :x:vii. 7, John x. 1-18. He olaims to be the Fulfiller, "planting" in Micah i. 6; I.ea. Ix. 21; bi. 3. twl of the prediotion of Isa. :d. 11 and J er. It can hnrdly be taken e.s speaking of more xxiii. 1-8, so e.lso of this. He, the "Son of than the genere.l fertility of the land. The David,'' is the David that inherits the.I rendering of the LXX., "a plant of peace," t1.mong other promises. It has to be noted, obviously implies a different reading (shalom however, that Ezckiel's words paint, less instead of ahem), and this Cornill has adoptt-d distinctly than those of the ee.rlier prophets, in his text. So taken, the words ne.turnllv the picture of e.n individual Messianic king, lead on to what follows-the promiso tluit and seem rather to point, us do thuse of men should no more be ooneumed with Zeeb. xii. 10 (I do not now discuss the elate hunger. 208 THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET EZEKIEL. [err. xxxrv. 1-31 ►
Ver. 31.-A.nd ye my ilook. The great of the Father's care, the Ideal David and utterance, we might ea.II it the "ode of the his house, there was the eternal relationship shepherds," comes round to the point from between Jehovah 1md his people, even that which it.s second portion started (ver. 11). of the Shepherd e.nd his sheep. The LXX. All blessings were summed up in the omits the words "a.re men," e.nd here also iso thought that, behind every representative followed by Oornill.