Jezekiel 34

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

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

2 Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say to the shepherds, Thus says the Lord God; O shepherds of Israel, do shepherds feed themselves? do not the shepherds feed the sheep?

“Son of man, prophesy about the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy, and you shall say to the shepherds: Thus says the Lord God: Woe to the shepherds of Israel who feed themselves! Should not the flocks be fed by the shepherds?

3 Behold, you feed on the milk, and clothe yourselves with the wool, and kill the fat: but you feed not my sheep.

You consumed the milk, and you covered yourselves with the wool, and you killed what was fattened. But my flock you did not feed.

4 The weak one you have not strengthened, and the sick you have not cherished, and the bruised you have not bound up, and the stray one you have not turned back, and the lost you have not sought; and the strong you have wearied with labor.

What was weak, you have not strengthened, and what was sick, you have not healed. What was broken, you have not bound, and what was cast aside, you have not led back again, and what was lost, you have not sought. Instead, you ruled over them with severity and with power.

5 And my sheep were scattered, because there were no shepherds: and they became meat to all the wild beasts of the field.

And my sheep were scattered, because there was no shepherd. And they became devoured by all the wild beasts of the field, and they were dispersed.

6 And my sheep were scattered on every mountain, and on every high hill: yes, they were scattered on the face of the earth, and there was none to seek them out, nor to bring them back.

My sheep have wandered to every mountain and to every exalted hill. And my flocks have been scattered across the face of the earth. And there was no one who sought them; there was no one, I say, who sought them.

7 Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord.

Because of this, O shepherds, listen to the word of the Lord:

8 [As] I live, says the Lord God, surely because my sheep became a prey, and my sheep became meat to all the wild beasts of the field, because there were no shepherds, and the shepherds sought not out my sheep, and the shepherds fed themselves, but fed not my sheep.

As I live, says the Lord God, since my flocks have become a prey, and my sheep have been devoured by all the wild beasts of the field, since there was no shepherd, for my shepherds did not seek my flock, but instead the shepherds fed themselves, and they did not feed my flocks:

9 For this cause, O shepherds,

because of this, O shepherds, listen to the word of the Lord:

10 thus says the Lord God, Behold, I am against the shepherds; and I will require my sheep at their hands, and will turn them back that they shall not feed my sheep, and the shepherds shall no longer feed them; and I will deliver my sheep out of their mouth, and they shall no longer be meat for them.

Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I myself will be over the shepherds. I will require my flock at their hand, and I will cause them to cease, so that they no longer refrain from feeding the flock. Neither will the shepherds feed themselves any more. And I will deliver my flock from their mouth; and it will no longer be food for them.

11 For thus says the Lord God, Behold, I will seek out my sheep, and will visit them.

For thus says the Lord God: Behold, I myself will seek my sheep, and I myself will visit them.

12 As the shepherd seeks his flock, in the day when there is darkness and cloud, in the midst of the sheep that are separated: so will I seek out my sheep, and will bring them back from every place where they were scattered in the day of cloud and darkness.

Just as a shepherd visits his flock, in the day when he will be in the midst of his sheep that were scattered, so will I visit my sheep. And I will deliver them from all the places to which they had been scattered in the day of gloom and darkness.

13 And I will bring them out from the Gentiles, and will gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land, and will feed them upon the mountains of Israel, and in the valleys, and in every inhabited place of the land.

And I will lead them away from the peoples, and I will gather them from the lands, and I will bring them into their own land. And I will pasture them on the mountains of Israel, by the rivers, and in all the settlements of the land.

14 I will feed them in a good pasture, on a high mountain of Israel: and their folds shall be there, and they shall lie down, and there shall they rest in perfect prosperity, and they shall feed in a fat pasture on the mountains of Israel.

I will feed them in very fertile pastures, and their pastures will be on the lofty mountains of Israel. There they will rest on the green grass, and they will be fed in the fat pastures, on the mountains of Israel.

15 I will feed my sheep, and I will cause them to rest; and they shall know that I am the Lord: thus says the Lord God.

I will feed my sheep, and I will cause them to lie down, says the Lord God.

