Beginning
Prophecy Concerning Israel’s Shepherds and Sheep
34 And the word of Yahweh came[a] to me, saying, 2 “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? 3 The fat you eat, and you clothe yourself with the wool; the well-nourished animals you slaughter, but you do not feed the flock. 4 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. 5 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. 6 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] 7 Therefore, hear, O shepherds, the word of Yahweh: 8 “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,’” 9 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.”
11 “‘For thus says the Lord Yahweh: “Look! I, even I, will seek my flock, and I will look after them, 12 just like the caring of a shepherd for his herd on[r] the day when he is in the midst of his scattered flock. Thus I will look after my flock, and I will deliver them from all the places to which they were scattered[s] on the day of storm and stress.[t] 13 And I will bring them out from the peoples, and I will gather them from the countries, and I will bring them to their soil, and I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, in the valleys, and in all of the settlements of the land. 14 I will feed them in good pasture, and their pasture will be on the mountains of the heights of Israel; there they will lie down in good pasture, and on lush pasture they will feed on the mountains of Israel. 15 I myself[u] will feed my flock and I myself[v] will allow them to lie down,” declares[w] the Lord Yahweh. 16 “I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the scattered, and I will bind up the one hurt, and I will strengthen the sick; and the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed her with justice.”
17 “‘And you, my flock, thus says the Lord Yahweh: “Look! I am judging between one sheep and another,[x] between the rams and between the he-goats. 18 Is it not enough for you[y] that you feed on the good pasture? And still you must trample the remainder of your pasture with your feet, and clear water[z] you drink, and the leftover water[aa] you must make muddy with your feet. 19 And my flock must graze the pasture treaded upon by[ab] your feet, and must drink the mud puddle stirred up by[ac] your feet.”
20 “‘Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh to them: “Look! I, even I will judge between fat sheep and between lean sheep, 21 because with your flank and with your shoulder you shoved, and with your horns you pushed all of the sick animals until[ad] you scattered it[ae] to the outside. 22 And so I will save my flock, and they will no longer be[af] for plunder, and I will judge between one sheep and another.[ag] 23 And I will set up over them one shepherd, and he will feed them; that is, my servant David. He will feed them, and he will be for them as[ah] a shepherd. 24 And I, Yahweh, I will be for them as God,[ai] and my servant David will be a leader in the midst of them. I, Yahweh, I have spoken. 25 And I will make them a covenant of peace, and I will put an end to wild animals[aj] from the land, and they will dwell in the desert safely,[ak] and they will sleep in the forest. 26 And I will make them and the area all around my hill a blessing, and I will let the rain go down at its appointed time;[al] they will be rains of blessing. 27 And the tree[am] of the field will give its fruit, and the land will give its produce, and they will be on their land safely,[an] and they will know that I am Yahweh when I break their yoke, and I will deliver them from the hand of the ones enslaving them. 28 And they will not be any longer plunder to the nations, and the animals of the land will not eat them, and they will dwell in safety,[ao] and there will not be anyone frightening them. 29 And I will raise for them a garden plot[ap] of renown, and they will no longer[aq] be victims of famine in the land, and they will not bear any more the insult of the nations. 30 And they will know that I, Yahweh their God, am with them and they are my people, the house of Israel,” declares[ar] the Lord Yahweh, 31 “and you are my flock, the flock of my pasture. You are my people;[as] I am your God,” declares[at] the Lord Yahweh.’”
Prophecy Directed at Edom
35 And the word of Yahweh came[au] to me, saying,[av] 2 “Son of man,[aw] set your face against the mountain of Seir and prophesy against it, 3 and you must say to it, ‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh: “Look! I am against you, mountain of Seir, and I will stretch out my hand against you, and I will make you a desolation and a wasteland. 4 Your cities I will make ruins, and you will be a desolation, and then you will know that I am Yahweh, 5 because there has been to you an ancient hostility,[ax] and you handed over the Israelites[ay] to the power of the sword at the time of their disaster, at the time of their final punishment.[az] 6 Therefore as I live,”[ba] declares[bb] the Lord Yahweh, “Certainly to blood guilt I will prepare you and blood[bc] will pursue; since[bd] you did not hate blood,[be] it will pursue you. 7 And I will make the mountain of Seir into a desolation and ruin, and I will cut off from it both he who is crossing over and he who is returning. 8 And I will fill its mountains with its slain; your hills and your valleys and all of your watercourses, the slain by the sword will fall in them. 9 An everlasting desolation[bf] I will make you, and your cities will not return, and you will know that I am Yahweh. 10 I do this because of your saying,[bg] ‘The two nations and the two lands, they will be mine,[bh] and we will take possession of it,’ and yet Yahweh was there. 11 Therefore, as I live,”[bi] declares[bj] the Lord Yahweh, “so I will deal with you according to your anger and according to your jealousy that you did,[bk] because of your hatred against them, and I will make myself known among them when I judge you. 12 And you will know that I, Yahweh, I have heard all of your contemptible words that you said[bl] against the mountains of Israel, saying,[bm] ‘They will be desolate; they are given to us as food.’ 13 And you magnified yourself against me with your insolent speech,[bn] and you spoke voluminously against me with your words—I heard! 14 Thus the Lord Yahweh says, ‘As the whole world rejoices,[bo] I will make you a desolation. 15 Like your rejoicing over the inheritance of the house of Israel[bp] because[bq] it was desolate, I will do to you; you will be a desolation, mountain of Seir and all of Edom, indeed all of it; and they will know that I am Yahweh.’”’
