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Selected Verse: Ezekiel 34:11 - Strong Concordance

Verse	Translation	Text
Eze 34:11	Strong Concordance	For thus saith [0559] the Lord [0136] GOD [03069]; Behold, I, even I, will both search [01875] my sheep [06629], and seek them out [01239].
	King James	For thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep, and seek them out.

Summary Of Commentaries Associated With The Selected Verse

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A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882]
I . . . will . . . search--doing that which the so-called shepherds had failed to do, I being the rightful owner of the flock.

A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882]

I . . . will . . . search--doing that which the so-called shepherds had failed to do, I being the rightful owner of the flock.

Notes on the Bible, by Albert Barnes, [1834]
Yahweh is the shepherd of His people. He will do all which the shepherds should have done and did not. These promises - partially fulfilled in the return from Babylon, and in the subsequent prosperity under the Maccabees - point to the ingathering of all nations in the Church of Christ the Good Shepherd. Compare Mat 18:11 : John 10:1-18; Rom 9:25-33.

Commentary on the Old Testament, by Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch [1857-78]
Jehovah Himself will seek His flock, gather it together from the dispersion, lead it to good pasture, and sift it by the destruction of the bad sheep. - Eze 34:11. For thus saith the Lord Jehovah, Behold, I myself, I will inquire after my flock, and take charge thereof. Eze 34:12. As a shepherd taketh charge of his flock in the day when he is in the midst of his scattered sheep, so will I take charge of my flock, and deliver them out of all the places whither they have been scattered in the day of cloud and cloudy night. Eze 34:13. And I will bring them out from the nations, and gather them together out of the lands, and bring them into their land, and feed them upon the mountains of Israel, in the valleys, and in all the dwelling-places of the land. Eze 34:14. I will feed them in a good pasture, and on the high mountains of Israel will their pasture-ground be: there shall they lie down in a good pasture-ground, and have fat pasture on the mountains of Israel. Eze 34:15. I will feed my flock, and I will cause them to lie down, is the saying of the Lord Jehovah. Eze 34:16. That which is lost will I seek, and that which is driven away will I bring back; that which is wounded will I bind up, and that which is sick will I strengthen: but that which is fat and strong will I destroy, and feed them according to justice. Eze 34:17. And you, my sheep, thus saith the Lord Jehovah, Behold, I will judge between sheep and sheep, and the rams and the he-goats. Eze 34:18. Is it too little for you, that ye eat up the good pasture, and what remains of your pasture ye tread down with your feet? and the clear water ye drink, and render muddy what remains with your feet? Eze 34:19. And are my sheep to have for food that which is trodden down by your feet, and to drink that which is made muddy by your feet? Eze 34:20. Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah to them, Behold, I, I will judge between fat sheep and lean. Eze 34:21. Because ye press with side and shoulder, and thrust all the weak with your horns, till ye have driven them out; Eze 34:22. I will help my sheep, so that they shall no more become a prey; and will judge between sheep and sheep. - All that the Lord will do for His flock is summed up in Eze 34:11, in the words דּרשׁתּי את־צאני וּבקּרתּים, which stand in obvious antithesis to 'ואין דּורשׁ וגו in Eze 34:6 - an antithesis sharply accentuated by the emphatic הנני אני, which stands at the head in an absolute form. The fuller explanation is given in the verses which follow, from Eze 34:12 onwards. Observe here that biqeer is substituted for בּקּשׁ. בּקּר, to seek and examine minutely, involves the idea of taking affectionate charge. What the Lord does for His people is compared in Eze 34:12 to the care which a shepherd who deserves the name manifests towards sheep when they are scattered (נפרשׁות without the article is connected with צאנו in the form of apposition); and in Eze 34:12 it is