Beginning

34 The word of Adonai came to me: ² “Human being, prophesy against the shepherds of Isra’el. Prophesy! Tell them, the shepherds, that Adonai Elohim says this: ‘Woe to the shepherds of Isra’el who feed themselves! Shouldn’t the shepherds feed the sheep? ³ You eat the choice meat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, and you slaughter the best of the herd; but you don’t feed the sheep! ⁴ You don’t strengthen the weak, heal the sick, bandage the broken, bring back the outcasts or seek the lost; on the contrary, you tyrannize them with crushing force. ⁵ So they were scattered, without a shepherd, and became food for every wild animal — they were scattered. ⁶ My sheep wandered around aimlessly on every mountain and hill; yes, my sheep were scattered all over the land, with no one to search for them or look after them.

⁷ “‘Therefore, shepherds, hear the word of Adonai: ⁸ “As I live,” Adonai Elohim swears, “because my sheep have become prey, my sheep have become food for every wild animal, since there was no shepherd, since my shepherds didn’t look for my sheep, and instead my shepherds fed themselves but not my sheep,” ⁹ therefore, shepherds, hear the word of Adonai! ¹⁰ Adonai Elohim says, “I am against the shepherds. I demand that they hand my sheep back to me. I will not allow them to feed the sheep, and they won’t feed themselves either. I will rescue my sheep from their mouths; they will be food for them no longer.”

¹¹ “‘For here is what Adonai Elohim says: “I am taking over! I will search for my sheep and look after them, myself. ¹² Just as a shepherd looks after his flock when he finds himself among his scattered sheep, so I will look after my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered when it was cloudy and dark. ¹³ I will bring them back from those peoples, gather them from those countries and return them to their own land. Then I will let them feed on the mountains of Isra’el, by the streams and in all the livable places of the land. ¹⁴ I will have them feed in good pastures; their grazing ground will be on the high mountains of Isra’el. They will rest in good grazing grounds and feed in rich pastures on Isra’el’s mountains. ¹⁵ Yes, I will pasture my sheep; and I will let them rest” says Adonai Elohim. ¹⁶ “I will seek the lost, bring back the outcasts, bandage the broken, and strengthen the sick. But the fat and the strong I will destroy — I will feed them with judgment.”

¹⁷ “‘As for you, my flock,’ Adonai Elohim says this: ‘I will judge between sheep and other sheep, between rams and billy-goats. ¹⁸ Wasn’t it enough for you to feed on the best pasture and drink from the clearest water? Did you have to trample the rest of the pasture and foul the remaining water with your feet? ¹⁹ So now my sheep eat what you have trampled with your feet and drink water fouled by your feet.’ ²⁰ Therefore here is what Adonai Elohim says to them: ‘I will judge between the fat sheep and the thin sheep. ²¹ Because you push them with your flanks and shoulders and butt all the weak ones with your horns, till you scatter them in every direction; ²² therefore I will save my flock; they will no longer be prey; and I will judge between sheep and other sheep.

²³ “‘I will raise up one shepherd to be in charge of them, and he will let them feed — my servant David. He will pasture them and be their shepherd. ²⁴ I, Adonai, will be their God; and my servant David will be prince among them. I, Adonai, have spoken. ²⁵ I will make a covenant of peace with them; I will rid the land of wild animals; and they will live securely in the desert and sleep in the forests. ²⁶ I will make them and the places around my hill a blessing, and I will cause the rain to fall when it should — there will be showers of blessing. ²⁷ The trees in the field will bear their fruit and the soil its produce, and they will be secure in their land. Then they will know that I am Adonai, when I break the bars of their yoke and rescue them from the power of those who turned them into slaves. ²⁸ No longer will they be prey for the Goyim, nor will the wild animals devour them; but they will live securely, with no one to make them afraid. ²⁹ I will make the productivity of their crops famous, and they will no longer be consumed by hunger in the land or bear the shame of the Goyim any more. ³⁰ They will know that I, Adonai their God, am with them, and that they, the house of Isra’el, are my people,’ says Adonai Elohim. ³¹ ‘You, my sheep, the sheep in my pasture, are human beings; and I am your God,’ says Adonai Elohim.”

35 The word of Adonai came to me: ² “Human being, turn your face against Mount Se‘ir; prophesy against it, ³ and say that Adonai Elohim says, ‘I am against you, Mount Se‘ir. I will stretch out my hand against you and make you utterly desolate. ⁴ I will make your cities ruins and make you an utter waste, and you will know that I am Adonai. ⁵ Because of your long-standing hatred, you put the people of Isra’el to the sword at their time of calamity, at the time of final iniquity. ⁶ Therefore, as I live,’ Adonai Elohim swears, ‘I will prepare you for blood. Blood will pursue you. You intensely hate your own blood [relatives]; therefore blood will pursue you. ⁷ Yes, I will make Mount Se‘ir utterly desolate, cutting off from it anyone passing through or returning. ⁸ I will fill his mountains with his slain; in your hills and valleys and in all your ravines will fall those slain by the sword. ⁹ I will turn you into perpetual ruins; your cities will not return; and you will know that I am Adonai.

