Ezekiel 34
Modern English Version
A Prophecy Against Israel’s Shepherds
34 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: 2 Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and say to those shepherds, Thus says the Lord God: Woe to the shepherds of Israel who feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flock? 3 You eat the fat and clothe yourself with the wool; you kill those who are fed without feeding the flock. 4 The diseased you have not strengthened, nor have you healed that which was sick, nor have you bound up that which was broken, nor have you brought back that which was driven away, nor have you sought that which was lost. But with force and with cruelty you have subjugated them. 5 They were scattered because there was no shepherd. And they became meat to all the beasts of the field and were scattered. 6 My sheep wandered through all the mountains and upon every high hill. Indeed, My flock was scattered upon all the face of the earth, and no one searched or sought after them.
7 Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: 8 As I live, says the Lord God, surely because My flock became a prey, and My flock even became meat to every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd, nor did My shepherds search for My flock; but the shepherds fed themselves and did not feed My flock, 9 therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord. 10 Thus says the Lord God: I am against the shepherds. And I will require My flock from their hand and cause them to cease from feeding the flock. Nor shall the shepherds feed themselves anymore, for I will deliver My flock from their mouth so that they may not be meat for them.
The True Shepherd
11 For thus says the Lord God: I, even I, will search for My sheep and seek them out. 12 As a shepherd seeks out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered, so I will seek out My sheep and will deliver them out of all the places where they have been scattered in a cloudy and dark day. 13 I will bring them out from the peoples, and gather them from the countries, and 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 their grazing ground shall be. There they shall lie on good grazing ground, and in a rich pasture they shall feed upon the mountains of Israel. 15 I will feed My flock, and I will cause them to lie down, says the Lord God. 16 I will seek that which was lost and bring back that which was driven away and 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 As for you, O My flock, thus says the Lord God: I will judge between sheep and cattle, between the rams and the male goats. 18 Does it seem a small thing to you to have eaten up the good pasture, that you must tread down with your feet the rest of your pastures? Or that you should drink of the clear waters, that you must foul the rest with your feet? 19 And as for My flock, they eat that which you have trodden with your feet, and they drink that which you have fouled with your feet.
20 Therefore thus says the Lord God to them: I, even I, will judge between the fat sheep and between the lean sheep. 21 Because you have thrust with side and with shoulder, and pushed all the diseased with your horns until you have scattered them abroad, 22 therefore I will save My flock, and they shall no more be a prey. And I will judge between one sheep and another. 23 I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even My servant David. He shall feed them himself and be their shepherd. 24 I the Lord will be their God, and My servant David shall be prince among them. I the Lord have spoken.
25 I will make with them a covenant of peace and will cause the wild beasts to cease from the land so that they dwell safely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods. 26 I will make them and the places all around My hill a blessing. And I will cause the showers to come down in their season. They shall be showers of blessing. 27 The tree of the field shall yield its fruit, and the ground shall yield its increase, and they shall be safe in their land. Then they 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 who enslaved them. 28 They shall no more be a prey to the nations, nor shall the beast of the land devour them. But they shall dwell safely and no one shall make them afraid. 29 I will raise up for them a planting place of renown, and no more shall they be consumed with hunger in the land, nor shall they bear the shame of the nations anymore. 30 Thus shall they know that I, the Lord their God, am with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are My people, says the Lord God. 31 As for you, My flock, the flock of My pasture, you are men, and I am your God, says the Lord God.
Ezekiel 34
Lexham English Bible
Prophecy Concerning Israel’s Shepherds and Sheep
34 And the word of Yahweh came[a] to me, saying, 2 “Son of man,[b] 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? 3 The fat you eat, and you clothe yourself with the wool; the well-nourished animals you slaughter, but you do not feed the flock. 4 The weak you have not strengthened, and the sick you have not healed, and with respect to[c] the hurt[d] 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[e] and with ruthlessness. 5 And they were scattered without[f] a shepherd, and they were[g] as food for all the animals[h] of the field when they were scattered. 6 My flock went astray upon all of the mountains and on every high hill, and so upon all the surface of the world[i] my flock were scattered, and there was no one seeking them,[j] and there was no one searching for them.”[k] 7 Therefore, hear, O shepherds, the word of Yahweh: 8 “As I live,”[l] declares[m] the Lord Yahweh, “Surely[n] because my flock have become as plunder, and my flock became as food to[o] all the animals[p] 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,’” 9 therefore, 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[q] 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, 12 just like the caring of a shepherd for his herd on[r] 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[s] on the day of storm and stress.[t] 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. 14 I 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. 15 I myself[u] will feed my flock and I myself[v] will allow them to lie down,” declares[w] 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,[x] between the rams and between the he-goats. 18 Is it not enough for you[y] that you feed on the good pasture? And still you must trample the remainder of your pasture with your feet, and clear water[z] you drink, and the leftover water[aa] you must make muddy with your feet. 19 And my flock must graze the pasture treaded upon by[ab] your feet, and must drink the mud puddle stirred up by[ac] your feet.”