still more particularly explained. In the first place, He will gather them from all the places to which they have been scattered. הצּיל implies that in their dispersion they have fallen into a state of oppression and bondage among the nations (cf. Exo 6:6). בּיום belongs to the relative clause: whither they have been scattered. The circumstance that these words are taken from Joe 2:2 does not compel us to take them in connection with the principal clause, as Hitzig and Kliefoth propose, and to understand them as relating to the time when God will hold His judgment of the heathen world. The notion that the words in Joel signify "God's day of judgment upon all the heathen" (Kliefoth), is quite erroneous; and even Hitzig does not derive this meaning from Joe 2:2, but from the combination of our verse with Eze 30:3 and Eze 29:21. The deliverance of the sheep out of the places to which they have been scattered, consists in the gathering together of Israel out of the nations, and their restoration to their own land, and their feeding upon the mountains and all the dwelling-places of the land (מושׁב, a place suitable for settlement), and that in good and fat pasture (Eze 34:14); and lastly, in the fact that Jehovah bestows the necessary care upon the sheep, strengthens and heals the weak and sick (Eze 34:15 and Eze 34:16) - that is to say, does just what the bad shepherds have omitted (Eze 34:4) - and destroys the fat and strong. In this last clause another side is shown of the pastoral fidelity of Jehovah. אשׁמיד has been changed by the lxx, Syr., and Vulg. into ,אשׁמורφυλάχω; and Luther has followed them in his rendering, "I will watch over them." But this is evidently a mistake, as it fails to harmonize with ארענּה במשׁפּט. The fat and strong sheep are characterized in Eze 34:18 and Eze 34:19 as those which spoil the food and water of the others. The allusion, therefore, is to the rich and strong ones of the nation, who oppress the humble and poor, and treat them with severity. The destruction of these oppressors shows that the loving care of the Lord is associated with righteousness - that He feeds the flock בּמשׁפּט. This thought is carried out still further in Eze 34:17-21, the sheep themselves being directly addressed, and the Lord assuring them that He will judge between sheep and sheep, and put an end to the oppressive conduct of the fat sheep and the strong. בּין שׂה לשׂה: between the one sheep and the other. לשׂה is extended in the apposition, "the rams and he-goats," which must not be rendered, "with regard to the rams and he-goats," as it has been by Kliefoth. The thought is not that Jehovah will divide the rams and he-goats from the sheep, as some have explained it, from an inappropriate comparison with Mat 25:32; but the division is to be effected in such a manner that sheep will be separated from sheep, the fat sheep being placed on one side with the rams and he-goats, and kept apart from the lean (רזה, Eze 34:20) and the sickly sheep (נהלות, Mat 25:21). It is to the last-named sheep, rams, and he-goats that Mat 25:18 and Mat 25:19 are addressed. With regard to the charge brought against them, that they eat up the pasture and tread down the remainder with their feet, etc., Bochart has already correctly observed, that "if the words are not quite applicable to actual sheep, they are perfectly appropriate to the mystical sheep intended here, i.e., to the Israelites, among whom many of the rich, after enjoying an abundant harvest and vintage, grudged the poor their gleaning in either one or the other." משׁקע, a substantive formation, like מרמס, literally, precipitation of the water, i.e., the water purified by precipitation; for שׁקע, to sink, is the opposite of רפשׂ, to stir up or render muddy by treading with the feet (compare Eze 32:14 and Eze 32:2). בּריה, Eze 34:20 = בּראה or בּריּה. Eze 34:22 brings to a close the description of the manner in which God will deliver His flock, and feed it with righteousness. והושׁעתּי points back to והצּלתּי in Eze 34:12, and ושׁפטתּי to ארענּה במשׁפּט in Eze 34:16. - To this there is appended in Eze 34:23. a new train of thought, describing how God will still further display to His people His pastoral fidelity.

Commentary on the Old Testament, by Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch [1857-78]