¹⁰ “‘Because you say, “These two nations, these two countries, will be mine; we will take possession of them,” even though Adonai is there; ¹¹ therefore, as I live,’ swears Adonai Elohim, ‘I will deal with you as your anger and envy arising from your hatred deserve; and I will make myself known among them when I judge you. ¹² You will know that I, Adonai, have heard all your blasphemous talk against the mountains of Isra’el, such as, “They are desolated, they are given to us to devour.” ¹³ Moreover, you have boasted against me with your mouths, speaking more and more against me — I have heard it.’ ¹⁴ Here is what Adonai Elohim says: ‘To the joy of all the land, I will desolate you. ¹⁵ Since you rejoiced over possessing the house of Isra’el, because it was desolate, that is what I will do to you — you will be desolate, Mount Se‘ir and all Edom, all of it. Then they will know that I am Adonai.’

36 “Now you, human being, prophesy to the mountains of Isra’el. Say: ‘Mountains of Isra’el, hear the message from Adonai. ² Adonai Elohim says: “The enemy is boasting over you, ‘Ha! Even the ancient high places are ours now!’ ” ’ ³ Therefore prophesy, and say that Adonai Elohim says, ‘Because they desolated you and swallowed you up from every side, so that the other nations could take possession of you; and now people are gossiping about you and slandering you; ⁴ therefore, mountains of Isra’el, hear the message of Adonai Elohim — this is what Adonai Elohim says to the mountains and hills, the streams and valleys, the desolate wastes and the abandoned cities, now preyed on and derided by the other surrounding nations — ⁵ therefore this is what Adonai Elohim says: “In the heat of my jealousy I speak against the other nations and all of Edom, since, rejoicing with all their heart, they have arrogated my land to themselves as a possession and, with utter contempt, seized it as prey.”’

⁶ “Therefore prophesy concerning the land of Isra’el, and say to the mountains, the hills, the streams and the valleys that Adonai Elohim says this: ‘I speak in my jealousy and fury, because you have endured being shamed by the nations. ⁷ Therefore thus says Adonai Elohim: “I have raised my hand and sworn that the nations surrounding you will bear their shame. ⁸ But you, mountains of Isra’el, you will sprout your branches and bear your fruit for my people Isra’el, who will soon return. ⁹ I am here for you, and I will turn toward you; then you will be tilled and sown; ¹⁰ and I will multiply your population, all the house of Isra’el, all of it. The cities will be inhabited and the ruins rebuilt. ¹¹ I will multiply both the human and animal populations, they will increase and be productive; and I will cause you to be inhabited as you were before — indeed, I will do you more good than before; and you will know that I am Adonai. ¹² I will cause people to walk on you, my people Isra’el; they will possess you, and you will be their inheritance; never again will you make them childless.” ¹³ Adonai Elohim says, “Because they say to you, ‘Land, you devour people and make your nations childless,’ ¹⁴ therefore you will no longer devour people, and you will not make your nations childless any more,” says Adonai Elohim. ¹⁵ “I will not permit the nations to shame you, or the peoples to reproach you any longer; and you will no more cause your nations to stumble,” says Adonai Elohim.’”

¹⁶ The word of Adonai came to me: ¹⁷ “Human being, when the house of Isra’el lived in their own land, they defiled it by their manner of life and their actions; their way before me was like the uncleanness of niddah. ¹⁸ Therefore I poured out my fury on them, because of the blood they had shed in the land and because they defiled it with their idols. ¹⁹ I scattered them among the nations and dispersed them throughout the countries; I judged them in keeping with their manner of life and actions. ²⁰ When they came to the nations they were going to, they profaned my holy name; so that people said of them, ‘These are Adonai’s people, who have been exiled from his land.’ ²¹ But I am concerned about my holy name, which the house of Isra’el is profaning among the nations where they have gone.

²² “Therefore tell the house of Isra’el that Adonai Elohim says this: ‘I am not going to do this for your sake, house of Isra’el, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have been profaning among the nations where you went. ²³ I will set apart my great name to be regarded as holy, since it has been profaned in the nations — you profaned it among them. The nations will know that I am Adonai,’ says Adonai Elohim, ‘when, before their eyes, I am set apart through you to be regarded as holy.

³³ “Adonai Elohim says, ‘When the day comes for me to cleanse you from all your guilt, I will cause the cities to be inhabited and the ruins to be rebuilt. ³⁴ The land that was desolate will be tilled, whereas formerly it lay desolate for all passing by to see. ³⁵ Then they will say, “The land that used to be desolate has become like Gan-‘Eden, and the cities formerly ruined, abandoned and wasted have been fortified and are inhabited!” ³⁶ Then the nations around you that remain will know that I, Adonai, have rebuilt the ruins and replanted what was abandoned. I, Adonai, have spoken; and I will do it.’

³⁷ “Adonai Elohim says, ‘In addition, I will let the house of Isra’el pray to me to do this for them: to increase their numbers like sheep — ³⁸ like flocks of sheep for sacrifices, like the flocks of sheep in Yerushalayim at its designated times, in this degree will the ruined cities be filled with flocks of people. Then they will know that I am Adonai.’”