Beginning

Israel’s False Shepherds

34 A message came from the Lord for me, and it had this to say: ² “Son of Man, prophesy against Israel’s shepherds. Tell those shepherds, ‘This is what the Lord God says:

“Woe to you shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves and not the sheep. Shouldn’t shepherds feed the sheep? ³ You’re eating the best parts,^[a] clothing yourselves with the wool, and slaughtering the home-grown sheep without having fed the sheep! ⁴ You haven’t strengthened the weak, treated the sick, set broken bones, regathered the scattered, or looked for the lost. Instead, you’ve dominated them with brutal force and ruthlessness.

⁵ “Since they have no shepherd, they have been scattered around and have become prey for all sorts of wild animals. How scattered they are! ⁶ My sheep have gone wandering on all of the mountains, on all of the hills, and throughout every high place in the whole world, with no one to look for them or go out in search of them.

⁷ “Therefore listen to what the Lord says, you shepherds: ⁸ ‘As certainly as I’m alive and living, my sheep have truly become victims, food for all of the wild animals because there are no shepherds. My shepherds did not go searching for my flock. Instead, the shepherds fed themselves, and my flock they would not feed!’

⁹ “Therefore, you shepherds, listen to what the Lord says: ¹⁰ ‘This is what the Lord God says: “Watch out, I’m coming after you shepherds! I’m going to demand my sheep back from them^[b] and fire them as shepherds. The shepherds won’t be shepherds anymore when I snatch my flock right out of their mouths so they can’t be eaten by them anymore.”’”

The Coming True Shepherd

¹¹ “This is what the Lord says: ‘Watch me! I’m going to search for my flock. I’ll watch over them myself. ¹² Just as a shepherd looks after his flock during the day time while he is with them, so also I’m going to watch over my sheep, delivering them from every place where they’ve been scattered during the times of gloom and doom.^{[c] 13} I’m going to bring them out from foreign^[d] nations and from foreign lands. Then I’ll bring them to their own land and feed them in Israel—on the mountains, in their valleys, and in all of their settlements throughout the land. ¹⁴ I’ll feed them in excellent pastures, and even the very heights of Israel’s mountains will serve as verdant pastures for them in which they’ll rest and feed—yes, even on the fertile mountains of Israel! ¹⁵ I will feed my sheep and give them rest,’ declares the Lord God. ¹⁶ ‘I’m going to seek both the lost as well as the scattered, and bring them both back so their broken bones can be set and the sick can be healed. But in righteousness I’ll exterminate the fat and the stiff-necked.’”

God’s Message to His Sheep

¹⁷ “Now as for you, my flock, this is what the Lord God says: ‘Watch out! I’m going to judge between one sheep and another, and between the rams and the goats. ¹⁸ Is it such an insignificant thing to you that you’re feeding in good pastures but trampling down the other pastures with your feet? Or that as you’re drinking from the clear streams you’re muddying the rest with your feet? ¹⁹ My flock is grazing on what you’ve been treading down with your feet and they’re drinking what you’ve been making muddy with your feet!’

²⁰ “Therefore this is what the Lord God says to them: ‘Watch me! I’m going to judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep, ²¹ since you’ve been bumping aside all the weaker sheep with your backsides and shoulders, butting them with your horns until they’re scattered around outside. ²² That’s how I’ll save my sheep so they won’t be plundered any longer. I’m going to judge between one sheep and another.’”

God’s Shepherd: His Servant David

²³ “‘Then I’ll install one shepherd for them—my servant David—and he will feed them, will be there for them, and will serve as their shepherd. ²⁴ I, the Lord, will be their God, and my servant David will rule among them as Prince.’ I, the Lord, have spoken this.

²⁵ “I’m going to enter into a covenant with them, one of peace, and I’ll eliminate wild beasts from the land so they can live securely in the wilderness and sleep in the forests. ²⁶ I’m going to make^[e] them and everything that surrounds my hill^[f] a blessing. I’ll send down the rain! At the appropriate time there will be a rainstorm of blessing! ²⁷ I’ll bring fruit to the trees in the orchards, the land will yield its produce, they will live securely on their land, and they will learn that I am the Lord, when I break the bar that has been their yoke and deliver them from the control of those who have enslaved them. ²⁸ They will no longer be plundered by the nations, and wild animals will no longer devour them. They will settle down confidently, with nothing to frighten them. ²⁹ I’m going to prepare for them the best of gardening spots. They will no longer live as victims in a land of starvation, nor will they have to bear the insults of the international community. ³⁰ That’s when they’ll learn that I, the Lord their God, am with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are my people,’ declares the Lord God. ³¹ ‘And as for you, my sheep, the flock that I’m pasturing, you are mankind, and I am your God,’ declares the Lord God.”