16 I will seek that which is lost, and I will recover the stray one, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen the fainting, and will guard the strong, and will feed them with judgment.

I will seek what had been lost. And I will lead back again what had been cast aside. And I will bind up what had been broken. And I will strengthen what had been infirm. And I will preserve what was fat and strong. And I will feed them on judgment.

17 And [as for] you, you sheep, thus says the Lord God, Behold, I will distinguish between sheep and sheep, [between] rams and he-goats.

But as for you, O my flocks, thus says the Lord God: Behold, I judge between cattle and cattle, among rams and among he-goats.

18 And [is it] not enough for you that you fed on the good pasture, that you trampled with your feet the remnant of your pasture? and [that] you drank the standing water, [that] you disturbed the residue with your feet?

Was it not enough for you to feed upon good pastures? For you even trample with your feet upon the remainder of your pastures. And when you drank the purist water, you disturbed the remainder with your feet.

19 So my sheep fed on that which you had trampled with your feet; and they drank the water that had been disturbed by your feet.

And my sheep were pastured from what you had trampled with your feet, and they drank from what your feet had disturbed.

20 Therefore thus says the Lord God; Behold, I will separate between the strong sheep and the weak sheep.

Because of this, thus says the Lord God to you: Behold, I myself am judging between the fat cattle and the lean.

21 You did thrust with your sides and shoulders, and pushed with your horns, and you cruelly treated all the sick.

For you have pushed with your sides and shoulders, and you have threatened all the weak cattle with your horns, until they were scattered abroad.

22 Therefore I will save my sheep, and they shall not be any more for a prey; and will judge between ram and ram.

I will save my flock, and it will no longer be a prey, and I will judge between cattle and cattle.

23 And I will raise up one shepherd over them, and he shall tend them, [even] my servant David, and he shall be their shepherd;

And I will raise up over them ONE SHEPHERD, who will feed them, my servant David. He himself will feed them, and he will be their shepherd.

24 and I the Lord will be to them a God, and David a prince in the midst of them; I the Lord have spoken it.

And I, the Lord, will be their God. And my servant David will be the leader in their midst. I, the Lord, have spoken.

25 And I will make with David a covenant of peace and I will utterly destroy evil beasts from off the land; and they shall dwell in the wilderness, and sleep in the forests.

And I will make a covenant of peace with them. And I will cause the very harmful beasts to cease from the land. And those who are living in the desert will sleep securely in the forests.

26 And I will settle them round about my mountain; and I will give you the rain, the rain of blessing.

And I will make them a blessing all around my hill. And I will send the rain in due time; there will be showers of blessing.

27 And the trees that are in the field shall yield their fruit, and the earth shall yield her strength, and they shall dwell in the confidence of peace on their land, and they shall know that I am the Lord, when I have broken their yoke; and I will deliver them out of the hand of those that enslaved them.

And the tree of the field will yield its fruit, and the land will yield its crop. And they will be in their own land without fear. And they shall know that I am the Lord, when I will have crushed the chains of their yoke, and when I will have rescued them from the hand of those who rule over them.

28 And they shall no more be a spoil to the nations, and the wild beasts of the land shall no more at all devour them; and they shall dwell safely, and there shall be none to make them afraid.

And they will no longer be a prey to the Gentiles, nor will the wild beasts of the earth devour them. Instead, they will live in confidence without any terror.

29 And I will raise up for them a plant of peace, and they shall no more perish with hunger upon the land, and they shall no more bear the reproach of the nations.

And I will raise up for them a renowned branch. And they will be no longer be diminished by famine in the land, nor will they carry any longer the reproach of the Gentiles.

30 And they shall know that I am the Lord their God, and they my people. O house of Israel, says the Lord God,

And they shall know that I, the Lord their God, am with them, and that they are my people, the house of Israel, says the Lord God.

31 you are my sheep, even the sheep of my flock, and I am the Lord your God, says the Lord God.

For you are my flocks; the flocks of my pasture are men. And I am the Lord your God, says the Lord God.”