Ezekiel 34

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

And the word of Jehovah came to 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 against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy, and say to them, to the shepherds, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Woe to the shepherds of Israel, who 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.

Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill that which is fatted; but ye feed not the flock.

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 weak do ye not strengthen, and the sick do ye not heal, and the wounded do ye not bind up; ye bring not back that which hath been driven away, neither seek ye that which hath been lost; but with force and with cruelty do ye rule them.

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

Therefore are they scattered abroad, because there is no shepherd, and they are food to all the beasts of the field, or are scattered abroad.

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 wander through all the mountains, and upon every high hill; yea, over the whole face of the land is my flock scattered, and none careth for them, or seeketh 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 Jehovah:

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 Jehovah, surely, because my flock is become a prey, and my flock is become meat to all the beasts of the field because there is no shepherd, and because my shepherds search not for my flock, and feed themselves, and feed not my flock, —

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

therefore, ye shepherds, hear the word of Jehovah.

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 saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I am against the shepherds, and I will require my flock at their hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the flock; neither shall the shepherds feed themselves any more; for I will deliver my flock from their mouth, and they shall not be meat for them.

11 For this is what the Lord has said: Truly, I, even I, will go searching and looking for my sheep.

For thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold I, even I, will seek my flock, and look after 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 looketh after his flock in the day when he is among his sheep that are scattered, so will I look after my sheep, and will deliver them out of all the places where they have been scattered in the day of clouds and 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 nations, and gather them from the countries; and I will bring them to their own land, and feed them upon the mountains of Israel, in the valleys, and in all the dwelling-places of the land.

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.

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

15 I myself will give food to my flock, and I will give them rest, says the Lord.

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

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.

I will seek that which was lost, and bring back that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen the sick; but the fat and the strong will I destroy; I will feed them as they deserve.

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 sheep, thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I will judge between the weak of the flock and the strong ones, even the rams 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?

Seemeth it a small thing to you to eat up the good pasture, but ye must tread down with your feet the residue of your pastures? and to drink of the clear waters, but ye must foul the residue with your feet?

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 that my sheep eat that which ye have trodden with your feet, and drink that which ye have fouled with your feet?

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 saith the Lord Jehovah to them: Behold I, even I, will judge between the fat and the lean of the flock.

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 your side and with your shoulder, and push all the weak with your horns, till ye scatter 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 sheep, and they shall no more be a prey; and I will judge between sheep and sheep.

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

And I, Jehovah, will be their God, and my servant David a prince among them. I, Jehovah, 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 will cause evil beasts to cease out of the land, so that they shall dwell safely in the desert, and sleep in the woods.

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 places round about my hill, a blessing; and I will cause the shower to come down in its season; showers rich in blessings shall there 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 her fruit, and the earth shall yield her increase; and they shall be secure in their land, and shall know that I am Jehovah, when I shall break the bands of their yoke and deliver them out of the hand of them that made them servants.

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 no more be a prey to the nations, neither shall the beasts of the land devour them; but they shall dwell in security, and none shall 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 my glory; and they shall no more be consumed with hunger in the land, neither shall they bear the 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.

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

For ye, my flock, the flock of my pasture, are men, and I am your God, saith the Lord Jehovah.