Ezekiel 34:1–12

The Shepherds and God’s Flock

34The word of the Lord came to me: ²“Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy, and say to them: This is what the Lord God says to the shepherds: Woe to the shepherds of Israel, who have been feeding themselves! ^eShouldn’t the shepherds feed their flock? ³You eat the fat, wear the wool, and butcher the fattened animals, but you do not tend the flock. ^f4You have not strengthened the weak, healed the sick, bandaged the injured, brought back the strays, or sought the lost. ^gInstead, you have ruled them with violence and cruelty. ⁵They were scattered for lack of a shepherd; ^hthey became food for all the wild animals ⁱwhen they were scattered. ⁶My flock went astray on all the mountains and every high hill. ^jThey were scattered over the whole face of the earth, and there was no one searching or seeking for them.

⁷“Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord. ⁸As I live”—the declaration of the Lord God—“because My flock has become prey and food for every wild animal since they lack a shepherd, for My shepherds do not search for My flock, and because the shepherds feed themselves rather than My flock, ⁹therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord!

¹⁰“This is what the Lord God says: Look, I am against the shepherds. ^kI will demand My flock from them ^land prevent them from shepherding the flock. The shepherds will no longer feed themselves, for I will rescue My flock from their mouths so that they will not be food for them.

¹¹“For this is what the Lord God says: See, I Myself will search for My flock and look for them. ¹²As a shepherd looks for his sheep on the day he is among his scattered flock, so I will look for My flock. I will rescue them from all the places where they have been scattered ^mon a cloudy and dark day.