Ezekiel 34

New American Standard Bible

Prophecy against the Shepherds of Israel

34 Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ²“Son of man, prophesy against the ^(A)shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and say to ^[a]those shepherds, ‘This is what the Lord ^[b]God says: “Woe, shepherds of Israel who have been ^[c]^(B)feeding themselves! Should the shepherds not ^[d]^(C)feed the flock? ³You ^(D)eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool, you ^(E)slaughter the fat sheep ^[e]without feeding the flock. ⁴Those who are sickly you have not strengthened, the diseased you have not healed, ^(F)the broken you have not bound up, the scattered you have not brought back, nor have you ^(G)searched for the lost; but with force and with violence you have ^[f]dominated them. ⁵They ^(H)scattered for lack of a shepherd, and they became ^(I)food for every animal of the field and scattered. ⁶My flock ^(J)strayed through all the mountains and on every high hill; ^(K)My flock was scattered over all the surface of the earth, and there was ^(L)no one to search or seek for them.”’”

⁷Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: ⁸“As I live,” declares the Lord God, “certainly, because My flock has become ^(M)plunder, and My flock has become food for all the animals 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‘This is what the Lord God says: “Behold, I am ^(N)against the shepherds, and I will demand My ^[g]sheep ^[h]from them and make them ^(O)stop tending sheep. So the shepherds will not ^[i]feed themselves anymore, but I will ^(P)save My sheep from their mouth, so that they will not be food for them.”’”

The Restoration of Israel

¹¹For the Lord God says this: “Behold, I Myself will ^(Q)search for My sheep and look after them. ¹²^(R)As a shepherd cares for his flock on a day when he is among his scattered ^[j]sheep, so I will ^(S)care for My ^[k]sheep and will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on a ^(T)cloudy and gloomy day. ¹³I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries and bring them to their own land; and I will ^(U)feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the ^(V)streams, and in all the inhabited places of the land. ¹⁴I will feed them in a ^(W)good pasture, and their grazing place will be on the mountain heights of Israel. There they will lie down in a good grazing place and feed in ^[l]^(X)rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. ¹⁵I Myself will ^(Y)feed My flock and I Myself will ^[m]lead them to rest,” declares the Lord God. ¹⁶“I will seek the lost, bring back the scattered, bind up the broken, and strengthen the sick; but the ^(Z)fat and the strong I will eliminate. I will ^(AA)feed them with judgment.

¹⁷“As for you, My flock, this is what the Lord God says: ‘Behold, I am going to ^(AB)judge between one ^[n]sheep and another, between the rams and the male goats. ¹⁸Is it too ^(AC)little a thing for you to feed in the good pasture, that you must trample with your feet the rest of your pastures? Or too little for you to drink the clear waters, that you must muddy the rest with your feet? ¹⁹But as for My flock, they must eat what you trample with your feet, and drink what you muddy with your feet!’”

²⁰Therefore, this is what the Lord God says to them: “Behold, I, I Myself will also judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. ²¹Since you push away with your side and shoulder, and ^(AD)gore all the ^[o]weak with your horns until you have scattered them ^[p]abroad, ²²therefore, I will ^(AE)save My flock, and they will no longer be plunder; and I will judge between one sheep and another.

²³“Then I will ^(AF)appoint over them one ^(AG)shepherd, My servant ^(AH)David, and he will feed them; he will feed them himself and be their shepherd. ²⁴And I, the Lord, will be their God, and My servant ^(AI)David will be prince among them; I the Lord have spoken.

²⁵“And I will make a ^(AJ)covenant of peace with them and ^(AK)eliminate harmful animals from the land, so that they may ^(AL)live securely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods. ²⁶I will make them and the places around My hill a ^(AM)blessing. And I will make ^(AN)showers fall in their season; they will be showers of ^(AO)blessing. ²⁷Also the tree of the field will yield its fruit and the earth will yield its produce, and they will be ^(AP)secure on their land. Then they will know that I am the Lord, when I have ^(AQ)broken the bars of their yoke and have saved them from the hand of those who enslaved them. ²⁸They will no longer be plunder to the nations, and the animals of the earth will not devour them; but they will ^(AR)live securely, and no one will make them afraid. ²⁹I will establish for them a ^(AS)renowned planting place, and they will ^(AT)not again be ^[q]victims of famine in the land, and they will not ^(AU)endure the insults of the nations anymore. ³⁰Then they will know that ^(AV)I, the Lord their God, am with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are My people,” declares the Lord God. ³¹“As for you, My ^(AW)sheep, ^[r]the ^(AX)sheep of My pasture, you are mankind, and I am your God,” declares the Lord God.

