Ezekiel 34:1–12

Prophecy against the Shepherds of Israel

¹Then the word of the Lord came to me saying,

²“Son of man, prophesy against the ^ashepherds of Israel. Prophesy and say to ¹those shepherds, ‘Thus says the Lord ²God, “Woe, shepherds of Israel who have been ^3bfeeding themselves! Should not the shepherds ^cfeed the flock?

³“You ^aeat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool, you ^bslaughter the fat sheep without ¹feeding the flock.

⁴“Those who are sickly you have not strengthened, the ¹diseased you have not healed, ^athe broken you have not bound up, the scattered you have not brought back, nor have you ^bsought for the lost; but with force and with severity you have dominated them.

⁵“They were ^ascattered for lack of a shepherd, and they became ^bfood for every beast of the field and were scattered.

⁶“My flock ^awandered through all the mountains and on every high hill; ^bMy flock was scattered over all the surface of the earth, and there was ^cno one to search or seek for them.” ’ ”

⁷Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord:

⁸“As I live,” declares the Lord God, “surely because My flock has become a ^aprey, My flock has even become food for all the beasts of the field for lack of a shepherd, and My shepherds did not search for My flock, but rather the shepherds fed themselves and did not feed My flock;

⁹therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord:

¹⁰‘Thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I am ^aagainst the shepherds, and I will demand My ¹sheep ²from them and make them ^bcease from feeding sheep. So the shepherds will not ³feed themselves anymore, but I will ^cdeliver My flock from their mouth, so that they will not be food for them.” ’ ”

The Restoration of Israel

¹¹For thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I Myself will ^asearch for My sheep and seek them out.

¹²“^aAs a shepherd ¹cares for his herd in the day when he is among his scattered ²sheep, so I will ^bcare for My sheep and will deliver them from all the places to which they were scattered on a ^ccloudy and gloomy day.