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Israel’s False Shepherds

34 The word of the Lord came to me: 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) You eat the fat; you clothe yourselves with the wool; you slaughter the fatted calves, but you do not feed the sheep.(B) 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) So they were scattered because there was no shepherd, and scattered they became food for all the wild animals.(D) 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.

Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: 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) 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)

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Prophecy Concerning Israel’s Shepherds and Sheep

34 And the word of Yahweh came[a] to me, saying, “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? The fat you eat, and you clothe yourself with the wool; the well-nourished animals you slaughter, but you do not feed the flock. 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. 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. 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] Therefore, hear, O shepherds, the word of Yahweh: 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,’” 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.”

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Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 34:1 Literally “was”
  2. Ezekiel 34:2 Or “mortal,” or “son of humankind”
  3. Ezekiel 34:4 Literally “for”
  4. Ezekiel 34:4 Or “wounded”
  5. Ezekiel 34:4 Or “violence”
  6. Ezekiel 34:5 Literally “from not”
  7. Ezekiel 34:5 Or “became”
  8. Ezekiel 34:5 Hebrew “animal”
  9. Ezekiel 34:6 Or “earth”
  10. Ezekiel 34:6 Literally “there was not someone seeking them
  11. Ezekiel 34:6 Literally “there was not someone searching for them
  12. Ezekiel 34:8 Literally “live I”
  13. Ezekiel 34:8 Literally “declaration of”
  14. Ezekiel 34:8 Literally “if not”
  15. Ezekiel 34:8 Or “for”
  16. Ezekiel 34:8 Hebrew “animal”
  17. Ezekiel 34:10 Literally “not any longer”