Ezekiel 34

1 Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,

2 “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Woe to the shepherds of Israel, who only feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed their flock?

Son of man, prophesy concerning the shepherds of Israel; prophesy, and say unto them, unto the shepherds, Thus hath said the Lord Eternal, Woe to the shepherds of Israel who do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the flocks?

3 You eat the fat, wear the wool, and butcher the fattened sheep, but you do not feed the flock.

The fat ye eat, and with the wool ye clothe yourselves, those that are well fed ye slaughter; but the flock ye feed not.

4 You have not strengthened the weak, healed the sick, bound up the injured, brought back the strays, or searched for the lost. Instead, you have ruled them with violence and cruelty.

The diseased have ye not strengthened, and the sick have ye not healed, and that which had a limb broken have ye not bound up, and the strayed have ye not brought back again, and what was lost have ye not sought for; but with force have ye ruled them and with rigor.

5 They were scattered for lack of a shepherd, and when they were scattered they became food for all the wild beasts.

And they were scattered for want of a shepherd; and they became food unto all the beasts of the field, and they were scattered.

6 My flock went astray on all the mountains and every high hill. They were scattered over the face of all the earth, with no one to search for them or seek them out.’

My sheep have to wander about on all the mountains, and upon every high hill: yea, over all the face of the land are my flock scattered, and there is none that inquireth and none that seeketh [after them].

7 Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD:

Therefore, ye shepherds, hear the word of the Lord,

8 ‘As surely as I live, declares the Lord GOD, because My flock lacks a shepherd and has become prey and food for every wild beast, and because My shepherds did not search for My flock but fed themselves instead,

As I live, saith the Lord Eternal, surely because my flock became a prey, and my flock became food unto every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd, and my shepherds did not inquire for my flock, but the shepherds fed themselves, and my flock they fed not:

9 therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD!’

Therefore, O ye shepherds, hear the word of the Lord,

10 This is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Behold, I am against the shepherds, and I will demand from them My flock and remove them from tending the flock, so that they can no longer feed themselves. For I will deliver My flock from their mouths, and it will no longer be food for them.’

Thus hath said the Lord Eternal, Behold, I will be against the shepherds, and I will require my flock from their hand, and I will stop them from feeding the flock; neither shall the shepherds feed themselves any more: and I will deliver my flock out of their mouth, that they may not serve them for food.

11 For this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Behold, I Myself will search for My flock and seek them out.

For thus hath said the Lord Eternal, Behold, I am here, and I will both inquire for my flocks, and search for them.

12 As a shepherd looks for his scattered sheep when he is among the flock, so I will look for My flock. I will rescue them from all the places to which they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness.

As a shepherd searcheth for his flock on the day that he is among his flocks that are scattered: so will I search for my flocks; and I will deliver them out of all places whither they have been scattered on the day of clouds and [tempestuous] darkness.

13 I will bring them out from the peoples, gather them from the countries, and bring them into their own land. I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, in the ravines, and in all the settlements of the land.

And I will bring them out from the people, and gather them from the countries, and I will bring them to their own land; and I will feed them upon the mountains of Israel, in the ravines, and in all the inhabited places of the country.

14 I will feed them in good pasture, and the lofty mountains of Israel will be their grazing land. There they will lie down in a good grazing land; they will feed in rich pasture on the mountains of Israel.

On a good pasture will I feed them, and upon the high mountains of Israel shall be their fold: there shall they lie in a good fold, and in a fat pasture shall they feed on the mountains of Israel.

15 I will tend My flock and make them lie down, declares the Lord GOD.

I myself will feed my flock, and I myself will cause them to lie down, saith the Lord Eternal.

16 I will seek the lost, bring back the strays, bind up the broken, and strengthen the weak; but the sleek and strong I will destroy. I will shepherd them with justice.’

That which was lost will I seek for, and that which was gone astray will I bring back again, and that which had a limb broken will I bind up, and the sick will I strengthen: but the fat and the strong will I destroy; I will feed them in justice.

17 This is what the Lord GOD says to you, My flock: ‘I will judge between one sheep and another, between the rams and the goats.

And as for you, O my flock, thus hath said the Lord Eternal, Behold, I will judge between lamb and lamb, between the wethers and the he-goats.

18 Is it not enough for you to feed on the good pasture? Must you also trample the rest of the pasture with your feet? Is it not enough for you to drink the clear waters? Must you also muddy the rest with your feet?

Is it too little for you that ye can feed on the good pasture, that ye must tread down the residue of your pastures with your feet? and that ye can drink clear waters, that ye must render muddy with your feet what is left?

19 Why must My flock feed on what your feet have trampled, and drink what your feet have muddied?’

And as for my flock, what ye have trodden with your feet must they eat; and what ye have made muddy with your feet must they drink.

20 Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says to them: ‘Behold, I Myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep.

Therefore thus hath said the Lord Eternal unto them, Behold, I am here, and I will judge between the fat lamb and the lean lamb.

21 Since you shove with flank and shoulder, butting all the weak ones with your horns until you have scattered them abroad,

Because ye thrust with side and with shoulder, and push with your horns all the diseased, till ye have scattered them abroad:

22 I will save My flock, and they will no longer be prey. I will judge between one sheep and another.

Therefore will I save my flock, and they shall no more be a prey; and I will judge between lamb and lamb.

23 I will appoint over them one shepherd, My servant David, and he will feed them. He will feed them and be their shepherd.

And I will appoint over them one shepherd, and he shall feed them, namely, my servant David: he it is that shall feed them, and he it is that shall be unto them for a shepherd.

24 I, the LORD, will be their God, and My servant David will be a prince among them. I, the LORD, have spoken.

And I the Lord—I will be unto them for a God, and my servant David shall be a prince in their midst: I the Lord have spoken it.

25 I will make with them a covenant of peace and rid the land of wild animals, so that they may dwell securely in the wilderness and sleep in the forest.

And I will make with them a covenant of peace, and I will cause the wild beasts to cease out of the land: and they shall dwell in the wilderness in safety, and sleep in the forests.

26 I will make them and the places around My hill a blessing. I will send down showers in season—showers of blessing.

And I will make them and the environs of my hill a blessing; and I will cause the rain to come down in its season; rains of blessing shall they be.

27 The trees of the field will give their fruit, and the land will yield its produce; My flock will be secure in their land. Then they will know that I am the LORD, when I have broken the bars of their yoke and delivered them from the hands that enslaved them.

And the tree of the field shall yield its fruit, and the earth shall yield her products, and they shall be on their land in safety: and they shall know that I am the Lord, when I break the bands of their yoke, and deliver them out of the hand of those that had made them labor for them.

28 They will no longer be prey for the nations, and the beasts of the earth will not consume them. They will dwell securely, and no one will frighten them.

And they shall be no more a prey to the nations, and the beasts of the land shall not devour them; but they shall dwell in safety, with none to make them afraid.

29 And I will raise up for them a garden of renown, and they will no longer be victims of famine in the land or bear the scorn of the nations.

And I will raise up for them a plantation for a [perpetual] renown, and they shall be no more taken away by hunger in the land, neither bear the shameful reproach of the nations any more.

30 Then they will know that I, the LORD their God, am with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are My people,’ declares the Lord GOD.

Thus shall they experience that I the Lord their God am with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are my people, saith the Lord Eternal.

31 ‘You are My flock, the sheep of My pasture, My people, and I am your God,’ declares the Lord GOD.”

And ye my flock, the flock of my pasture, are men, [and] I am your God, saith the Lord Eternal.