Prophecy against the Shepherds of Israel

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, the [spiritual] shepherds, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “Woe (judgment is coming) to the [spiritual] shepherds of Israel who have been feeding themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flock? ³ You eat the fat [the choicest of meat], and clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the best of the livestock, but you do not feed the flock. ⁴ You have not strengthened those who are weak, you have not healed the sick, you have not bandaged the crippled, you have not brought back those gone astray, you have not looked for the lost; but you have ruled them with force and violence. ⁵ They were scattered because there was no shepherd, and when they were scattered they became food for all the predators of the field. ⁶ My flock wandered through all the mountains and on every high hill; My flock was scattered over all the face of the earth and no one searched or sought them.”’”^(A)

⁷ Therefore, you [spiritual] shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: ⁸ “As I live,” says the Lord God, “certainly because My flock has become prey, My flock has even become food for every predator 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 [spiritual] shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: ¹⁰ ‘Thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I am against the shepherds, and I will demand My flock from them and make them stop tending the flock, so that the shepherds cannot feed themselves anymore. I will rescue 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 search for My flock and seek them out. ¹² As a shepherd cares for his sheep on the day that he is among his scattered flock, so I will care for My sheep; and I will rescue them from all the places to which they were scattered on a cloudy and gloomy day. ¹³ I will bring them out from the nations and gather them from the countries and bring them to their own land; and I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the streams, and in all the inhabited places of the land. ¹⁴ I will feed them in a 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 rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. ¹⁵ I will feed My flock and I will let them lie down [to rest],” says the Lord God. ¹⁶ “I will seek the lost, bring back the scattered, bandage the crippled, and strengthen the weak and the sick; but I will destroy the fat and the strong [who have become hard-hearted and perverse]. I will feed them with judgment and punishment.^(B)

¹⁷ “And as for you, My flock, thus says the Lord God, ‘Behold, I judge between one sheep and another, between the rams and the male goats [between the righteous and the unrighteous]. ¹⁸ Is it too little a thing for you that you [unrighteous ones who are well-fed] feed in the best pasture, yet you must trample down with your feet [of wickedness] the rest of your pastures? Or that you drink clear [still] water, yet you must muddy with your feet [of wickedness] the rest [of the water]? ¹⁹ As for My flock (the righteous), they must feed on what you trample with your feet and drink what you muddy with your feet!’”

²⁰ Therefore thus says the Lord God to them, “Behold, I Myself will judge between the [well-fed] fat sheep and the lean sheep. ²¹ Because you push with side and shoulder, and gore with your horns all those that have become weak and sick until you have scattered them away, ²² therefore, I will rescue My flock, and they shall no longer be prey; and I will judge between one sheep [ungodly] and another [godly].

²³ “Then I will appoint over them one shepherd and he will feed them, [a ruler like] My servant ^[a]David; he will feed them and be their shepherd.^{(C) 24} And I the Lord will be their God, and My servant David will be a prince among them; I the Lord have spoken.

²⁵ “I will make a covenant of peace with them and will eliminate the predatory animals from the land so that they may live securely in the wilderness and sleep [safely] in the woods.^{(D) 26} I will make them and the places around My hill (Jerusalem, Zion) a blessing. And I will make showers come down in their season; there will be [abundant] showers of blessing (divine favor). ²⁷ Also the tree of the field will yield its fruit and the earth will yield its produce; and My people will be secure on their land. Then they will know [with confidence] that I am the Lord, when I have broken the bars of their yoke and have rescued them from the hand of those who made them slaves. ²⁸ They will no longer be prey to the nations, and the predators of the earth will not devour them; but they will live safely, and no one will make them afraid [in the ^[b]day of the Messiah’s reign].^{(E) 29} I will prepare for them a place renowned for planting [crops], and they will not again be victims of famine in the land, and they will not endure the insults of the nations any longer. ³⁰ Then they will know [with assurance] that I the Lord their God, am with them and that they, the house of Israel, are My people,” says the Lord God. ³¹ “As for you, My flock, the flock of My pasture, you are men, and I am your God,” says the Lord God.

Prophecy against Mount Seir

35 Moreover, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ² “Son of man, set your face against Mount Seir (Edom), and prophesy against it ³ and say to it, ‘Thus says the Lord God,

⁵ Because you [descendants of Esau] have had an everlasting hatred [for Jacob (Israel)] and you handed over the sons of Israel to the power of the sword at the time of their tragedy, at the time of their final punishment [the Babylonian conquest],^{(F) 6} therefore, as I live,” says the Lord God, “I will hand you over to bloodshed, and bloodshed will pursue you since you have not hated bloodshed, bloodshed will pursue you. ⁷ I will make Mount Seir (Edom) a ruin and a desolate wasteland and I will cut off from it the one who passes through it and the one who returns. ⁸ I will fill its mountains with its slain; those killed by the sword will fall on your hills, and in your valleys, and in all your ravines. ⁹ I will make you an everlasting desolation and your ^[c]cities will not be inhabited. Then you will know [without any doubt] that I am the Lord.

¹⁰ “Because you [descendants of Esau] have said, ‘These two nations [Israel and Judah] and these two lands shall be mine, and we will take possession of them,’ although the Lord was there, ¹¹ therefore, as I live,” says the Lord God, “I will deal with you in accordance with the anger and envy you showed because of your hatred for them; and I will make Myself known among them [as Judge] when I judge and punish you. ¹² Then you will know [without any doubt] that I am the Lord, and that I have heard all your scornful speeches which you have spoken against the mountains of Israel, saying, ‘They have been made a wasteland; they have been given to us as food.’ ¹³ So you have boasted and spoken arrogantly against Me, and have multiplied your words against Me; I have heard it.” ¹⁴ Thus says the Lord God, “While the whole earth rejoices, I will make you a wasteland. ¹⁵ As you rejoiced over the inheritance of the house of Israel because it was desolate, so I will do to you; you will be a desolate waste, O Mount Seir, and all Edom, all of it. Then they will know [without any doubt] that I am the Lord.”’

