Ezekiel 34
Living Bible
34 Then this message came to me from the Lord:
2 “Son of dust, prophesy against the shepherds, the leaders of Israel. Say to them, ‘The Lord God says to you: Woe to the shepherds who feed themselves instead of their flocks. Shouldn’t shepherds feed the sheep? 3 You eat the best food and wear the finest clothes, but you let your flocks starve. 4 You haven’t taken care of the weak, nor tended the sick, nor bound up the broken bones, nor gone looking for those who have wandered away and are lost. Instead, you have ruled them with force and cruelty. 5 So they were scattered, without a shepherd. They have become a prey to every animal that comes along. 6 My sheep wandered through the mountains and hills and over the face of the earth, and there was no one to search for them or care about them.
7 “‘Therefore, O shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: 8 As I live, says the Lord God, you abandoned my flock, leaving them to be attacked and destroyed, and you were no real shepherds at all, for you didn’t search for them. You fed yourselves and let them starve; 9-10 therefore, I am against the shepherds, and I will hold them responsible for what has happened to my flock. I will take away their right to feed the flock—and take away their right to eat. I will save my flock from being taken for their food.’”
11 For the Lord God says: “I will search and find my sheep. 12 I will be like a shepherd looking for his flock. I will find my sheep and rescue them from all the places they were scattered in that dark and cloudy day. 13 And I will bring them back from among the people and nations where they were, back home to their own land of Israel, and I will feed them upon the mountains of Israel and by the rivers where the land is fertile and good. 14 Yes, I will give them good pasture on the high hills of Israel. There they will lie down in peace and feed in luscious mountain pastures. 15-16 I myself will be the Shepherd of my sheep and cause them to lie down in peace,” the Lord God says. “I will seek my lost ones, those who strayed away, and bring them safely home again. I will put splints and bandages upon their broken limbs and heal the sick. And I will destroy the powerful, fat shepherds; I will feed them, yes—feed them punishment!
17 “And as for you, O my flock—my people,” the Lord God says, “I will judge you and separate good from bad, sheep from goats.
18 “Is it a small thing to you, O evil shepherds, that you not only keep the best of the pastures for yourselves, but trample down the rest? That you take the best water for yourselves and muddy the rest with your feet? 19 All that’s left for my flock is what you’ve trampled down; all they have to drink is water that you’ve fouled.”
20 Therefore the Lord God says: “I will surely judge between these fat shepherds and their scrawny sheep. 21 For these shepherds push and butt and crowd my sick and hungry flock until they’re scattered far away. 22 So I myself will save my flock; no more will they be picked on and destroyed. And I will notice which is plump and which is thin, and why!
23 “And I will set one Shepherd over all my people, even my Servant David. He shall feed them and be a Shepherd to them.
24 “And I, the Lord, will be their God, and my Servant David shall be a Prince among my people. I, the Lord, have spoken it.
25 “I will make a peace pact with them and drive away the dangerous animals from the land, so that my people can safely camp in the wildest places and sleep safely in the woods. 26 I will make my people and their homes around my hill a blessing. And there shall be showers, showers of blessing, for I will not shut off the rains but send them in their seasons. 27 Their fruit trees and fields will yield bumper crops, and everyone will live in safety. When I have broken off their chains of slavery and delivered them from those who profiteered at their expense, they shall know I am the Lord. 28 No more will other nations conquer them nor wild animals attack. They shall live in safety and no one shall make them afraid.
29 “And I will raise up a notable Vine (the Messiah),[a] in Israel so that my people will never again go hungry nor be shamed by heathen conquest. 30 In this way they will know that I, the Lord their God, am with them, and that they, the people of Israel, are my people,” says the Lord God. 31 “You are my flock, the sheep of my pasture. You are my men and I am your God, so says the Lord.”
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 34:29 a notable Vine (the Messiah), literally, “a plant of renown”; so perhaps the meaning is, “I will give them bumper crops.” Either translation is permissible, but the word for “plant” is in the singular.