Jehovah Himself will seek His flock, gather it together from the dispersion, lead it to good pasture, and sift it by the destruction of the bad sheep. - Eze 34:11. For thus saith the Lord Jehovah, Behold, I myself, I will inquire after my flock, and take charge thereof. Eze 34:12. As a shepherd taketh charge of his flock in the day when he is in the midst of his scattered sheep, so will I take charge of my flock, and deliver them out of all the places whither they have been scattered in the day of cloud and cloudy night. Eze 34:13. And I will bring them out from the nations, and gather them together out of the lands, and bring them into their land, and feed them upon the mountains of Israel, in the valleys, and in all the dwelling-places of the land. Eze 34:14. I will feed them in a good pasture, and on the high mountains of Israel will their pasture-ground be: there shall they lie down in a good pasture-ground, and have fat pasture on the mountains of Israel. Eze 34:15. I will feed my flock, and I will cause them to lie down, is the saying of the Lord Jehovah. Eze 34:16. That which is lost will I seek, and that which is driven away will I bring back; that which is wounded will I bind up, and that which is sick will I strengthen: but that which is fat and strong will I destroy, and feed them according to justice. Eze 34:17. And you, my sheep, thus saith the Lord Jehovah, Behold, I will judge between sheep and sheep, and the rams and the he-goats. Eze 34:18. Is it too little for you, that ye eat up the good pasture, and what remains of your pasture ye tread down with your feet? and the clear water ye drink, and render muddy what remains with your feet? Eze 34:19. And are my sheep to have for food that which is trodden down by your feet, and to drink that which is made muddy by your feet? Eze 34:20. Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah to them, Behold, I, I will judge between fat sheep and lean. Eze 34:21. Because ye press with side and shoulder, and thrust all the weak with your horns, till ye have driven them out; Eze 34:22. I will help my sheep, so that they shall no more become a prey; and will judge between sheep and sheep. - All that the Lord will do for His flock is summed up in Eze 34:11, in the words דּרשׁתּי את־צאני וּבקּרתּים, which stand in obvious antithesis to 'ואין דּורשׁ וגו in Eze 34:6 - an antithesis sharply accentuated by the emphatic הנני אני, which stands at the head in an absolute form. The fuller explanation is given in the verses which follow, from Eze 34:12 onwards. Observe here that biqeer is substituted for בּקּשׁ. בּקּר, to seek and examine minutely, involves the idea of taking affectionate charge. What the Lord does for His people is compared in Eze 34:12 to the care which a shepherd who deserves the name manifests towards sheep when they are scattered (נפרשׁות without the article is connected with צאנו in the form of apposition); and in Eze 34:12 it is still more particularly explained. In the first place, He will gather them from all the places to which they have been scattered. הצּיל implies that in their dispersion they have fallen into a state of oppression and bondage among the nations (cf. Exo 6:6). בּיום belongs to the relative clause: whither they have been scattered. The circumstance that these words are taken from Joe 2:2 does not compel us to take them in connection with the principal clause, as Hitzig and Kliefoth propose, and to understand them as relating to the time when God will hold His judgment of the heathen world. The notion that the words in Joel signify "God's day of judgment upon all the heathen" (Kliefoth), is quite erroneous; and even Hitzig does not derive this meaning from Joe 2:2, but from the combination of our verse with Eze 30:3 and Eze 29:21. The deliverance of the sheep out of the places to which they have been scattered, consists in the gathering together of Israel out of the nations, and their restoration to their own land, and their feeding upon the mountains and all the dwelling-places of the land (מושׁב, a place suitable for settlement), and that in good and fat pasture (Eze 34:14); and lastly, in the fact that Jehovah bestows the necessary care upon the sheep, strengthens and heals the weak and sick (Eze 34:15 and Eze 34:16) - that is to say, does just what the bad shepherds have omitted (Eze 34:4) - and destroys the fat and strong. In this last clause another side is shown of the pastoral fidelity of Jehovah. אשׁמיד has been changed by the lxx, Syr., and Vulg. into ,אשׁמורφυλάχω; and Luther has followed them in his rendering, "I will watch over them." But this is evidently a mistake, as it fails to harmonize with ארענּה במשׁפּט. The fat and strong sheep are characterized in Eze 34:18 and Eze 34:19 as those which spoil the food and water of the others. The allusion, therefore, is to the rich and strong ones of the nation, who oppress the humble and poor, and treat them with severity. The destruction of these oppressors shows that the loving care of the Lord is associated with righteousness - that He feeds the flock בּמשׁפּט.

