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34 And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying, Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, even to the shepherds, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Woe unto the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the sheep? Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill the fatlings; but ye feed not the sheep. 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 back that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost; but with force and with rigor have ye ruled over them. And they were scattered, because there was no shepherd; and they became food to all the beasts of the field, and were scattered. My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and upon every high hill: yea, my sheep were scattered upon all the face of the earth; and there was none that did search or seek after them.

Therefore, ye shepherds, hear the word of Jehovah: As I live, saith the Lord Jehovah, surely forasmuch as my sheep became a prey, and my sheep became food to all the beasts of the field, because there was no shepherd, neither did my shepherds search for my sheep, but the shepherds fed themselves, and fed not my sheep; therefore, ye shepherds, hear the word of Jehovah: 10 Thus saith the Lord Jehovah, Behold, I am against the shepherds; and I will require my sheep at their hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the sheep; neither shall the shepherds feed themselves any more; and I will deliver my sheep from their mouth, that they may not be food for them.

11 For thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I myself, even I, will search for my sheep, and will seek them out. 12 As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered abroad, so will I seek out my sheep; and I will deliver them out of all places whither they have been scattered in [a]the cloudy and dark day. 13 And I will bring them out from the peoples, and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land; and I will feed them upon the mountains of Israel, by the watercourses, and in all the inhabited places of the country. 14 I will feed them with good pasture; and upon the mountains of the height of Israel shall their fold be: there shall they lie down in a good fold; and on fat pasture shall they feed upon the mountains of Israel. 15 I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I will cause them to lie down, saith the Lord Jehovah. 16 I will seek that which was lost, and will bring back that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick: but the fat and the strong I will destroy; I will feed them in justice.

17 And as for you, O my flock, thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I judge between sheep and sheep, the rams and the he-goats. 18 Seemeth it a small thing unto you to have fed upon the good pasture, but ye must tread down with your feet the residue of your pasture? and to have drunk of the clear waters, but ye must foul the residue with your feet? 19 And as for my sheep, 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 Jehovah unto them: Behold, I, even I, will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. 21 Because ye thrust with side and with shoulder, and push 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 sheep and sheep. 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, Jehovah, will be their God, and my servant David prince among them; I, Jehovah, have spoken it.

25 And I will make with them a covenant of peace, and will cause evil beasts to cease out of the land; and they shall dwell securely 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 its season; there shall be showers of blessing. 27 And the tree of the field shall yield its fruit, and the earth shall yield its increase, and they shall be secure in their land; and they shall know that I am Jehovah, when I have broken the bars of their yoke, and have delivered them out of the hand of those that made bondmen of them. 28 And they shall no more be a prey to the nations, neither shall the beasts of the earth devour them; but they shall dwell securely, and none shall make them afraid. 29 And I will raise up unto them a [b]plantation for renown, and they shall be no more [c]consumed with famine in the land, neither bear the shame of the nations any more. 30 And they shall know that I, Jehovah, their God am with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are my people, saith the Lord Jehovah. 31 And ye my sheep, the sheep of my pasture, are men, and I am your God, saith the Lord Jehovah.

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 34:12 Hebrew the day of clouds and thick darkness.
  2. Ezekiel 34:29 Or, plant
  3. Ezekiel 34:29 Hebrew taken away.

Prophecy against the Shepherds of Israel

34 Then the word of the Lord came to me saying, “Son of man, prophesy against the (A)shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and say to [a]those shepherds, ‘Thus says the Lord [b]God, “Woe, shepherds of Israel who have been [c](B)feeding themselves! Should not the shepherds [d](C)feed the flock? You (D)eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool, you (E)slaughter the fat sheep without [e]feeding the flock. Those who are sickly you have not strengthened, the [f]diseased you have not healed, (F)the broken you have not bound up, the scattered you have not brought back, nor have you (G)sought for the lost; but with force and with severity you have dominated them. They were (H)scattered for lack of a shepherd, and they became (I)food for every beast of the field and were scattered. My flock (J)wandered 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.”’”

Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: “As I live,” declares the Lord God, “surely because My flock has become a (M)prey, My flock has even become food for all the beasts 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; therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: 10 ‘Thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I am (N)against the shepherds, and I will demand My [g]sheep [h]from them and make them (O)cease from feeding [i]sheep. So the shepherds will not [j]feed themselves anymore, but I will (P)deliver My flock from their mouth, so that they will not be food for them.”’”

The Restoration of Israel

11 For thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I Myself will (Q)search for My sheep and seek them out. 12 (R)As a shepherd [k]cares for his herd in the day when he is among his scattered [l]sheep, so I will [m](S)care for My [n]sheep and will deliver them from all the places to which 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 ground will be on the mountain heights of Israel. There they will lie down on good grazing ground and feed in [o](X)rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. 15 I will (Y)feed My flock and I will [p]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 destroy. I will (AA)feed them with judgment.

17 “As for you, My flock, thus says the Lord God, ‘Behold, I will (AB)judge between one [q]sheep and another, between the rams and the male goats. 18 Is it too (AC)slight a thing for you that you should feed in 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 [r]foul the rest with your feet? 19 As for My flock, they must eat what you tread down with your feet and drink what you [s]foul with your feet!’”

20 Therefore, thus says the Lord God to them, “Behold, I, even I, will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. 21 Because you push with side and with shoulder, and (AD)thrust at all the [t]weak with your horns until you have scattered them [u]abroad, 22 therefore, I will (AE)deliver My flock, and they will no longer be a prey; and I will judge between one sheep and another.

23 “Then I will (AF)set 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 “I will make a (AJ)covenant of peace with them and (AK)eliminate harmful beasts 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 cause (AN)showers to come down 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 increase, 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 delivered them from the hand of those who enslaved them. 28 They will no longer be a prey to the nations, and the beasts 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 [v]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, the (AX)sheep of My pasture, you are men, and I am your God,” declares the Lord God.

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 34:2 Lit them, the shepherds
  2. Ezekiel 34:2 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord, and so throughout the ch
  3. Ezekiel 34:2 Lit pasturing, pasture
  4. Ezekiel 34:2 Lit pasturing, pasture
  5. Ezekiel 34:3 Lit pasturing
  6. Ezekiel 34:4 Lit sick
  7. Ezekiel 34:10 Or (a) flock
  8. Ezekiel 34:10 Lit from their hand
  9. Ezekiel 34:10 Or (a) flock
  10. Ezekiel 34:10 Lit pasture, and so throughout the ch
  11. Ezekiel 34:12 Or seek(s) out
  12. Ezekiel 34:12 Or flock
  13. Ezekiel 34:12 Or seek(s) out
  14. Ezekiel 34:12 Or flock
  15. Ezekiel 34:14 Lit fat
  16. Ezekiel 34:15 Lit cause them to lie down
  17. Ezekiel 34:17 Or lamb
  18. Ezekiel 34:18 Lit foul by trampling
  19. Ezekiel 34:19 Lit foul by trampling
  20. Ezekiel 34:21 Or sick
  21. Ezekiel 34:21 Lit to the outside
  22. Ezekiel 34:29 Lit those gathered