“Yea, they are greedy dogs which can never have enough, and they are shepherds that cannot understand: they all look to their own way, every one for his gain, from his quarter.”
The leaders' greedy self-interest in verse 11—"shepherds who look only to their own gain"—parallels Ezekiel's denunciation of exploitative shepherds and defines the crisis as one of moral-economic injustice rather than merely ritual laxity. The image of dogs that "never have enough" and "shepherds who cannot understand" conflates animal appetites with human cupidity, suggesting that corruption is endemic to leadership. The verse's emphasis on economic predation (they "look only to their own gain") links to broader Trito-Isaiah concerns with justice for the poor and vulnerable. Corrupt leadership thus becomes the barrier preventing the inclusive eschatology promised in earlier verses.
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