Prophecy against Mount Seir

35 A message came to me from the Lord and it went like this: ² “Son of Man, turn your attention^[g] toward Mount Seir^[h] and begin to prophesy against it. ³ Tell them,^[i] ‘This is what the Lord God says:

⁵ “Because of your undying hatred, you kept on making the Israelis experience abuse^[j] during the time of their calamity, even when they were in their final stages^[k] of punishment, ⁶ therefore as I’m alive and living,” declares the Lord God, “I’m turning you over to bloodshed,^[l] and bloodshed will certainly overtake you, since you never have hated shedding blood. That’s why bloodshed will certainly pursue you. ⁷ I’m turning Mount Seir over to ruin and desolation. I’m going to eliminate everyone who comes and goes, ⁸ and I’ll fill that^[m] mountain with the dead. Those who die by violence^[n] will cover your hills, and fill your valleys and all your ravines! ⁹ I will turn you into an everlasting wasteland, and your cities will never be inhabited. Then you’ll learn that I am the Lord!

¹⁰ “Because you have claimed, ‘These two nations and these two lands are going to belong to me, and we will take possession of them, even though the Lord is there,’ ¹¹ therefore as I’m alive and living” declares the Lord God, “I’m going to deal with you as your anger deserves. When I judge you, I’ll treat you like you did the Israelis^[o]—that is, with the same kind of envy that motivated your constant hatred of them. ¹² That’s how you’ll know that I, the Lord, have heard every loathsome, reviling thing that you’ve had to say against the mountains of Israel, such as, ‘They’re desolate, and we’ll eat them for dinner!’ ¹³ Not only that, you’ve arrogantly reviled me many times over, and I’ve heard every word!

¹⁴ “So this is what the Lord God says: ‘Just as the earth rejoices, I’m going to turn you into a desolate wasteland. ¹⁵ Just as you rejoiced when Israel’s inheritance became desolate, I’m going to do the same thing to you. Mount Seir, you and Edom—all of you—will become a desolate wasteland.’ Then they will learn that I am the Lord.”

Prophecy to Israel’s Mountains

36 “Now as for you, Son of Man, prophesy to Israel’s mountains and tell them, ‘Listen to this message from the Lord, you mountains of Israel: ² “This is what the Lord God says: ‘The enemy has been saying about you, “Good! The ancient heights are back in our possession!”’”’

³ “Therefore this is what you are to prophesy: ‘Here’s what the Lord God says, “You’ve been turned into a desolate wasteland and crushed by everyone who surrounds you for a very, very good reason. You’ve become the property of all the other nations and you’ve become the object of gossip and whispering campaigns of the nations.”’”

⁴ “Therefore listen to what the Lord God has to say, you mountains of Israel: ‘This is what the Lord God says to the mountains, to the hills, to the waterways, to the valleys, to the desolate wastelands, and to the abandoned cities that have become an object of derision to the mountains that surround you: ⁵ “‘Because this is what the Lord God says: “Motivated by my burning zealousness, I have spoken against the rest of the surrounding nations, including Edom, who confiscated my land, taking possession of it with joyful enthusiasm and with animal-like malice, in order to plunder Israel’s^[p] pastures.’ ⁶ “Therefore prophesy concerning the land of Israel and speak to its mountains, hills, ravines, and valleys. Tell them, ‘This is what the Lord God says: “Pay attention! In my zealous anger I’m speaking because you’ve had to endure the mockery of the world’s nations.”’”

⁷ “Therefore this is what the Lord God says: “I hereby raise my hand to swear this oath: the nations that surround you will have their own mockery to endure! ⁸ But you mountains of Israel are going to sprout branches and bear fruit for my people Israel, because they’ll be coming soon.’”

The Future of Israel’s Mountains

⁹ “Watch me! I’m on your side! I’ll be turning in your direction, and you mountains^[q] will be plowed and planted. ¹⁰ I’m going to make the entire house of Israel grow—every single member^[r]—and their cities will be inhabited with all the ruins rebuilt. ¹¹ I’ll make both the population and the livestock increase throughout your territories. They’ll increase and be fruitful. I’ll make your territories to be settled like you were in the past, and you will be treated better than you ever were before. At that time you will know that I am the Lord.

