Ezekiel 34

Prophecy Concerning Israel’s Shepherds and Sheep

34And 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? ³The fat you eat, and you clothe yourself with the wool; the well-nourished animals you slaughter, but you do not feed the flock. ⁴The weak you have not strengthened, and the sick you have not healed, and with respect to^b the hurt^c 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 force^d and with ruthlessness. ⁵And they were scattered without^e a shepherd, and they were^f as food for all the animals^g of the field when they were scattered. ⁶My flock went astray upon all of the mountains and on every high hill, and so upon all the surface of the world^h 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 animals^o 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,’ ” ⁹therefore, 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.”

¹¹“ ‘For thus says the Lord Yahweh: “Look! I, even I, will seek my flock, and I will look after them, ¹²just like the caring of a shepherd for his herd on^q the day when he is in the midst of his scattered flock. Thus I will look after my flock, and I will deliver them from all the places to which they were scattered^r on the day of storm and stress.^{s 13}And I will bring them out from the peoples, and I will gather them from the countries, and I will bring them to their soil, and I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, in the valleys, and in all of the settlements of the land. ¹⁴I will feed them in good pasture, and their pasture will be on the mountains of the heights of Israel; there they will lie down in good pasture, and on lush pasture they will feed on the mountains of Israel. ¹⁵I myself^t will feed my flock and I myself^u will allow them to lie down,” declares^v the Lord Yahweh. ¹⁶“I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the scattered, and I will bind up the one hurt, and I will strengthen the sick; and the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed her with justice.”

¹⁷“ ‘And you, my flock, thus says the Lord Yahweh: “Look! I am judging between one sheep and another,^w between the rams and between the he-goats. ¹⁸Is it not enough for you^x that you feed on the good pasture? And still you must trample the remainder of your pasture with your feet, and clear water^y you drink, and the leftover water^z you must make muddy with your feet. ¹⁹And my flock must graze the pasture treaded upon by^a your feet, and must drink the mud puddle stirred up by^b your feet.”

²⁰“ ‘Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh to them: “Look! I, even I will judge between fat sheep and between lean sheep, ²¹because with your flank and with your shoulder you shoved, and with your horns you pushed all of the sick animals until^c you scattered it^d to the outside. ²²And so I will save my flock, and they will no longer be^e for plunder, and I will judge between one sheep and another.^{f 23}And I will set up over them one shepherd, and he will feed them; that is, my servant David. He will feed them, and he will be for them as^g a shepherd. ²⁴And I, Yahweh, I will be for them as God,^h and my servant David will be a leader in the midst of them. I, Yahweh, I have spoken. ²⁵And I will make them a covenant of peace, and I will put an end to wild animalsⁱ from the land, and they will dwell in the desert safely,^j and they will sleep in the forest. ²⁶And I will make them and the area all around my hill a blessing, and I will let the rain go down at its appointed time;^k they will be rains of blessing. ²⁷And the tree^l of the field will give its fruit, and the land will give its produce, and they will be on their land safely,^m and they will know that I am Yahweh when I break their yoke, and I will deliver them from the hand of the ones enslaving them. ²⁸And they will not be any longer plunder to the nations, and the animals of the land will not eat them, and they will dwell in safety,ⁿ and there will not be anyone frightening them. ²⁹And I will raise for them a garden plot^o of renown, and they will no longer^p be victims of famine in the land, and they will not bear any more the insult of the nations. ³⁰And they will know that I, Yahweh their God, am with them and they are my people, the house of Israel,” declares^q the Lord Yahweh, ³¹“and you are my flock, the flock of my pasture. You are my people;^r I am your God,” declares^s the Lord Yahweh.’ ”