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

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 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.

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

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 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.

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, shepherds, hear a word of YHWH:

Because of this, O shepherds, listen 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.

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 Therefore, O shepherds, hear a word of YHWH!

because of this, O shepherds, listen 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.

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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 And My flock consumes the trodden thing of your feet, And drinks the trampled thing of 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 said Lord YHWH to them: Behold, I—even I, have judged between fat sheep and lean sheep.

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

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,

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

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

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 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, 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 will be the leader in their midst. I, the Lord, have spoken.

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

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