This thought is carried out still further in Eze 34:17-21, the sheep themselves being directly addressed, and the Lord assuring them that He will judge between sheep and sheep, and put an end to the oppressive conduct of the fat sheep and the strong. בּין שׂה לשׂה: between the one sheep and the other. לשׂה is extended in the apposition, "the rams and he-goats," which must not be rendered, "with regard to the rams and he-goats," as it has been by Kliefoth. The thought is not that Jehovah will divide the rams and he-goats from the sheep, as some have explained it, from an inappropriate comparison with Mat 25:32; but the division is to be effected in such a manner that sheep will be separated from sheep, the fat sheep being placed on one side with the rams and he-goats, and kept apart from the lean (רזה, Eze 34:20) and the sickly sheep (נהלות, Mat 25:21). It is to the last-named sheep, rams, and he-goats that Mat 25:18 and Mat 25:19 are addressed. With regard to the charge brought against them, that they eat up the pasture and tread down the remainder with their feet, etc., Bochart has already correctly observed, that "if the words are not quite applicable to actual sheep, they are perfectly appropriate to the mystical sheep intended here, i.e., to the Israelites, among whom many of the rich, after enjoying an abundant harvest and vintage, grudged the poor their gleaning in either one or the other." משׁקע, a substantive formation, like מרמס, literally, precipitation of the water, i.e., the water purified by precipitation; for שׁקע, to sink, is the opposite of רפשׂ, to stir up or render muddy by treading with the feet (compare Eze 32:14 and Eze 32:2). בּריה, Eze 34:20 = בּראה or בּריּה. Eze 34:22 brings to a close the description of the manner in which God will deliver His flock, and feed it with righteousness. והושׁעתּי points back to והצּלתּי in Eze 34:12, and ושׁפטתּי to ארענּה במשׁפּט in Eze 34:16. - To this there is appended in Eze 34:23. a new train of thought, describing how God will still further display to His people His pastoral fidelity.

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²⁵ As he saith [3004] also [2532] in [1722] Osee [5617], I will call [2564] them my [3450] people [2992], which were not [3756] my [3450] people [2992]; and [2532] her beloved [25], which was [25] not [3756] beloved [25].
²⁶ And [2532] it shall come to pass [2071], that in [1722] the place [5117] where [3757] [3739] it was said [4483] unto them [846], Ye [5210] are not [3756] my [3450] people [2992]; there [1563] shall they be called [2564] the children [5207] of the living [2198] God [2316].
²⁷ Esaias [2268] also [1161] crieth [2896] concerning [5228] Israel [2474], Though [1437] the number [706] of the children [5207] of Israel [2474] be [5600] as [5613] the sand [285] of the sea [2281], a remnant [2640] shall be saved [4982]:
²⁸ For [1063] he will finish [4931] the work [3056], and [2532] cut it short [4932] in [1722] righteousness [1343]: because [3754] a short [4932] work [3056] will [4160] the Lord [2962] make [4160] upon [1909] the earth [1093].
²⁹ And [2532] as [2531] Esaias [2268] said before [4280], Except [1508] the Lord [2962] of Sabaoth [4519] had left [1459] us [2254] a seed [4690], we had been [302] [1096] as [5613] Sodoma [4670], and [2532] been made like [302] [3666] unto [5613] Gomorrha [1116].
³⁰ What [5101] shall we say [2046] then [3767]? That [3754] the Gentiles [1484], which [3588] followed [1377] not [3361] after righteousness [1343], have attained [2638] to righteousness [1343], even [1161] the righteousness [1343] which [3588] is of [1537] faith [4102].
³¹ But [1161] Israel [2474], which followed [1377] after the law [3551] of righteousness [1343], hath [5348] not [3756] attained [5348] to [1519] the law [3551] of righteousness [1343].
³² Wherefore [1302]? Because [3754] they sought it not [3756] by [1537] faith [4102], but [235] as [5613] it were by [1537] the works [2041] of the law [3551]. For [1063] they stumbled [4350] at that stumblingstone [3037] [4348];
³³ As [2531] it is written [1125], Behold [2400], I lay [5087] in [1722] Sion [4622] a stumblingstone [3037] [4348] and [2532] rock [4073] of offence [4625]: and [2532] whosoever [3956] believeth [4100] on [1909] him [846] shall [2617] not [3756] be ashamed [2617].

¹¹ For [1063] the Son [5207] of man [444] is come [2064] to save [4982] that which [3588] was lost [622].

²³ And I will set up [06965] one [0259] shepherd [07462] over them, and he shall feed [07462] them, even my servant [05650] David [01732]; he shall feed [07462] them, and he shall be their shepherd [07462].