Ezekiel 34
King James Version
34 And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God unto the shepherds; Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the flocks?
3 Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed: but ye feed not the flock.
4 The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost; but with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them.
5 And they were scattered, because there is no shepherd: and they became meat to all the beasts of the field, when they were scattered.
6 My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and upon every high hill: yea, my flock was scattered upon all the face of the earth, and none did search or seek after them.
7 Therefore, ye shepherds, hear the word of the Lord;
8 As I live, saith the Lord God, surely because my flock became a prey, and my flock became meat to every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd, neither did my shepherds search for my flock, but the shepherds fed themselves, and fed not my flock;
9 Therefore, O ye shepherds, hear the word of the Lord;
10 Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against the shepherds; and I will require my flock at their hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the flock; neither shall the shepherds feed themselves any more; for I will deliver my flock from their mouth, that they may not be meat for them.
11 For thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep, and seek them out.
12 As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered; so will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day.
13 And I will bring them out from the people, and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land, and feed them upon the mountains of Israel by the rivers, and in all the inhabited places of the country.
14 I will feed them in a good pasture, and upon the high mountains of Israel shall their fold be: there shall they lie in a good fold, and in a fat pasture shall they feed upon the mountains of Israel.
15 I will feed my flock, and I will cause them to lie down, saith the Lord God.
16 I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick: but I will destroy the fat and the strong; I will feed them with judgment.
17 And as for you, O my flock, thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I judge between cattle and cattle, between the rams and the he goats.
18 Seemeth it a small thing unto you to have eaten up the good pasture, but ye must tread down with your feet the residue of your pastures? and to have drunk of the deep waters, but ye must foul the residue with your feet?
19 And as for my flock, they eat that which ye have trodden with your feet; and they drink that which ye have fouled with your feet.
20 Therefore thus saith the Lord God unto them; Behold, I, even I, will judge between the fat cattle and between the lean cattle.
21 Because ye have thrust with side and with shoulder, and pushed all the diseased with your horns, till ye have scattered them abroad;
22 Therefore will I save my flock, and they shall no more be a prey; and I will judge between cattle and cattle.
23 And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd.
24 And I the Lord will be their God, and my servant David a prince among them; I the Lord have spoken it.
25 And I will make with them a covenant of peace, and will cause the evil beasts to cease out of the land: and they shall dwell safely in the wilderness, and sleep in the woods.
26 And I will make them and the places round about my hill a blessing; and I will cause the shower to come down in his season; there shall be showers of blessing.
27 And the tree of the field shall yield her fruit, and the earth shall yield her increase, and they shall be safe in their land, and shall know that I am the Lord, when I have broken the bands of their yoke, and delivered them out of the hand of those that served themselves of them.
28 And they shall no more be a prey to the heathen, neither shall the beast of the land devour them; but they shall dwell safely, and none shall make them afraid.
29 And I will raise up for them a plant of renown, and they shall be no more consumed with hunger in the land, neither bear the shame of the heathen any more.
30 Thus shall they know that I the Lord their God am with them, and that they, even the house of Israel, are my people, saith the Lord God.
