Ezekiel 34:1–12

Israel’s False Shepherds

³⁴The word of the Lord came to me: ²Mortal, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy and say to them: To the shepherds—thus says the Lord God: Woe, you shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves! Should not shepherds feed the sheep?^{* 3}You eat the fat; you clothe yourselves with the wool; you slaughter the fatted calves, but you do not feed the sheep.^{* 4}You have not strengthened the weak; you have not healed the sick; you have not bound up the injured; you have not brought back the strays; you have not sought the lost, but with force and harshness you have ruled them.^{* 5}So they were scattered because there was no shepherd, and scattered they became food for all the wild animals.^{* 6}My sheep were scattered; they wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill; my sheep were scattered over all the face of the earth, with no one to search or seek for them.

⁷Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: ⁸As I live, says the Lord God, because my sheep have become a prey and my sheep have become food for all the wild animals, since there was no shepherd, and because my shepherds have not searched for my sheep, but the shepherds have fed themselves and have not fed my sheep,^{* 9}therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: ¹⁰Thus says the Lord God: I am against the shepherds, and I will hold them accountable for my sheep and put a stop to their feeding the sheep; no longer shall the shepherds feed themselves. I will rescue my sheep from their mouths, so that they may not be food for them.^*

God, the True Shepherd

¹¹For thus says the Lord God: I myself will search for my sheep and will sort them out.^{* 12}As shepherds sort out their flocks when they are among scattered sheep,^m so I will sort out my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places to which they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness.^*