Ezekiel 34

1 And the word of Yahweh 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 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, 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 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 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 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 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 food for every wild beast of the field. So were they 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 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.

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 Wherefore ye shepherds, hear ye the word of Yahweh:

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

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

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 ye the word of Yahweh:

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

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.

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 My Lord. Yahweh, - Here am I myself Therefore will I inquire after my flock and 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 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;

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 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:

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 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 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 tend my flock. And, I myself, will cause them to lie down, Declareth My Lord Yahweh:

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

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 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 My Lord. Yahweh: Behold me! judging between one kind of small cattle and another 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 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?

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

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

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 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

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 bring salvation to my flock, and they shall be no longer a prey, —but I will judge between one sheep and another,

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 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;

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 Yahweh, will become to them a God. my servant David, being a prince in their midst, — I Yahweh, have spoken;

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

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;

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 abundant rain to come down in its season abundant rains of blessing, shall they be;

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 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.

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 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.

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 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.

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 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.

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

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