Ezekiel 34

1 And the word of Jehovah came to me, saying:

Then the word of Yahweh came to me, saying,

2 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?

“Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and say to them, 'The Lord Yahweh says this to the shepherds: Woe to the shepherds of Israel who are shepherding themselves. Should not shepherds guard the flock?

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

You eat the fatty portions and you dress in wool. You slaughter the fatlings of the flock. You do not shepherd at all.

4 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.

You have not strengthened those who have diseases, nor do you heal the ones who are ill. You do not bind up the ones who are broken, and you do not restore the outcasts or seek the lost. Instead, you rule over them through strength and violence.

5 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.

Then they were scattered without a shepherd, and they became food for all the living beasts in the fields, after they were scattered.

6 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.

My flock strays on all of the mountains and on every high hill, and it is dispersed over the entire surface of the earth. Yet no one is searching for them.

7 Therefore, ye shepherds, hear the word of Jehovah:

Therefore, shepherds, hear the word of Yahweh:

8 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, —

As I live—this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration—because my flock has become plunder and food for all the beasts in the fields, because there was no shepherd and none of my shepherds sought my flock, but the shepherds guarded themselves and did not shepherd my flock.

9 therefore, ye shepherds, hear the word of Jehovah.

Therefore, shepherds, hear the word of Yahweh:

10 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.

The Lord Yahweh says this: Behold! I am against the shepherds, and I will require my flock from their hand. Then I will dismiss them from shepherding the flock; neither will the shepherds any longer shepherd themselves since I will take away my flock from their mouths, so that my flock will no longer be food for them.

11 For thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold I, even I, will seek my flock, and look after them;

For the Lord Yahweh says this: Behold! I myself will seek out my flock and I will look after them,

12 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.

like a shepherd seeking his flock on the day he is within the midst of his scattered flock. Thus I will seek my flock, and I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on the day of clouds and darkness.

13 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.

Then I will bring them out from among the peoples; I will gather them from the lands and bring them to their land. I will put them in pastures on the mountainsides of Israel, by the streams, and in every settlement in the land.

14 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.

I will put them in good pastures; the high mountains of Israel will be their grazing places. They will lie down there in good places for grazing, in abundant pastures, and they will graze on the mountains of Israel.

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

I myself will shepherd my flock, and I myself will make them lie down—this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration—

16 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.

I will seek the lost and restore the outcast. I will bind up the broken sheep and heal the sick sheep but the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will shepherd with justice.

17 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.

So now you, my flock—this is what the Lord Yahweh says—behold, I will be a judge between sheep and sheep and between rams and male goats.

18 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?

Is it not enough to feed on the good pasture, that you must trample down with your feet what is left of the pasture; and to drink from clear waters, that you must muddy the rivers with your feet?

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

Must my sheep eat what you have trampled with your feet, and drink what you have muddied with your feet?

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

Therefore the Lord Yahweh says this to them: Behold! I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the thin ones,

21 Because ye thrust with your side and with your shoulder, and push all the weak with your horns, till ye scatter them abroad,

for you have pushed them with your sides and shoulders, and you have gored all of the weak ones with your horns until you have scattered them away from the land.

22 therefore will I save my sheep, and they shall no more be a prey; and I will judge between sheep and sheep.

I will save my flock and they will no longer be plunder, and I will judge between one sheep and another!

23 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.

I will set over them one shepherd, my servant David. He will shepherd them, he will feed them, and he will be their shepherd.

24 And I, Jehovah, will be their God, and my servant David a prince among them. I, Jehovah, have spoken it.

For I, Yahweh, will be their God, and my servant David will be a prince among them—I, Yahweh, have declared this.

25 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.

Then I will make a covenant of peace with them and remove the evil wild animals from the land, so that they will live securely in the wilderness and safely sleep in the forests.

26 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.

I will also bring blessings on them and on the places around my hill, for I will send out showers in due season. These will be showers of blessing.

27 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.

Then the trees of the field will produce their fruit, and the earth will yield its produce. My sheep will be secure in their land; then they will know that I am Yahweh, when I break the bars of their yoke, and when I rescue them from the hand of those who enslaved them.

28 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.

They will no longer be plunder for the nations, and the wild animals on the earth will no longer devour them. For they will live securely, and no one will frighten them.

29 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.

For I will provide them a land known for its crops; so they will not be victims of famine in the land, and they will not bear the scorn of the nations.

30 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.

Then they will know that I, Yahweh their God, am with them. They are my people, the house of Israel—this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration.

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

For you are my sheep, the flock of my pasture, and my people, and I am your God—this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration.'”