Footnotes

Ezekiel 34:2 Lit them, the shepherds
Ezekiel 34:2 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord, and so throughout the ch
Ezekiel 34:2 Lit pasturing, pasture
Ezekiel 34:2 Lit pasturing, pasture
Ezekiel 34:3 Lit you do not pasture
Ezekiel 34:4 Or ruled
Ezekiel 34:10 Or flock
Ezekiel 34:10 Lit from their hand
Ezekiel 34:10 Lit pasture, and so throughout the ch
Ezekiel 34:12 Or flock
Ezekiel 34:12 Or flock
Ezekiel 34:14 Lit fat
Ezekiel 34:15 Lit let them lie down
Ezekiel 34:17 Or lamb
Ezekiel 34:21 Or sick
Ezekiel 34:21 Lit to the outside
Ezekiel 34:29 Lit those gathered
Ezekiel 34:31 As in MT; LXX you are sheep of My flock, and

Psalm 83-84

New American Standard Bible

God Implored to Confound His Enemies.

A Song, a Psalm of Asaph.

83 God, ^(A)do not remain quiet;
^(B)Do not be silent and, God, do not be still.
²For behold, Your enemies ^(C)make an uproar,
And ^(D)those who hate You have ^[a]^(E)exalted themselves.
³They ^(F)make shrewd plans against Your people,
And ^[b]conspire together against ^(G)Your ^[c]treasured ones.
⁴They have said, “Come, and ^(H)let’s wipe them out ^[d]as a nation,
So that the ^(I)name of Israel will no longer be remembered.”
⁵For they have ^[e]^(J)conspired together with one mind;
They make a covenant against You:
⁶The tents of ^(K)Edom and the ^(L)Ishmaelites,
^(M)Moab and the ^(N)Hagrites;
⁷^(O)Gebal, ^(P)Ammon, and ^(Q)Amalek,
^(R)Philistia with the inhabitants of ^(S)Tyre;
⁸^(T)Assyria also has joined them;
They have become ^[f]a help to the ^(U)children of Lot. Selah

⁹Deal with them ^(V)as with Midian,
As ^(W)with Sisera and Jabin at the river of Kishon,
¹⁰Who were destroyed at En-dor,
Who ^(X)became like dung for the ground.
¹¹Make their nobles like ^(Y)Oreb and Zeeb,
And all their leaders like ^(Z)Zebah and Zalmunna,
¹²Who said, “^(AA)Let’s possess for ourselves
The ^(AB)pastures of God.”

¹³My God, make them like the ^[g]^(AC)whirling dust,
Like ^(AD)chaff before the wind.
¹⁴Like ^(AE)fire that burns the forest,
And like a flame that ^(AF)sets the mountains on fire,
¹⁵So pursue them ^(AG)with Your heavy gale,
And terrify them with Your storm.
¹⁶^(AH)Fill their faces with dishonor,
So that they will seek Your name, Lord.
¹⁷May they be ^(AI)ashamed and dismayed forever,
And may they be humiliated and perish,
¹⁸So that they will ^(AJ)know that ^(AK)You alone, whose name is the Lord,
Are the ^(AL)Most High over all the earth.

Longing for the Temple Worship.

For the music director; ^[h]on the Gittith. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.

84 How lovely are Your ^(AM)dwelling places,
Lord of armies!
²My ^(AN)soul longed and even yearned for the courtyards of the Lord;
My heart and my flesh sing for joy to the ^(AO)living God.
³The bird also has found a house,
And the swallow a nest for herself, where she may put her young:
Your ^(AP)altars, Lord of armies,
^(AQ)My King and my God.
⁴^(AR)Blessed are those who dwell in Your house!
They are ^(AS)ever praising You. Selah

⁵Blessed is the person whose ^(AT)strength is in You,
In ^[i]whose heart are the ^(AU)roads to Zion!
⁶Passing through the Valley of ^[j]Baca they make it a ^[k]spring;
The ^(AV)early rain also covers it with blessings.
⁷They ^(AW)go from strength to strength,
^[l]Every one of them ^(AX)appears before God in Zion.

⁸^(AY)Lord God of armies, hear my prayer;
Listen, ^(AZ)God of Jacob! Selah
⁹See our ^(BA)shield, God,
And look at the face of ^(BB)Your anointed.
¹⁰For ^(BC)a day in Your courtyards is better than a thousand elsewhere.
I would rather stand at the threshold of the house of my God
Than live in the tents of wickedness.
¹¹For the Lord God is ^(BD)a sun and ^(BE)shield;
The Lord gives grace and ^(BF)glory;
^(BG)He withholds no good thing ^[m]from those who walk with integrity.
¹²Lord of armies,
^(BH)Blessed is the person who trusts in You!