20 “‘Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh to them: “Look! I, even I will judge between fat sheep and between lean sheep, 21 because with your flank and with your shoulder you shoved, and with your horns you pushed all of the sick animals until[ad] you scattered it[ae] to the outside. 22 And so I will save my flock, and they will no longer be[af] for plunder, and I will judge between one sheep and another.[ag] 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[ah] a shepherd. 24 And I, Yahweh, I will be for them as God,[ai] and my servant David will be a leader in the midst of them. I, Yahweh, I have spoken. 25 And I will make them a covenant of peace, and I will put an end to wild animals[aj] from the land, and they will dwell in the desert safely,[ak] and they will sleep in the forest. 26 And 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;[al] they will be rains of blessing. 27 And the tree[am] of the field will give its fruit, and the land will give its produce, and they will be on their land safely,[an] 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. 28 And 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,[ao] and there will not be anyone frightening them. 29 And I will raise for them a garden plot[ap] of renown, and they will no longer[aq] be victims of famine in the land, and they will not bear any more the insult of the nations. 30 And they will know that I, Yahweh their God, am with them and they are my people, the house of Israel,” declares[ar] the Lord Yahweh, 31 “and you are my flock, the flock of my pasture. You are my people;[as] I am your God,” declares[at] the Lord Yahweh.’”
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 34:1 Literally “was”
- Ezekiel 34:2 Or “mortal,” or “son of humankind”
- Ezekiel 34:4 Literally “for”
- Ezekiel 34:4 Or “wounded”
- Ezekiel 34:4 Or “violence”
- Ezekiel 34:5 Literally “from not”
- Ezekiel 34:5 Or “became”
- Ezekiel 34:5 Hebrew “animal”
- Ezekiel 34:6 Or “earth”
- Ezekiel 34:6 Literally “there was not someone seeking them”
- Ezekiel 34:6 Literally “there was not someone searching for them”
- Ezekiel 34:8 Literally “live I”
- Ezekiel 34:8 Literally “declaration of”
- Ezekiel 34:8 Literally “if not”
- Ezekiel 34:8 Or “for”
- Ezekiel 34:8 Hebrew “animal”
- Ezekiel 34:10 Literally “not any longer”
- Ezekiel 34:12 Or “in”
- Ezekiel 34:12 Literally “which they were scattered there”
- Ezekiel 34:12 Literally “on the day of cloud and deep gloom”
- Ezekiel 34:15 Literally “I, I”
- Ezekiel 34:15 Literally “I, I”
- Ezekiel 34:15 Literally “declaration of”
- Ezekiel 34:17 Literally “small sheep and small sheep”
- Ezekiel 34:18 Literally “is it too little from you”
- Ezekiel 34:18 Literally “and settling of water”
- Ezekiel 34:18 Literally “water being left”
- Ezekiel 34:19 Hebrew “of”
- Ezekiel 34:19 Hebrew “of”
- Ezekiel 34:21 Literally “until that”
- Ezekiel 34:21 Or “them”
- Ezekiel 34:22 Literally “not they will be longer for plunder”
- Ezekiel 34:22 Literally “sheep and sheep”
- Ezekiel 34:23 Or “like”
- Ezekiel 34:24 Literally “to a God”
- Ezekiel 34:25 Hebrew “animal”
- Ezekiel 34:25 Literally “with confidence/trust”
- Ezekiel 34:26 Literally “in time his”
- Ezekiel 34:27 Or “trees”
- Ezekiel 34:27 Literally “with/in conficence”
- Ezekiel 34:28 Literally “with confidence”
- Ezekiel 34:29 Or “planting”
- Ezekiel 34:29 Literally “not any longer”
- Ezekiel 34:30 Literally “declaration of”
- Ezekiel 34:31 Literally “humanity, Mankind, human, mankind”
- Ezekiel 34:31 Literally “declaration of”
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