Ezekiel 34

1 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

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

2 Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, even to the shepherds, Thus saith the Lord GOD: Woe unto the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the sheep?

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 Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill the fatlings; but ye feed not the sheep.

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 The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost; but with force and with rigour have ye ruled over them.

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 were scattered, because there was no shepherd: and they became meat to all the beasts of the field, and were 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 sheep wandered through all the mountains, and upon every high hill: yea, my sheep were scattered upon all the face of the earth; and there was none that did search or seek [after them].

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, ye shepherds, hear the word of the LORD:

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

8 As I live, saith the Lord GOD, surely forasmuch as my sheep became a prey, and my sheep became meat to all the beasts of the field, because there was no shepherd, neither did my shepherds search for my sheep, but the shepherds fed themselves, and fed not my sheep;

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, ye shepherds, hear the word of the LORD;

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

10 Thus saith the Lord GOD: Behold, I am against the shepherds; and I will require my sheep at their hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the sheep; neither shall the shepherds feed themselves any more; and I will deliver my sheep from their mouth, that they may not be meat for 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 saith the Lord GOD: Behold, I myself, even I, will search for my sheep, and will seek them 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 seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered abroad, so will I seek out my sheep; and I will deliver them out of all places whither they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day.

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 will bring them out from the peoples, and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land; and I will feed them upon the mountains of Israel, by the watercourses, and in all the inhabited places of the country.

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 will feed them with good pasture, and upon the mountains of the height of Israel shall their fold be: there shall they lie down in a good fold, and on fat pasture shall they feed upon the 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 myself will feed my sheep, and I will cause them to lie down, saith the Lord GOD.

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

16 I will seek that which was lost, and will bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick: and the fat and the strong I will destroy; I will feed them in 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 as for you, O my flock, thus saith the Lord GOD: Behold, I judge between cattle and cattle, as well the rams as the he-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 Seemeth it a small thing unto you to have fed upon the good pasture, but ye must tread down with your feet the residue of your pasture? and to have drunk of the clear waters, but ye must foul the residue 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 as for my sheep, they eat that which ye have trodden with your feet, and they drink that which ye have fouled with 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 saith the Lord GOD unto them: Behold, I, even I, judge between the fat cattle and the lean cattle.

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 ye thrust with side and with shoulder, and push all the diseased with your horns, till ye have scattered them abroad;

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 will I save my flock, and they shall no more be a prey; and I will judge between cattle and cattle.

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 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.

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 the LORD will be their God, and my servant David prince among them; I the LORD have spoken it.

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

25 And I will make with them a covenant of peace, and will cause evil beasts to cease out of the land: and they shall dwell securely in the wilderness, and sleep in the woods.

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 will make them and the places round about my hill a blessing; and I will cause the shower to come down in its season; there shall be 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 shall yield its fruit, and the earth shall yield her increase, and they shall be secure in their land; and they shall know that I am the LORD, when I have broken the bars of their yoke, and have delivered them out of the hand of those that served themselves of 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 shall no more be a prey to the heathen, neither shall the beast of the earth devour them; but they shall dwell securely, and none shall make them afraid.

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 will raise up unto them a plantation for renown, and they shall be no more consumed with famine in the land, neither bear the shame of the heathen any more.

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 shall know that I the LORD their God am with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are my people, saith the Lord GOD.

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 ye my sheep, the sheep of my pasture, are men, and I am your God, saith the Lord GOD.

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