What is the context?
The Lord calls the shepherds to hear His word and states the charge again. They did not search for His flock; they fed themselves while it became prey.
He will oppose the shepherds, demand His flock from them and remove them from tending it. Their position will no longer provide a way to feed themselves at the flock’s expense.
The rescue is pictured as pulling sheep from the shepherds’ mouths. Those appointed to protect have become a threat, and the Lord intervenes on behalf of the people they consume.
How is this passage commonly understood?
Henry reads the announcement as mercy toward the scattered flock. Cambridge connects the removal of the cruel shepherds with the care the Lord Himself will undertake in the following verses.
The judgment on the leaders serves the rescue of those under them. The Lord’s concern does not end with condemning the failure; it moves toward restoring care.
What is our position?
We don't have a position on this passage yet. When our study reaches a conclusion the text supports, it will appear here.