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? 3 You (D)eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool, you (E)slaughter the fat sheep [e]without feeding the flock. 4 Those 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. 5 They (H)scattered for lack of a shepherd, and they became (I)food for every animal of the field and scattered. 6 My 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.”’”
7 Therefore, 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, 9 therefore, 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
11 For 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. 13 I 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. 14 I 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. 15 I 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. 18 Is 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? 19 But as for My flock, they must eat what you trample with your feet, and drink what you muddy with your feet!’”
20 Therefore, this is what the Lord God says to them: “Behold, I, I Myself will also judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. 21 Since 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, 22 therefore, 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. 24 And 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. 26 I 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. 27 Also 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. 28 They 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. 29 I 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. 30 Then 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
Ezekiel 34
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Israel’s False Shepherds
34 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 Mortal, 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?(A) 3 You eat the fat; you clothe yourselves with the wool; you slaughter the fatted calves, but you do not feed the sheep.(B) 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.(C) 5 So they were scattered because there was no shepherd, and scattered they became food for all the wild animals.(D) 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.
7 Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: 8 As 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,(E) 9 therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: 10 Thus 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.(F)
God, the True Shepherd
11 For thus says the Lord God: I myself will search for my sheep and will sort them out.(G) 12 As shepherds sort out their flocks when they are among scattered sheep,[a] 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.(H) 13 I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries and bring them into their own land, and I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the watercourses, and in all the inhabited parts of the land.(I) 14 I will feed them with good pasture, and the mountain heights of Israel shall be their pasture; there they shall lie down in good grazing land, and they shall feed on rich pasture on the mountains of Israel.(J) 15 I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I will make them lie down, says the Lord God. 16 I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strays, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, but the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them with justice.(K)
17 As for you, my flock, thus says the Lord God: I shall judge between sheep and sheep, between rams and goats:(L) 18 Is it not enough for you to feed on the good pasture, but you must tread down with your feet the rest of your pasture? When you drink of clear water, must you foul the rest with your feet? 19 And must my sheep eat what you have trodden with your feet and drink what you have fouled with your feet?
20 Therefore, thus says the Lord God to them: I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. 21 Because you pushed with flank and shoulder and butted at all the weak animals with your horns until you scattered them far and wide, 22 I will save my flock, and they shall no longer be ravaged, and I will judge between sheep and sheep.
23 I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them; he shall feed them and be their shepherd.(M) 24 And I the Lord will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince among them; I the Lord have spoken.(N)
25 I will make with them a covenant of peace and banish wild animals from the land, so that they may live in the wild and sleep in the woods securely.(O) 26 I will make them and the region around my hill a blessing, and I will send down the showers in their season; they shall be showers of blessing.(P) 27 The trees of the field shall yield their fruit, and the earth shall yield its increase. They shall be secure on their soil, and they shall know that I am the Lord when I break the bars of their yoke and save them from the hands of those who enslaved them.(Q) 28 They shall no more be plunder for the nations, nor shall the animals of the land devour them; they shall live in safety, and no one shall make them afraid.(R) 29 I will provide for them a splendid vegetation so that they shall no more be consumed with hunger in the land and no longer suffer the insults of the nations.(S) 30 They shall 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 You are my sheep, the sheep of my pasture,[b] and I am your God, says the Lord God.(T)
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New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.