< Ezekiel 34 >

1 And there is a word of YHWH to me, saying,
And the word of the LORD came unto 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 against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, Thus says the Lord GOD unto the shepherds; Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the flocks?
3 You eat the fat, and you put on the wool, You slaughter the fed one, You do not feed the flock.
All of you eat the fat, and all of you clothe you with the wool, all of you kill them that are fed: but all of you feed not the flock.
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.
The diseased have all of you not strengthened, neither have all of you healed that which was sick, neither have all of you bound up that which was broken, neither have all of you brought again that which was driven away, neither have all of you sought that which was lost; but with force and with cruelty have all of you ruled them.
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 scattered, because there is no shepherd: and they became food to all the beasts of the field, when they were scattered.
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 wandered through all the mountains, and upon every high hill: yea, my flock was scattered upon all the face of the earth, and none did search or seek after them.
7 Therefore, shepherds, hear a word of YHWH:
Therefore, all of you shepherds, hear 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, surely because my flock became a prey, and my flock became food to every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd, neither did my shepherds search for my flock, but the shepherds fed themselves, and fed not my flock;
9 Therefore, O shepherds, hear a word of YHWH!
Therefore, O all of you shepherds, hear 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 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, 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 thus says the Lord GOD; Behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep, and seek them out.
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 a shepherd seeks out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered; so will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day.
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 bring them out from the people, and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land, and feed them upon the mountains of Israel by the rivers, and in all the inhabited places of 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 feed them in a good pasture, and upon the high mountains of Israel shall their fold be: there shall they lie in a good fold, and in a fat pasture shall they feed upon the mountains of Israel.
15 I feed My flock, and cause them to lie down, A declaration of Lord YHWH.
I will feed my flock, 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 that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick: but I will destroy the fat and the strong; I will feed them with judgment.
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, thus says the Lord GOD; Behold, I judge between cattle and cattle, between the rams 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,
Seems it a small thing unto you to have eaten up the good pasture, but all of you must tread down with your feet the residue of your pastures? and to have drunk of the deep waters, but all of you must foul the residue 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 flock, they eat that which all of you have trodden with your feet; and they drink that which all of you have fouled with your feet.
20 Therefore, thus said Lord YHWH to them: Behold, I—even I, have judged between fat sheep and lean sheep.
Therefore thus says the Lord GOD unto them; Behold, I, even I, will judge between the fat cattle and between the lean cattle.
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 all of you have thrust with side and with shoulder, and pushed all the diseased with your horns, till all of you have scattered them 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.
Therefore will I save my flock, and they shall no more 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 set 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, 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 a prince among them; I the LORD have spoken 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 a covenant of peace, and will cause the evil beasts to cease out of the land: and they shall dwell safely in the wilderness, and sleep 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 make them and the places round about my hill a blessing; and I will cause the shower to come down in his season; there shall 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 shall yield her fruit, and the earth shall yield her increase, and they shall be safe in their land, and shall know that I am the LORD, when I have broken the bands of their yoke, and delivered them out of the hand of those that served themselves of 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 shall no more be a prey to the heathen, neither shall the beast of the land devour them; but they shall dwell safely, and none shall make them afraid.
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 plant of renown, and they shall be no more consumed with hunger in the land, neither bear the shame of the heathen any more.
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.
Thus shall they know that I the LORD their God am with them, and that they, even the house of Israel, are my people, 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!”
And all of you my flock, the flock of my pasture, are men, and I am your God, says the Lord GOD.

< Ezekiel 34 >