¹⁶ I will seek [01245] that which was lost [06], and bring again [07725] that which was driven away [05080], and will bind up [02280] that which was broken [07665], and will strengthen [02388] that which was sick [02470]: but I will destroy [08045] the fat [08082] and the strong [02389]; I will feed [07462] them with judgment [04941].

¹² As a shepherd [07462] seeketh out [01243] his flock [05739] in the day [03117] that he is among [08432] his sheep [06629] that are scattered [06567]; so will I seek out [01239] my sheep [06629], and will deliver [05337] them out of all places [04725] where they have been scattered [06327] in the cloudy [06051] and dark [06205] day [03117].

²² Therefore will I save [03467] my flock [06629], and they shall no more be a prey [0957]; and I will judge [08199] between cattle [07716] and cattle [07716].

²⁰ Therefore thus saith [0559] the Lord [0136] GOD [03069] unto them; Behold, I, even I, will judge [08199] between the fat [01274] cattle [07716] and between the lean [07330] cattle [07716].

² Son [01121] of man [0120], take up [05375] a lamentation [07015] for Pharaoh [06547] king [04428] of Egypt [04714], and say [0559] unto him, Thou art like [01819] a young lion [03715] of the nations [01471], and thou art as a whale [08577] [08565] in the seas [03220]: and thou camest forth [01518] with thy rivers [05104], and troubledst [01804] the waters [04325] with thy feet [07272], and fouledst [07515] their rivers [05104].

¹⁴ Then will I make their waters [04325] deep [08257], and cause their rivers [05104] to run [03212] like oil [08081], saith [05002] the Lord [0136] GOD [03069].

¹⁹ After [1161] [3326] a long [4183] time [5550] the lord [2962] of those [1565] servants [1401] cometh [2064], and [2532] reckoneth [4868] [3056] with [3326] them [846].

¹⁸ But [1161] he that had received [2983] one [1520] went [565] and digged [3736] in [1722] the earth [1093], and [2532] hid [613] his [846] lord's [2962] money [694].

²¹ [1161] His [846] lord [2962] said [5346] unto him [846], Well done [2095], thou good [18] and [2532] faithful [4103] servant [1401]: thou hast been [2258] faithful [4103] over [1909] a few things [3641], I will make [2525] thee [4571] ruler [2525] over [1909] many things [4183]: enter thou [1525] into [1519] the joy [5479] of thy [4675] lord [2962].

²⁰ Therefore thus saith [0559] the Lord [0136] GOD [03069] unto them; Behold, I, even I, will judge [08199] between the fat [01274] cattle [07716] and between the lean [07330] cattle [07716].

³² And [2532] before [1715] him [846] shall be gathered [4863] all [3956] nations [1484]: and [2532] he shall separate [873] them [846] one [240] from [575] another [240], as [5618] a shepherd [4166] divideth [873] his sheep [4263] from [575] the goats [2056]:

¹⁷ And as for you [0859], O my flock [06629], thus saith [0559] the Lord [0136] GOD [03069]; Behold, I judge [08199] between cattle [07716] and cattle [07716], between the rams [0352] and the he goats [06260].
¹⁸ Seemeth it a small thing [04592] unto you to have eaten up [07462] the good [02896] pasture [04829], but ye must tread down [07429] with your feet [07272] the residue [03499] of your pastures [04829]? and to have drunk [08354] of the deep [04950] waters [04325], but ye must foul [07515] the residue [03498] with your feet [07272]?
¹⁹ And as for my flock [06629], they eat [07462] that which ye have trodden [04823] with your feet [07272]; and they drink [08354] that which ye have fouled [04833] with your feet [07272].
²⁰ Therefore thus saith [0559] the Lord [0136] GOD [03069] unto them; Behold, I, even I, will judge [08199] between the fat [01274] cattle [07716] and between the lean [07330] cattle [07716].
²¹ Because ye have thrust [01920] with side [06654] and with shoulder [03802], and pushed [05055] all the diseased [02470] with your horns [07161], till ye have scattered [06327] them abroad [02351];

¹⁹ And as for my flock [06629], they eat [07462] that which ye have trodden [04823] with your feet [07272]; and they drink [08354] that which ye have fouled [04833] with your feet [07272].

