Ezekiel 34

1 And the word of Yahweh came unto me, saying:

Then the word of Yahweh came to me, saying,

2 Son of man, Prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, - Prophesy, and thou shalt say unto them, even to the shepherds— Thus, saith My Lord Yahweh— Alas! for the shepherds of Israel who have been tending, themselves, Is it not the flock that the shepherds should tend?

“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 The milk, ye do eat And with the wool, ye do clothe your- selves, The well-fed, ye do sacrifice, The flock, ye do not tend

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, have ye not strengthened And, the sick, have ye not healed. And the torn, have ye not bound up, And that which was driven out, have ye not brought back, And that which was straying, have ye not sought out; But with force, have ye ruled them and with rigour.

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 And they were scattered, because there was no shepherd; And they became food for every wild beast of the field. So were they scattered.

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 did wander through all the mountains, And over every high hill, - And over all the face of the land, were my sheep scattered, And there was none to inquire And none to seek out.

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 Wherefore ye shepherds, hear ye the word of Yahweh:

Therefore, shepherds, hear the word of Yahweh:

8 As I live, — Declareth My Lord Yahweh, Surely because my flock became a prey. And my flock became food for every wild beast of the field, through having no shepherd, Neither did my shepherds inquire after the flock, —But the shepherds tended themselves. And my flock, they tended not

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 ye the word of Yahweh:

Therefore, shepherds, hear the word of Yahweh:

10 Thus, saith My Lord. Yahweh, Behold me! against the shepherds So then I will require my flock at their hand And will cause them to cease tending the flock, Neither shall the shepherds any longer tend themselves, But I will deliver my flock out of their mouth, that they may not be their food.

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 My Lord. Yahweh, - Here am I myself Therefore will I inquire after my flock and seek them out:

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

12 As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day he is in the midst of his sheep that are scattered, So! will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all the places where they were scattered in the day of cloud and thick 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 among the peoples And will gather them out of the lands, And will bring them upon their own soil, And will tend them Upon the mountains of Israel, In the ravines. And in all the habitable 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 In good pastures, will I feed them, And on the mountains of the height of Israel, shall be their fold, — There, shall they lie down in a fold that is good, And on pasture that is fat, shall they feed. among 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 myself, will tend my flock. And, I myself, will cause them to lie down, Declareth My Lord Yahweh:

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

16 That which is straying, will I seek out. And that which hath been driven away, will I bring back, And that which is torn, will I bind up, And the weak, will I strengthen, - But the fat and the strong, will I watch I will feed them with justice.

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 flock, Thus saith My Lord. Yahweh: Behold me! judging between one kind of small cattle and another as well the rams as 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 Is it too small a thing for you that on the good pasture, ye feed, But the remainder of your pastures, ye must needs trample down with your feet? Or that of the pure waters, ye drink But the waters left remaining—with your feet, ye must needs foul?

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 my flock On what hath been trampled down by your feet, may feed, And of what hath been fouled by your feet, may drink?

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

20 Therefore Thus, saith My Lord Yahweh, unto them: Here am I myself. Therefore will I judge between fat sheep and lean sheep,

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

21 Because with the side and with the shoulder, ye do thrust, And with your horns, ye do push all the sick, — Until you have scattered 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 bring salvation to my flock, and they shall be no longer a prey, —but I will judge between one sheep and another,

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 over them one shepherd And he shall tend them, Even my servant David, — He, will tend them, And, he, will become to them a 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 Yahweh, will become to them a God. my servant David, being a prince in their midst, — I Yahweh, have spoken;

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 solemnise for them a covenant of prosperity, And will cause to cease the mischievous wild-beast out of the land, And they shall dwell in the wilderness, securely, And shall sleep in the forests;

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 abundant rain to come down in its season abundant rains of blessing, shall they 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 his fruit And, the land, shall yield her increase, And they shall remain on their own soil in security, - So shall they know that I, am Yahweh, When I have broken the bars of their yoke, And shall deliver them out of the hand of them who have been using them as slaves.

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 be no longer a prey for the nations, Nor shall the wild beast of the earth! devour them, — But they shall dwell securely with none to put them in terror.

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 unto them a plantation for fame, - And there shall be no longer the destroyed of hunger in the land, Neither shall they bear any longer the reproach of the nations.

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 So shall they know that, I, Yahweh their God am with them, - And that they are my people the house of Israel, Declareth My Lord. Yahweh.

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 Ye, therefore, my flock the flock of my pasture, are, men, — I, am your God, Declareth My Lord Yahweh.

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.'”