Ezekiel 34

1 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying,

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

2 Son of man, be a prophet against the keepers of the flock of Israel, and say to them, O keepers of the sheep! this is the word of the Lord: A curse is on the keepers of the flock of Israel who take the food for themselves! is it not right for the keepers to give the food to the sheep?

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 take the milk and are clothed with the wool, you put the fat beasts to death, but you give the sheep no food.

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 made the diseased ones strong or made well that which was ill; you have not put bands on the broken or got back that which had been sent away or made search for the wandering ones; and the strong you have been ruling cruelly.

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 And they were wandering in every direction because there was no keeper: and they became food for all the beasts of the field.

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 And my sheep went out of the way, wandering through all the mountains and on every high hill: my sheep went here and there over all the face of the earth; and no one was troubled about them or went in search of them.

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 For this cause, O keepers of the flock, give ear to the word of the Lord:

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

8 By my life, says the Lord, truly, because my sheep have been taken away, and my sheep became food for all the beasts of the field, because there was no keeper, and my keepers did not go in search of the sheep, but the keepers took food for themselves and gave my sheep no food;

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 For this reason, O you keepers of the flock, give ear to the word of the Lord;

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

10 This is what the Lord has said: See I am against the keepers of the flock, and I will make search and see what they have done with my sheep, and will let them be keepers of my sheep no longer; and the keepers will no longer get food for themselves; I will take my sheep out of their mouths so that they may not 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 has said: Truly, I, even I, will go searching and looking for my sheep.

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 the keeper goes looking for his flock when he is among his wandering sheep, so I will go looking for my sheep, and will get them safely out of all the places where they have been sent wandering in the day of clouds and black night.

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 And I will take them out from among the peoples, and get them together from the countries, and will take them into their land; and I will give them food on the mountains of Israel by the water-streams and wherever men are living in the country.

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 give them good grass-land for their food, and their safe place will be the mountains of the high place of Israel: there they will take their rest in a good place, and on fat grass-land they will take their food 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 myself will give food to my flock, and I will give them rest, says the Lord.

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

16 I will go in search of that which had gone wandering from the way, and will get back that which had been sent in flight, and will put bands on that which was broken, and give strength to that which was ill: but the fat and the strong I will give up to destruction; I will give them for their food the punishment which is theirs by right.

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 And as for you, O my flock, says the Lord, truly, I will be judge between sheep and sheep, the he-sheep and the he-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 Does it seem a small thing to you to have taken your food on good grass-land while the rest of your grass-land is stamped down under your feet? and that after drinking from clear waters you make the rest of the waters dirty 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 And as for my sheep, their food is the grass which has been stamped on by your feet, and their drink the water which has been made dirty by your feet.

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 For this reason the Lord has said to them, Truly, I, even I, will be judge between the fat sheep and the thin 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 Because you have been pushing with side and leg, pushing the diseased with your horns till they were sent away in every direction;

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 make my flock safe, and they will no longer be taken away, and I will be judge between sheep and sheep.

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

23 And I will put over them one keeper, and he will give them food, even my servant David; he will give them food and be their keeper.

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 And I the Lord will be their God and my servant David their ruler; I the Lord have said it.

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 And I will make with them an agreement of peace, and will put an end to evil beasts through all the land: and they will be living safely in the waste land, sleeping in the woods.

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 And I will give the rain at the right time, and I will make the shower come down at the right time; there will be 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 And the tree of the field will give its fruit and the earth will give its increase, and they will be safe in their land; and they will be certain that I am the Lord, when I have had their yoke broken and have given them salvation from the hands of those who made them servants.

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 And their goods will no longer be taken by the nations, and they will not again be food for the beasts of the earth; but they will be living safely and no one will be a cause of fear to 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 give them planting-places of peace, and they will no longer be wasted from need of food or put to shame by 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 And they will be certain that I the Lord their God am with them, and that they, the children of Israel, are my people, says the Lord.

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 And you are my sheep, the sheep of my grass-lands, and I am your God, says the Lord.

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