¹⁸ Seemeth it a small thing [04592] unto you to have eaten up [07462] the good [02896] pasture [04829], but ye must tread down [07429] with your feet [07272] the residue [03499] of your pastures [04829]? and to have drunk [08354] of the deep [04950] waters [04325], but ye must foul [07515] the residue [03498] with your feet [07272]?

⁴ The diseased [02470] have ye not strengthened [02388], neither have ye healed [07495] that which was sick [02470], neither have ye bound up [02280] that which was broken [07665], neither have ye brought again [07725] that which was driven away [05080], neither have ye sought [01245] that which was lost [06]; but with force [02394] and with cruelty [06531] have ye ruled [07287] them.

¹⁵ I will feed [07462] my flock [06629], and I will cause them to lie down [07257], saith [05002] the Lord [0136] GOD [03069].

¹⁴ I will feed [07462] them in a good [02896] pasture [04829], and upon the high [04791] mountains [02022] of Israel [03478] shall their fold [05116] be: there shall they lie [07257] in a good [02896] fold [05116], and in a fat [08082] pasture [04829] shall they feed [07462] upon the mountains [02022] of Israel [03478].

²¹ In that day [03117] will I cause [06779] the horn [07161] of the house [01004] of Israel [03478] to bud forth [06779], and I will give [05414] thee the opening [06610] of the mouth [06310] in the midst [08432] of them; and they shall know [03045] that I am the LORD [03068].

³ For the day [03117] is near [07138], even the day [03117] of the LORD [03068] is near [07138], a cloudy [06051] day [03117]; it shall be the time [06256] of the heathen [01471].

² A day [03117] of darkness [02822] and of gloominess [0653], a day [03117] of clouds [06051] and of thick darkness [06205], as the morning [07837] spread [06566] upon the mountains [02022]: a great [07227] people [05971] and a strong [06099]; there hath not been [01961] ever [05769] the like, neither shall be any more [03254] after [0310] it, even to the years [08141] of many [01755] generations [01755].

⁶ Wherefore [03651] say [0559] unto the children [01121] of Israel [03478], I am the LORD [03068], and I will bring [03318] you out from under the burdens [05450] of the Egyptians [04714], and I will rid [05337] you out of their bondage [05656], and I will redeem [01350] you with a stretched [05186] out arm [02220], and with great [01419] judgments [08201]:

⁶ My sheep [06629] wandered [07686] through all the mountains [02022], and upon every high [07311] hill [01389]: yea, my flock [06629] was scattered [06327] upon all the face [06440] of the earth [0776], and none did search [01875] or seek [01245] after them.

¹¹ For thus saith [0559] the Lord [0136] GOD [03069]; Behold, I, even I, will both search [01875] my sheep [06629], and seek them out [01239].

²² Therefore will I save [03467] my flock [06629], and they shall no more be a prey [0957]; and I will judge [08199] between cattle [07716] and cattle [07716].

²¹ Because ye have thrust [01920] with side [06654] and with shoulder [03802], and pushed [05055] all the diseased [02470] with your horns [07161], till ye have scattered [06327] them abroad [02351];

²⁰ Therefore thus saith [0559] the Lord [0136] GOD [03069] unto them; Behold, I, even I, will judge [08199] between the fat [01274] cattle [07716] and between the lean [07330] cattle [07716].

¹⁹ And as for my flock [06629], they eat [07462] that which ye have trodden [04823] with your feet [07272]; and they drink [08354] that which ye have fouled [04833] with your feet [07272].

¹⁵ I will feed [07462] my flock [06629], and I will cause them to lie down [07257], saith [05002] the Lord [0136] GOD [03069].

¹³ And I will bring them out [03318] from the people [05971], and gather [06908] them from the countries [0776], and will bring [0935] them to their own land [0127], and feed [07462] them upon the mountains [02022] of Israel [03478] by the rivers [0650], and in all the inhabited places [04186] of the country [0776].

¹¹ For thus saith [0559] the Lord [0136] GOD [03069]; Behold, I, even I, will both search [01875] my sheep [06629], and seek them out [01239].