Ezekiel 33:23-34:31

New King James Version

The Cause of Judah’s Ruin

²³Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying: ²⁴“Son of man, ^(A)they who inhabit those ^(B)ruins in the land of Israel are saying, ^(C)‘Abraham was only one, and he inherited the land. ^(D)But we are many; the land has been given to us as a ^(E)possession.’

²⁵“Therefore say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God: ^(F)“You eat meat with blood, you ^(G)lift up your eyes toward your idols, and ^(H)shed blood. Should you then possess the ^(I)land? ²⁶You rely on your sword, you commit abominations, and you ^(J)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 ^(K)those who are in the ruins shall fall by the sword, and the one who is in the open field ^(L)I will give to the beasts to be devoured, and those who are in the strongholds and ^(M)caves shall die of the pestilence. ²⁸^(N)For I will make the land most desolate, ^[a]her ^(O)arrogant strength shall cease, and ^(P)the mountains of Israel shall be so desolate that no one will pass through. ²⁹Then 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 ^(Q)speak to one another, everyone saying to his brother, ‘Please come and hear what the word is that comes from the Lord.’ ³¹So ^(R)they come to you as people do, they ^(S)sit before you as My people, and they ^(T)hear your words, but they do not do them; ^(U)for with their mouth they show much love, but ^(V)their hearts pursue their own gain. ³²Indeed 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 ^(W)not do them. ³³^(X)And when this comes to pass—surely it will come—then ^(Y)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: ^(Z)“Woe to the shepherds of Israel who feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flocks? ³^(AA)You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool; you ^(AB)slaughter the fatlings, but you do not feed the flock. ⁴^(AC)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 ^(AD)sought what was lost; but with ^(AE)force and ^[b]cruelty you have ruled them. ⁵^(AF)So they were ^(AG)scattered because there was no shepherd; ^(AH)and they became food for all the beasts of the field when they were scattered. ⁶My sheep ^(AI)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 ^(AJ)became food for every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd, nor did My shepherds search for My flock, ^(AK)but the shepherds fed themselves and did not feed My flock”— ⁹therefore, O shepherds, hear the word of the Lord! ¹⁰Thus says the Lord God: “Behold, I am ^(AL)against the shepherds, and ^(AM)I will require My flock at their hand; I will cause them to cease feeding the sheep, and the shepherds shall ^(AN)feed themselves no more; for I will ^(AO)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. ¹²As a ^(AP)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 ^(AQ)a cloudy and dark day. ¹³And ^(AR)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, ^[c]in the valleys and in all the inhabited places of the country. ¹⁴^(AS)I will feed them in good pasture, and their fold shall be on the high mountains of Israel. ^(AT)There they shall lie down in a good fold and feed in rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. ¹⁵I will feed My flock, and I will make them lie down,” says the Lord God. ¹⁶^(AU)“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 ^(AV)the fat and the strong, and feed them ^(AW)in judgment.”

¹⁷‘And as for you, O My flock, thus says the Lord God: ^(AX)“Behold, I shall judge between sheep and sheep, between rams and goats. ¹⁸Is it too little for you to have eaten up the good pasture, that you must tread down with your feet the ^[d]residue of your pasture—and to have drunk of the clear waters, that you must foul the residue with your feet? ¹⁹And 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: ^(AY)“Behold, I Myself will judge between the fat and the lean sheep. ²¹Because you have pushed with side and shoulder, butted all the weak ones with your horns, and scattered them abroad, ²²therefore I will save My flock, and they shall no longer be a prey; and I will judge between sheep and sheep. ²³I will establish one ^(AZ)shepherd over them, and he shall feed them—^(BA)My servant David. He shall feed them and be their shepherd. ²⁴And ^(BB)I, the Lord, will be their God, and My servant David ^(BC)a prince among them; I, the Lord, have spoken.

²⁵^(BD)“I will make a covenant of peace with them, and ^(BE)cause wild beasts to cease from the land; and they ^(BF)will dwell safely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods. ²⁶I will make them and the places all around ^(BG)My hill ^(BH)a blessing; and I will ^(BI)cause showers to come down in their season; there shall be ^(BJ)showers of blessing. ²⁷Then ^(BK)the trees of the field shall yield their fruit, and the earth shall yield her increase. They shall be safe in their land; and they shall know that I am the Lord, when I have ^(BL)broken the bands of their yoke and delivered them from the hand of those who ^(BM)enslaved them. ²⁸And they shall no longer be a prey for the nations, nor shall beasts of the land devour them; but ^(BN)they shall dwell safely, and no one shall make them afraid. ²⁹I will raise up for them a ^(BO)garden^[e] of renown, and they shall ^(BP)no longer be consumed with hunger in the land, ^(BQ)nor bear the shame of the Gentiles anymore. ³⁰Thus they shall know that ^(BR)I, the Lord their God, am with them, and they, the house of Israel, are ^(BS)My people,” says the Lord God.’