¹² “I’ll lead my people, my nation of Israel, across you mountains,^[s] and they will take possession of you again, and you’ll be their inheritance once more. Never again will you leave them robbed of children.

¹³ “This is what the Lord God says: ‘Because some have been saying to you, “You mountains^[t] have been devouring human beings and leaving people childless,” ¹⁴ therefore you will no longer devour human beings or leave their nation childless,’ declares the Lord God. ¹⁵ ‘I won’t let you hear other people mock you, and no nation will ever make you childless again,’ declares the Lord God.”

Israel’s Past Punishments

¹⁶ This message came to me from the Lord: ¹⁷ “Son of Man, when the house of Israel was living on their own land, they defiled it with their lifestyles^[u] and behavior; they were as disqualified to be with me as a menstruating woman is to you.^{[v] 18} So I poured out my anger on them because of all the bloodshed throughout the land and because they had defiled it with their idolatry. ¹⁹ Then I scattered them among the nations, dispersing them to other lands, just as their lifestyles and behavior deserved. That’s how I judged them. ²⁰ Nevertheless, when they arrived in those nations, they continued to profane my holy name. It was said about them, ‘These are the Lord’s people, even though they’ve left his land.’ ²¹ I’ve been concerned about my holy reputation,^[w] which the house of Israel has been defiling throughout all of the nations where they’ve gone.”

The Coming Renewal of Israel

²² “Therefore tell the house of Israel, ‘This is what the Lord God says: “I’m not about to act for your sake, you house of Israel, but for the sake of my holy reputation, which you have been defiling throughout all of the nations where you’ve gone. ²³ I’m going to affirm^[x] my great reputation that has been defiled among the nations (that is, that you have defiled in their midst), and those people will learn that I am the Lord,” declares the Lord God, “when I affirm my holiness in front of their very eyes. ²⁴ I’m going to remove you from the nations, gather you from all of the territories, and bring you all back to your own land. ²⁵ I’ll sprinkle pure water on you all, and you’ll be cleansed from your impurity and from all of your idols.”

²⁶ “‘“I’m going to give you a new heart, and I’m going to give you a new spirit within all of your deepest parts. I’ll remove that rock-hard heart of yours^[y] and replace it with one that’s sensitive to me.^{[z] 27} I’ll place my spirit within you, empowering you to live according to^[aa] my regulations and to keep my just decrees. ²⁸ You’ll live in the land that I gave to your ancestors, you’ll be my people, and I will be your God. ²⁹ In addition, I’ll deliver you from everything that makes you unclean. I’ll call out to the grain you plant, ordering it to produce abundant yields, and I will never bring famine in your direction. ³⁰ I’ll increase the yields of your fruit trees and crops so that you’ll never again experience the disgrace of famine that occurs in other nations. ³¹ Then you’ll remember your lifestyles and practices that were not good. You’ll hate yourselves as you look at your own iniquities and loathsome practices. ³² I won’t be doing any of this for your sake,” declares the Lord God, “so keep that in mind. Be ashamed and frustrated because of your behavior, you house of Israel!”’”

The Restoration of Israel’s Cities

³³ “This is what the Lord God says: ‘At the same time^[ab] that I cleanse you from all of your guilt, I’ll make your cities become inhabited again and the desolate wastelands will be rebuilt. ³⁴ The desolate fields will be cultivated, replacing the former wasteland that everyone who passed by in times past^[ac] had noticed. ³⁵ They will say, “This wasteland has become like the garden of Eden, and what used to be desolate ruins are now fortified and inhabited.” ³⁶ Then the surviving people that live around you will learn that I, the Lord, have rebuilt these ruins and have cultivated these pastures that used to be desolate wastelands. I, the Lord, have spoken this, and I’m going to bring it about!’

³⁷ “This is what the Lord God has to say: ‘I’m going to allow the house of Israel to ask anything they want from me, including this: I’m going to increase their population as a shepherd increases his flock. ³⁸ The desolate cities will be filled with flocks of human beings, just like Jerusalem used to be filled with flocks of sheep during the times of the appointed festivals. Then they will know that I am the Lord.’”