Old Testament · Ezekiel

Ezekiel 34

A Prophecy against Israel’s Shepherds

1And the word of the LORD came to me, saying: 2Son of man^a, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy, and you shall say to them, to the shepherds: Thus says the Lord GOD: Woe to the shepherds of Israel who have been shepherding themselves! Should not the shepherds shepherd the flock? 3The fat you eat, and the wool you wear; the fatling you slaughter; the flock you do not shepherd.

4The weak you have not strengthened, and the sick you have not healed, and the broken you have not bound up, and the driven away you have not brought back, and the lost you have not sought; but with force you have ruled over them, and with harshness. 5And they were scattered for lack of a shepherd, and they became food for every beast of the field, and were scattered. 6My flock wandered on all the mountains and on every high hill; and on all the face of the earth my flock was scattered, and there was none searching and none seeking.

7Therefore, shepherds, hear the word of the LORD: 8As I live^b, declares the Lord GOD, surely because my flock became a prey, and my flock became food for every beast of the field, for lack of a shepherd, and my shepherds did not search for my flock, but the shepherds shepherded themselves, and my flock they did not shepherd — 9therefore, shepherds, hear the word of the LORD:

10Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I am against the shepherds, and I will require my flock from their hand, and I will cause them to shabbat from shepherding the flock; and the shepherds shall no longer shepherd themselves; and I will deliver my flock from their mouth, and they shall not be food for them.

I Myself Will Search for My Flock

(Psalm 23:1–6; John 10:1–21)

11For thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I myself will search for my flock, and I will seek them out. 12As a shepherd seeks out his flock in the day he is among his scattered sheep, so I will seek out my flock; and I will deliver them from all the places where they were scattered in the day of cloud and thick darkness. 13And I will bring them out from the peoples, and gather them from the lands, and bring them to their ground^c; and I will shepherd them upon the mountains of Israel, by the channels, and in all the dwelling places of the land. 14In a good pasture I will shepherd them, and on the high mountains of Israel shall be their fold; there they shall lie down in a good fold, and in a fat pasture they shall feed on the mountains of Israel.

15I myself will shepherd my flock, and I myself will cause them to lie down, declares the Lord GOD. 16The lost I will seek, and the driven away I will bring back, and the broken I will bind up, and the sick I will strengthen; but the fat and the strong I will destroy — I will shepherd them with judgment^d.

17And you, my flock, thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I am judging between sheep and sheep, between the rams and the he-goats. 18Is it too small a thing for you that you feed on the good pasture, but the rest of your pasture you trample with your feet? and you drink the settled waters, but the remainder you foul with your feet? 19And my flock — what your feet have trampled they feed on, and what your feet have fouled they drink.

20Therefore thus says the Lord GOD to them: Behold, I myself will judge between fat sheep and lean sheep. 21Because with side and with shoulder you push, and with your horns you butt all the weak, until you have scattered them abroad; 22therefore I will save^e my flock, and they shall no longer be a prey; and I will judge between sheep and sheep. 23And I will raise up over them one shepherd, and he shall shepherd them, my servant David; he shall shepherd them, and he shall be their shepherd. 24And I, the LORD, will be to them for God, and my servant David a prince in their midst; I, the LORD, have spoken.

The Covenant of Peace

25And I will cut for them a covenant^f of peace, and I will cause the evil beast to shabbat from the land; and they shall dwell in the wilderness securely, and sleep in the forests. 26And I will make them and the places around my hill a blessing; and I will bring down the shower in its time; showers of blessing they shall be. 27And the tree of the field shall give its fruit, and the land shall give its produce, and they shall be upon their ground securely; and they shall know that I am the LORD, when I break the bars of their yoke, and deliver them from the hand of those who made them serve^g.

28And they shall no longer be a prey to the nations, and the beast of the earth shall not devour them; and they shall dwell securely, and none making them afraid.

29And I will raise up for them a planting of renown, and they shall no longer be those gathered by famine in the land, and they shall no longer bear the shame of the nations. 30And they shall know that I, the LORD their God, am with them, and they are my people, the house of Israel, declares the Lord GOD.

31And you, my flock, the flock of my pasture, are man; I am your God, declares the Lord GOD.