31 And ye my flock, the flock of my pasture, are men, and I am your God, saith the Lord God.
以西结书 34
Chinese New Version (Traditional)
譴責失職的牧者
34 耶和華的話臨到我說： 2 “人子啊！你要說預言攻擊以色列眾牧者；你要對他們說預言：‘主耶和華這樣說：以色列眾牧者有禍了！他們只顧牧養自己。牧者豈不應當牧養羊群嗎？ 3 你們吃脂油、穿羊毛，宰肥壯的羊，卻不牧養羊群。 4 瘦弱的，你們沒有養壯；患病的，你們沒有醫治；受傷的，你們沒有包紮；被趕散的，你們沒有領回；迷失的，你們沒有尋找；你們反而用強暴嚴嚴地管轄牠們。 5 牠們沒有牧人，就分散了，作了田野一切走獸的食物。 6 我的羊在眾山和各高岡上流離；牠們分散在全地上，沒有人去尋，也沒有人去找。
7 “‘因此，你們這些作牧者的，要聽耶和華的話： 8 我指著我的永生起誓，我的羊因沒有牧人，就成了獵物，作了田野一切走獸的食物。我的眾牧者不尋找我的羊；他們只顧牧養自己，卻不牧養我的羊。這是主耶和華的宣告。 9 因此，你們這些作牧者的，要聽耶和華的話。 10 主耶和華這樣說：看哪！我要與眾牧者為敵；我必向他們追討我的羊，使他們不再牧養羊群，也不再牧養自己。我必救我的羊脫離他們的口，不再作他們的食物。
耶和華親自作以色列的牧者
11 “‘因為主耶和華這樣說：看哪！我必親自尋覓我的羊，把牠們找出來。 12 牧人在他的羊群四散的時候，怎樣尋找他的羊，我也必照樣尋找我的羊。這些羊在密雲幽暗的日子四散到各處，我要把牠們從那裡救回來。 13 我必把牠們從萬族中領出來，從列邦中聚集牠們，領牠們歸回故土。我必在以色列的群山上，在眾溪水旁，在國內一切居住的地方，牧養牠們。 14 我必在美好的草場上牧養牠們，以色列的高山必作牧放牠們的地方。在那裡牠們必躺臥在美好的牧場上，牠們必在以色列群山肥美的草場上吃草。 15 我必親自牧養我的羊，親自使牠們躺臥。這是主耶和華的宣告。 16 迷失的，我必尋找；被趕散的，我必領回；受傷的，我必包紮；患病的，我必養壯；肥壯的，我卻要除滅。我也必按著公正牧養牠們。
懲罰惡羊
17 “‘我的羊啊！論到你們，主耶和華這樣說：我要在羊與羊之間，在公綿羊與公山羊之間，施行審判。 18 你們在美好的草場上吃草，還不知足嗎？剩下的草，你們竟用腳踐踏；你們喝了清水，剩下的你們竟用腳攪濁。 19 我的羊，就只能吃你們用腳踐踏過的，喝你們用腳攪濁了的。
20 “‘因此，主耶和華對牠們這樣說：看哪！我必親自在肥羊與瘦羊之間施行審判。 21 因為你們用腰用肩擁擠所有瘦弱的，又用角牴觸牠們，直到把牠們驅散到外面， 22 所以我必拯救我的羊，使牠們不再作獵物。我要在羊與羊之間施行審判。
彌賽亞的預言
23 “‘我必立一個牧人，就是我的僕人大衛，看管牠們，牧養牠們。他必牧養牠們，作牠們的牧人。 24 我耶和華必作牠們的 神，我的僕人大衛要在牠們中間作領袖。我耶和華已經說了。
25 “‘我必與牠們立平安的約，使惡獸從境內滅絕，牠們就可以在曠野安居，在樹林中躺臥。 26 我必使他們和我的山四圍都蒙福；我必按時降雨，這就是賜福的雨。 27 田野的樹木必結果子，地也必有出產；他們必在自己的土地上安居。我打斷他們所負的軛，救他們脫離奴役者的手的時候，他們就知道我是耶和華。 28 他們必不再作列國的獵物，地上的野獸也不再吞吃他們；他們必安然居住，沒有人驚嚇他們。 29 我必給他們興起一個以種植聞名的地方，使他們在境內不再被饑荒消滅，也不再擔當列國的羞辱。 30 那時，他們就知道我耶和華他們的 神與他們同在，並且知道他們以色列家是我的子民。這是主耶和華的宣告。 31 你們是我的羊，是我草場上的羊；我是你們的 神。這是耶和華的宣告。’”
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Chinese New Version (CNV). Copyright © 1976, 1992, 1999, 2001, 2005 by Worldwide Bible Society.
