Ezekiel 34

1 And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,2 Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, even to the shepherds, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Woe unto the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the sheep?3 Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill the fatlings; but ye feed not the sheep.4 The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither have ye brought back that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost; but with force and with rigor have ye ruled over them.5 And they were scattered, because there was no shepherd; and they became food to all the beasts of the field, and were scattered.6 My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and upon every high hill: yea, my sheep were scattered upon all the face of the earth; and there was none that did search or seek after them.7 Therefore, ye shepherds, hear the word of Jehovah:8 As I live, saith the Lord Jehovah, surely forasmuch as my sheep became a prey, and my sheep became food to all the beasts of the field, because there was no shepherd, neither did my shepherds search for my sheep, but the shepherds fed themselves, and fed not my sheep;9 therefore, ye shepherds, hear the word of Jehovah:10 Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I am against the shepherds; and I will require my sheep at their hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the sheep; neither shall the shepherds feed themselves any more; and I will deliver my sheep from their mouth, that they may not be food for them.11 For thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I myself, even I, will search for my sheep, and will seek them out.12 As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered abroad, so will I seek out my sheep; and I will deliver them out of all places whither they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day.13 And I will bring them out from the peoples, and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land; and I will feed them upon the mountains of Israel, by the watercourses, and in all the inhabited places of the country.14 I will feed them with good pasture; and upon the mountains of the height of Israel shall their fold be: there shall they lie down in a good fold; and on fat pasture shall they feed upon the mountains of Israel.15 I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I will cause them to lie down, saith the Lord Jehovah.16 I will seek that which was lost, and will bring back that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick: but the fat and the strong I will destroy; I will feed them in justice.17 And as for you, O my flock, thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I judge between sheep and sheep, the rams and the he-goats.18 Seemeth it a small thing unto you to have fed upon the good pasture, but ye must tread down with your feet the residue of your pasture? and to have drunk of the clear waters, but ye must foul the residue with your feet?19 And as for my sheep, they eat that which ye have trodden with your feet, and they drink that which ye have fouled with your feet.20 Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah unto them: Behold, I, even I, will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep.21 Because ye thrust with side and with shoulder, and push all the diseased with your horns, till ye have scattered them abroad;22 therefore will I save my flock, and they shall no more be a prey; and I will judge between sheep and sheep.23 And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd.24 And I, Jehovah, will be their God, and my servant David prince among them; I, Jehovah, have spoken it.25 And I will make with them a covenant of peace, and will cause evil beasts to cease out of the land; and they shall dwell securely in the wilderness, and sleep in the woods.26 And I will make them and the places round about my hill a blessing; and I will cause the shower to come down in its season; there shall be showers of blessing.27 And the tree of the field shall yield its fruit, and the earth shall yield its increase, and they shall be secure in their land; and they shall know that I am Jehovah, when I have broken the bars of their yoke, and have delivered them out of the hand of those that made bondmen of them.28 And they shall no more be a prey to the nations, neither shall the beasts of the earth devour them; but they shall dwell securely, and none shall make them afraid.29 And I will raise up unto them a plantation for renown, and they shall be no more consumed with famine in the land, neither bear the shame of the nations any more.30 And they shall know that I, Jehovah, their God am with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are my people, saith the Lord Jehovah.31 And ye my sheep, the sheep of my pasture, are men, and I am your God, saith the Lord Jehovah.

EZEKIEL 34

Israel's Leaders //Are Worthless Shepherds

1  t The [Lord] God said:

2 Ezekiel, son of man, Israel's leaders are like shepherds taking care of my sheep, the people of Israel. But I want you to condemn these leaders and tell them:
I, the [Lord] God, say you shepherds of Israel are doomed! You take care of yourselves while ignoring my sheep. 3 You drink their milk and use their wool to make your clothes. Then you butcher the best ones for food. But you don't take care of the flock! 4 You have never protected the weak ones or healed the sick ones or bandaged those that get hurt. You let them wander off and never look for those that get lost. You are cruel and mean to my sheep. 5 t They strayed in every direction, and because there was no shepherd to watch them, they were attacked and eaten by wild animals.

6 So my sheep were scattered across the earth. They roamed on hills and mountains, without anyone even bothering to look for them.
7-8 Now listen to what I, the living [Lord] God, am saying to you shepherds. My sheep have been attacked and eaten by wild animals, because you refused to watch them. You never went looking for the lost ones, and you fed yourselves without feeding my sheep.

9-10 So I, the [Lord], will punish you! I will rescue my sheep from you and never let you be their shepherd again or butcher them for food. I, the [Lord], have spoken.

The [Lord] Is //the Good Shepherd

11 The [Lord] God then said:
I will look for my sheep and take care of them myself, 12 just as a shepherd looks for lost sheep. My sheep have been lost since that dark and miserable day when they were scattered throughout the nations.t But I will rescue them 13 and bring them back from the foreign nations where they now live. I will be their shepherd and will let them graze on Israel's mountains and in the valleys and fertile fields. 14 They will be safe as they feed on grassy meadows and green hills. 15 I promise to take care of them and keep them safe,

16 to look for those that are lost and bring back the ones that wander off, to bandage those that are hurt and protect the ones that are weak. I will also slaughtert those that are fat and strong, because I always do right.

Judgment on the Strong Sheep

17 The [Lord] God said to his sheep, the people of Israel:
I will carefully watch each one of you to decide which ones are the strong sheep and which ones are weak. 18 Some of you eat the greenest grass, then trample down what's left when you finish. Others drink clean water, then step in the water to make the rest of it muddy.

19 That means my other sheep have nothing fit to eat or drink.
20 So I, the [Lord] God, will separate you strong sheep from the weak. 21 You strong ones have used your powerful horns to chase off those that are weak,

22 but I will rescue them and no longer let them be mistreated. I will separate the good from the bad.
23  t After that, I will give you a shepherd from the family of my servant King David. All of you, both strong and weak, will have the same shepherd, and he will take good care of you.

24 t He will be your leader, and I will be your God. I, the [Lord], have spoken.

A Bright Future //for the [Lord]'s Sheep

The [Lord] God said: