Ezekiel 34

1 And there is a word of YHWH to me, saying,

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

2 “Son of man, prophesy concerning shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and you have said to them, Thus said Lord YHWH to the shepherds: Woe [to] the shepherds of Israel, Who have been feeding themselves! Do the shepherds not feed the flock?

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?

3 You eat the fat, and you put on the wool, You slaughter the fed one, You do not feed the flock.

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

4 You have not strengthened the weak, And you have not healed the sick one, And you have not bound up the broken, And have not brought back the driven away, And you have not sought the lost, And you have ruled them with might and with rigor.

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.

5 And they are scattered from want of a shepherd, And are for food to every beast of the field, Indeed, they are scattered.

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

6 My flock goes astray on all the mountains, And on every high hill, And My flock has been scattered on [the] whole face of the earth, And there is none inquiring, and none seeking.

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.

7 Therefore, shepherds, hear a word of YHWH:

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

8 [As] I live—a declaration of Lord YHWH, If not, because of My flock being for a prey, Indeed, My flock is for food to every beast of the field, Because there is no shepherd, And My shepherds have not sought My flock, And the shepherds feed themselves, And they have not fed My flock.

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;

9 Therefore, O shepherds, hear a word of YHWH!

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

10 Thus said Lord YHWH: Behold, I [am] against the shepherds, And have required My flock from their hand, And caused them to cease from feeding the flock, And the shepherds feed themselves no more, And I have delivered My flock from their mouth, And they are not for food to them.

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.

11 For thus said Lord YHWH: Behold, I—even I, have required My flock, And I have sought it out.

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

12 As a shepherd’s searching of his drove, In the day of his being in the midst of his scattered flock, so I seek My flock, And have delivered them out of all places, To where they have been scattered, In a day of cloud and thick darkness.

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.

13 And I have brought them out from the peoples, And have gathered them from the lands, And brought them to their own ground, And have fed them on mountains of Israel, By streams, and by all dwellings of the land.

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.

14 I feed them with good pasture, And their habitation is on mountains of the high place of Israel, There they lie down in a good habitation, And they enjoy fat pastures on mountains of Israel.

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.

15 I feed My flock, and cause them to lie down, A declaration of Lord YHWH.

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

16 I seek the lost, and bring back the driven away, And I bind up the broken, and I strengthen the sick, And I destroy the fat and the strong, I feed it with judgment.

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.

17 And you, My flock, thus said Lord YHWH: Behold, I am judging between sheep and sheep, Between rams and male goats.

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.

18 Is it a little thing for you—[that] you enjoy the good pasture, And tread down the remnant of your pasture with your feet, And drink a depth of waters, And trample the remainder with your feet,

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?

19 And My flock consumes the trodden thing of your feet, And drinks the trampled thing of your feet?

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.

20 Therefore, thus said Lord YHWH to them: Behold, I—even I, have judged between fat sheep and lean sheep.

For this reason the Lord has said to them, Truly, I, even I, will be judge between the fat sheep and the thin sheep.

21 Because you thrust away with side and with shoulder, And push all the diseased with your horns, Until you have scattered them to the out-place,

Because you have been pushing with side and leg, pushing the diseased with your horns till they were sent away in every direction;

22 Therefore I have given safety to My flock, And they are not for prey anymore, And I have judged between sheep and sheep.

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

23 And have raised up one shepherd over them, And he has fed them—My servant David, He feeds them, and he is their shepherd,

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.

24 And I, YHWH, I am their God, And My servant David [is] prince in their midst, I, YHWH, have spoken.

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

25 And I have made a covenant of peace with them, And caused evil beasts to cease out of the land, And they have dwelt confidently in a wilderness, And they have slept in forests.

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.

26 And I have given them, and the outskirts of My hill, a blessing, And caused the shower to come down in its season, They are showers of blessing.

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.

27 And the tree of the field has given its fruit, And the land gives her increase, And they have been confident on their land, And they have known that I [am] YHWH, In My breaking the bands of their yoke, And I have delivered them from the hand of those laying service on them.

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.

28 And they are no longer a prey to nations, And the beast of the earth does not devour them, And they have dwelt confidently, And there is none troubling.

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.

29 And I have raised a plantation of renown for them, And they are no longer consumed by hunger in the land, And they no longer bear the shame of the nations.

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.

30 And they have known that I, YHWH, their God, [am] with them, And they—the house of Israel—My people, A declaration of Lord YHWH.

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.

31 And you, My flock, the flock of My pasture, You [are] men [and] I [am] your God, A declaration of Lord YHWH!”

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