Prophecy to the Mountains of Israel and of Israel’s Restoration
36 “And you, son of man,[br] prophesy to the mountains of Israel; and so you must say, ‘Mountains of Israel, hear the word of Yahweh; 2 thus says the Lord Yahweh: “Because the enemy said concerning you, ‘Ah, and[bs] the ancient high places will be to us as a possession!’”’ 3 Therefore prophesy, and you must say, ‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh: “Because indeed[bt] when you were desolate,[bu] then they crushed you from all around, so that you became a possession to the remainder[bv] of the nations, and you became a byword and object of slander for the people.”[bw] 4 Therefore, mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord Yahweh; thus says the Lord Yahweh to the mountains and to the hills, to the river channels and to the valleys and to the ruins that are desolate and to the cities that are abandoned and that have become as plunder and as scorn for the remainder[bx] of the nations that are from all around. 5 Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: “Certainly[by] in the fire of my passion I spoke against the rest of the nations and against all[bz] Edom, who made my land as a possession, because of[ca] its pastureland for plunder, for themselves in all of the joy of their whole heart and in their inner disdain.”[cb] 6 Therefore prophesy against the land of Israel, and you must say to the mountains and to the hills, to the river channels and to the valleys, thus says the Lord Yahweh: “Look! I spoke in my passion and in my anger the insult of the peoples you have endured.” 7 Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: “I swear[cc] certainly[cd] that the nations that are all around you,[ce] they indeed will endure their disgrace.
8 “‘“But you, mountains of Israel, your branch you will shoot, and your fruit you will carry[cf] for my people Israel, for they are soon to come. 9 For look! I am for you, and I will turn you, and you will be tilled, and you will be planted. 10 And I will cause your population[cg] to increase for you, all of the house of Israel, all of it, and the towns will be inhabited, and the ruins will be built. 11 And I will cause your population[ch] to increase for you, and domestic animals, even they will be numerous, and they will be fruitful, and I will cause you to be inhabited like your ancient times,[ci] and I will do good things more than in your former times, and you will know that I am Yahweh. 12 And I will send over you my people Israel, and they will take possession of you, and you will be for them as an inheritance, and you will no longer bereave them of their children.”[cj]
13 “‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh, because they are saying to you, “You are an eater of humans,[ck] and you are one who makes childless[cl] your people.”[cm] 14 Therefore humans[cn] you will not eat any longer, and your nation you will not make childless[co] any longer,” declares[cp] the Lord Yahweh. 15 “And I will not let you hear any longer the insult of the nations, and the disgrace of the peoples you will not bear any longer; you yourself will not cause your nation to stumble,” declares[cq] the Lord Yahweh.’”
16 And the word of Yahweh came[cr] to me, saying,[cs] 17 “Son of man,[ct] the house of Israel, they were dwelling on their soil, and they defiled it with their way and with their deeds; like the uncleanness of menstruation was their way before me.[cu] 18 And I poured out my rage on them for the blood that they poured on the land and for their idols with which they defiled it. 19 And I scattered them among the nations, and I dispersed them in the countries according to their way, and according to their deeds I judged them. 20 And they came[cv] into the nations to which they went,[cw] and they profaned my holy name[cx] when they said to them, ‘These are the people of Yahweh, and from his land they went out.’ 21 And I was concerned for my holy name,[cy] which, the house of Israel defiled among the nations to which they went.[cz]
22 “Therefore thus say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh: “Not for your sake [da] am I about to act, house of Israel, but[db] for my holy name,[dc] which you defiled among the nations to which you went.[dd] 23 And I will consecrate my great name, which was profaned among the nations and which you have profaned in the midst of them, and the nations will know that I am Yahweh!”’ a declaration of the Lord Yahweh, when I show myself holy[de] before[df] their eyes.
24 “‘And I will take you from the nations, and I will gather you from all of the lands, and I will bring you to your land. 25 And I will sprinkle on you pure water, and you will be clean from all of your uncleanness, and I will cleanse you from all of your idols. 26 And I will give a new heart to you, and a new spirit I will give[dg] into your inner parts, and I will remove the[dh] heart of stone from your flesh, and I will give to you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will give[di] my spirit into your inner parts, and I will make it so that you will go[dj] in my rules, and my regulations you will remember, and you will do them. 28 And you will dwell in the land that I gave to your ancestors,[dk] and you will be to me as a people, and I will be to you as[dl] God. 29 And I will save you from all of your uncleanness, and I will call to the grain, and I will cause it to increase, and I will not bring famine upon you. 30 And I will cause the fruit of the tree and the crop of the field to increase, so that you will not suffer again the disgrace of famine among the nations. 31 And you will remember your evil ways and your deeds that were not good, and you will loathe yourself[dm] over[dn] your iniquities and over your detestable things. 32 But not for your sake am I acting,” declares[do] the Lord Yahweh. “Let it be known to you, be ashamed, and be put to shame because of your ways, house of Israel.
33 “Thus says the Lord Yahweh: ‘On the day when I cleanse you from all of your iniquities, I will cause the cities to be inhabited, and the ruins will be rebuilt. 34 And the land that was desolate will be cultivated in the very place that[dp] it was desolate before the eyes of all of the persons crossing over. 35 And they will say, “This desolate land[dq] has become like the garden of Eden, and the wasted and desolate and destroyed cities, now being refortified, are inhabited.” 36 And the nations who are left all around, you will know that I, Yahweh, I built that which was destroyed;[dr] I planted the desolate land; I, Yahweh, I have spoken, and I will act.’
37 “Thus says the Lord Yahweh: ‘Again this time I will let myself be inquired of[ds] by the house of Israel, to do something for them; I will cause them to increase their population like a flock.[dt] 38 Like the flock of the sanctuary, like the flock of Jerusalem at its festival, so the desolate cities will be filled with flocks[du] of people; and they will know that I am Yahweh.’”
2012 by Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software