Ezekiel 33:12-34:21

New King James Version

The Fairness of God’s Judgment

¹² “Therefore you, O son of man, say to the children of your people: ‘The ^(A)righteousness of the righteous man shall not deliver him in the day of his transgression; as for the wickedness of the wicked, ^(B)he shall not fall because of it in the day that he turns from his wickedness; nor shall the righteous be able to live because of his righteousness in the day that he sins.’ ¹³ When I say to the righteous that he shall surely live, ^(C)but he trusts in his own righteousness and commits iniquity, none of his righteous works shall be remembered; but because of the iniquity that he has committed, he shall die. ¹⁴ Again, ^(D)when I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ if he turns from his sin and does ^[a]what is lawful and ^[b]right, ¹⁵ if the wicked ^(E)restores the pledge, ^(F)gives back what he has stolen, and walks in ^(G)the statutes of life without committing iniquity, he shall surely live; he shall not die. ^16 (H)None of his sins which he has committed shall be remembered against him; he has done what is lawful and right; he shall surely live.

^17 (I)“Yet the children of your people say, ‘The way of the Lord is not ^[c]fair.’ But it is their way which is not fair! ^18 (J)When the righteous turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, he shall die because of it. ¹⁹ But when the wicked turns from his wickedness and does what is lawful and right, he shall live because of it. ²⁰ Yet you say, ^(K)‘The way of the Lord is not ^[d]fair.’ O house of Israel, I will judge every one of you according to his own ways.”

The Fall of Jerusalem

²¹ And it came to pass in the twelfth year ^(L)of our captivity, in the tenth month, on the fifth day of the month, ^(M)that one who had escaped from Jerusalem came to me and said, ^(N)“The city has been ^[e]captured!”

²² Now ^(O)the hand of the Lord had been upon me the evening before the man came who had escaped. And He had ^(P)opened my mouth; so when he came to me in the morning, my mouth was opened, and I was no longer mute.

The Cause of Judah’s Ruin

²³ Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying: ²⁴ “Son of man, ^(Q)they who inhabit those ^(R)ruins in the land of Israel are saying, ^(S)‘Abraham was only one, and he inherited the land. ^(T)But we are many; the land has been given to us as a ^(U)possession.’

²⁵ “Therefore say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God: ^(V)“You eat meat with blood, you ^(W)lift up your eyes toward your idols, and ^(X)shed blood. Should you then possess the ^(Y)land? ²⁶ You rely on your sword, you commit abominations, and you ^(Z)defile one another’s wives. Should you then possess the land?” ’

²⁷ “Say thus to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “As I live, surely ^(AA)those who are in the ruins shall fall by the sword, and the one who is in the open field ^(AB)I will give to the beasts to be devoured, and those who are in the strongholds and ^(AC)caves shall die of the pestilence. ^28 (AD)For I will make the land most desolate, ^[f]her ^(AE)arrogant strength shall cease, and ^(AF)the mountains of Israel shall be so desolate that no one will pass through. ²⁹ Then they shall know that I am the Lord, when I have made the land most desolate because of all their abominations which they have committed.” ’

Hearing and Not Doing

³⁰ “As for you, son of man, the children of your people are talking about you beside the walls and in the doors of the houses; and they ^(AG)speak to one another, everyone saying to his brother, ‘Please come and hear what the word is that comes from the Lord.’ ³¹ So ^(AH)they come to you as people do, they ^(AI)sit before you as My people, and they ^(AJ)hear your words, but they do not do them; ^(AK)for with their mouth they show much love, but ^(AL)their hearts pursue their own gain. ³² Indeed you are to them as a very lovely song of one who has a pleasant voice and can play well on an instrument; for they hear your words, but they do ^(AM)not do them. ^33 (AN)And when this comes to pass—surely it will come—then ^(AO)they will know that a prophet has been among them.”

Irresponsible 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 them, ‘Thus says the Lord God to the shepherds: ^(AP)“Woe to the shepherds of Israel who feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flocks? ^3 (AQ)You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool; you ^(AR)slaughter the fatlings, but you do not feed the flock. ^4 (AS)The weak you have not strengthened, nor have you healed those who were sick, nor bound up the broken, nor brought back what was driven away, nor ^(AT)sought what was lost; but with ^(AU)force and ^[g]cruelty you have ruled them. ^5 (AV)So they were ^(AW)scattered because there was no shepherd; ^(AX)and they became food for all the beasts of the field when they were scattered. ⁶ My sheep ^(AY)wandered through all the mountains, and on every high hill; yes, My flock was scattered over the whole face of the earth, and no one was seeking or searching for 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 ^(AZ)became food for every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd, nor did My shepherds search for My flock, ^(BA)but the shepherds fed themselves and did not feed My flock”— ⁹ therefore, O shepherds, hear the word of the Lord! ¹⁰ Thus says the Lord God: “Behold, I am ^(BB)against the shepherds, and ^(BC)I will require My flock at their hand; I will cause them to cease feeding the sheep, and the shepherds shall ^(BD)feed themselves no more; for I will ^(BE)deliver My flock from their mouths, that they may no longer be food for them.”

God, the True Shepherd

¹¹ ‘For thus says the Lord God: “Indeed I Myself will search for My sheep and seek them out. ¹² As a ^(BF)shepherd seeks out his flock on the day he is among his scattered sheep, so will I seek out My sheep and deliver them from all the places where they were scattered on ^(BG)a cloudy and dark day. ¹³ And ^(BH)I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land; I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, ^[h]in the valleys and in all the inhabited places of the country. ^14 (BI)I will feed them in good pasture, and their fold shall be on the high mountains of Israel. ^(BJ)There they shall lie down in a good fold and feed in rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. ¹⁵ I will feed My flock, and I will make them lie down,” says the Lord God. ^16 (BK)“I will seek what was lost and bring back what was driven away, bind up the broken and strengthen what was sick; but I will destroy ^(BL)the fat and the strong, and feed them ^(BM)in judgment.”

¹⁷ ‘And as for you, O My flock, thus says the Lord God: ^(BN)“Behold, I shall judge between sheep and sheep, between rams and goats. ¹⁸ Is it too little for you to have eaten up the good pasture, that you must tread down with your feet the ^[i]residue of your pasture—and to have drunk of the clear waters, that you must foul the residue with your feet? ¹⁹ And as for My flock, they eat what you have trampled with your feet, and they drink what you have fouled with your feet.”

²⁰ ‘Therefore thus says the Lord God to them: ^(BO)“Behold, I Myself will judge between the fat and the lean sheep. ²¹ Because you have pushed with side and shoulder, butted all the weak ones with your horns, and scattered them abroad,