The Mountains of Israel to Be Blessed

36 “And you, son of man, prophesy to the mountains of Israel and say, ‘You mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord. ² Thus says the Lord God, “Because the enemy has said of you, ‘Aha!’ and, ‘The ancient heights have become our property,’ ³ therefore prophesy and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “For good reason they have made you a desolation, and they crushed you from every side so that you would become a possession of the rest of the nations and you have become the talk and the whispering of the people.”’” ⁴ Therefore, O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord God. Thus says the Lord God to the mountains and to the hills, to the ravines and to the valleys, to the desolate ruins and to the deserted cities which have become prey and a mockery to the rest of the nations which surround you, ⁵ therefore thus says the Lord God, “Most certainly in the fire of My jealousy (love for that which is Mine) I have spoken against the rest of the nations and against all Edom, who appropriated My land for themselves as a possession with wholehearted joy and with uttermost contempt, so that they might empty it out [and possess it] as prey.” ⁶ Therefore prophesy concerning the land of Israel and say to the mountains and to the hills, to the ravines and to the valleys, “Thus says the Lord God, ‘Behold, I have spoken in My jealousy (love for that which is Mine) and in My wrath because you have endured the [shameful] insults of the nations.’ ⁷ Therefore thus says the Lord God, ‘I have lifted up My hand and sworn [an oath] that the nations that are around you will themselves endure their [shameful] insults. ⁸ But you, O mountains of Israel, will put out your branches and bear your fruit to My people Israel; for they will soon come [home]. ⁹ For, behold, I am for you, and I will turn to you [in favor], and you shall be cultivated and sown. ¹⁰ I will multiply people on you, all the house of Israel, [indeed] all of it; the cities shall be inhabited and the ruins will be rebuilt. ¹¹ I will multiply on you man and animal; and they will increase and be fruitful. And I will cause you to be inhabited as you were formerly, and I will do better [things] for you than at your beginning. Then you will know [with great confidence] that I am the Lord. ¹² Yes, [O mountains of Israel] I will cause men—My people Israel—to walk on you and take possession of you, so that you will become their inheritance and never again bereave them of children.’

¹³ “Thus says the Lord God, ‘Because they say to you, “You [O land] are a devourer of people and have bereaved your nation of children,” ¹⁴ therefore you will no longer devour people, and no longer bereave your nation of children,’ says the Lord God. ¹⁵ I will not let you hear insults from the nations anymore, nor will you bear disgrace from the peoples any longer, nor will you cause your nation to stumble [through idolatry] any longer,” says the Lord God.’”

¹⁶ Moreover, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ¹⁷ “Son of man, when the house of Israel was living in their own land, they defiled it by their [own] behavior and by their [idolatrous] actions. Their conduct before Me was like the uncleanness of a woman during her [physical] impurity. ¹⁸ So I poured out My wrath on them for the blood which they had shed on the land and because they had defiled it with their idols. ¹⁹ Also I scattered them among the nations and they were dispersed throughout the countries. I judged and punished them in accordance with their conduct and their [idolatrous] behavior. ²⁰ When they came to the nations wherever they went, they profaned My holy name, because it was said of them, ‘These are the people of the Lord; yet they have come out of His land.’ ²¹ But I had concern for My holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the nations where they went.

Israel to Be Renewed for His Name’s Sake

²² “Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for My holy name, which you have profaned among the nations where you went. ²³ I will vindicate the holiness of My great name which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned among them. Then the nations will know [without any doubt] that I am the Lord,” says the Lord God, “when I prove Myself holy among you in their sight. ²⁴ For I will ^[d]take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land. ²⁵ Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your uncleanness and from all your idols. ²⁶ Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you, and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. ²⁷ I will put my Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My ordinances and do them. ²⁸ You will live in the land that I gave to your fathers; and you will be My people, and I will be your God. ²⁹ I will also save you from all your uncleanness, and I will call for the grain and make it abundant, and I will not bring famine on you. ³⁰ I will multiply the fruit of the tree and the produce of the field, so that you will not suffer again the disgrace of famine among the nations. ³¹ Then you will remember [clearly] your [own] evil ways and your deeds that were not good, and you will loathe yourselves in your own sight for your sins and for your outrageous atrocities. ³² I am not doing this for your sake,” says the Lord God. “Let that be known to you. Be ashamed and humiliated for your [wicked] ways, O house of Israel!”

³³ ‘Thus says the Lord God, “On the day that I cleanse you from all your sins I will also cause the cities [of Israel] to be inhabited, and the ruins will be rebuilt. ³⁴ The desolate land will be cultivated instead of being a desolation in the sight of everyone who passes by. ³⁵ Then they will say, ‘This land that was deserted and desolate has become like the garden of Eden; and the waste, desolate, and ruined cities are fortified and inhabited.’ ³⁶ Then the nations that are left around you will know that I the Lord have rebuilt the ruined places and planted that which was desolate. I the Lord have spoken, and will do it.”

³⁷ ‘Thus says the Lord God, “This too I will let the house of Israel ask Me to do for them: I will increase their people like a flock. ³⁸ Like the flock for sacrifices, like the flock at Jerusalem during her appointed feasts, so will the desolate cities be filled with flocks of people. Then they will know [with confident assurance] that I am the Lord.”’”