23 And the word of Yahweh came to me, ⌊saying⌋,o 24 “Son of man,p the inhabitants of these ruins on the soil of Israel are saying, ‘Abraham was one man, and he took possession of the land, and we are many; the land has been given forq us as a possession.’ 25 Therefore say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh: “You eat blood in your meat, and you raise your eyes to your idols and you pour out blood, and yet you want to take possession of the land?r 26 You rely on your sword, you do a detestable thing, and ⌊each man defiles⌋s the wife of his neighbor, and yet you want to take possession of the land?” ’t

27 “Thus you must say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh: “⌊As I live⌋,u ⌊surely⌋v whoever is in the ruins, by the sword they will fall, and whoever is on the surface of the open field, I will give him to the animalsw to eat him, and whoever is in the stronghold and in the cave, they will die by the plague. 28 And I will make the land a desolation and a wasteland, and the pride of its strength will come to an end, and the mountains of Israel will be desolate ⌊with no one traveling through them⌋.” ’x 29 And they will know that I am Yahweh when I make my land a desolation and a wasteland, because of all of their detestable things that they have done.

30 “And you, son of man,y ⌊your people⌋,z the ones talking together concerning you beside the walls and in the doorways of the houses, each one with his brother ⌊saying⌋,a ‘Please come and hear what is the word ⌊that is going out from Yahweh⌋.’b 31 And they come to you ⌊as people do⌋,c and they sit ⌊before you⌋,d and my people hear your words, and they do not do them, for they are showinge passion in their mouth, but their heart is going after ill-gotten gain. 32 Now, look! You are to them like ⌊a sensual song⌋,f beautiful of voice and ⌊played well on an instrument⌋,g and they hear your words, ⌊but they are not doing them⌋.h 33 Soi ⌊when it comes⌋,j look! It is coming! And then they will know that a prophet was in the midst of them.”

Prophecy Concerning Israel’s Shepherds and Sheep

34 And the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, 2 “Son of man,a prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and you must say to them, to the shepherds, ‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh: “Woe to the shepherds of Israel who were feeding themselves! Must not the shepherds feed the flock? 3 The fat you eat, and you clothe yourself with the wool; the well-nourished animals you slaughter, but you do not feed the flock. 4 The weak you have not strengthened, and the sick you have not healed, and ⌊with respect to⌋b the hurtc you have not bound them up, and you have not brought back the scattered, and you have not sought the lost, but rather you ruled over them with forced and with ruthlessness. 5 And they were scattered ⌊without⌋e a shepherd, and they weref as food for all the animalsg of the field when they were scattered. 6 My flock went astray upon all of the mountains and on every high hill, and so upon all the surface of the worldh my flock were scattered, and ⌊there was no one seeking them⌋,i and ⌊there was no one searching for them⌋.”j 7 Therefore, hear, O shepherds, the word of Yahweh: 8 “⌊As I live⌋,”k ⌊declares⌋l the Lord Yahweh, “⌊Surely⌋m because my flock have become as plunder, and my flock became as food ton all the animalso of the field, since there was not a shepherd, since my shepherds have not sought my flock, but the shepherds fed themselves, and they fed not my flock,’ ” 9 therefore, O shepherds, hear the word of Yahweh, 10 ‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh: “Look! I am against the shepherds, and I will seek my flock from their hand, and I will put an end to them from shepherding flocks, and the shepherds will ⌊no longer⌋p feed themselves, and I will deliver my flocks from their mouth, so that they will not be as food for them.”