Ezekiel 34

Prophecy against the Shepherds of Israel

1Then the word of the Lord came to me saying, 2“Son of man, prophesy against the 1shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and say to 2those shepherds, ‘Thus says the Lord 3God, “Woe, shepherds of Israel who have been 45feeding themselves! Should not the shepherds 67feed the flock? 3You 8eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool, you 9slaughter the fat sheep without 10feeding the flock. 4Those who are sickly you have not strengthened, the 11diseased you have not healed, 12the broken you have not bound up, the scattered you have not brought back, nor have you 13sought for the lost; but with force and with severity you have dominated them. 5They were 14scattered for lack of a shepherd, and they became 15food for every beast of the field and were scattered. 6My flock 16wandered through all the mountains and on every high hill; 17My flock was scattered over all the surface of the earth, and there was 18no one to search or seek for them.”’”

7Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: 8“As I live,” declares the Lord God, “surely because My flock has become a 19prey, My flock has even become food for all the beasts of the field for lack of a shepherd, and My shepherds did not search for My flock, but rather the shepherds fed themselves and did not feed My flock; 9therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: 10‘Thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I am 20against the shepherds, and I will demand My 21sheep 22from them and make them 23cease from feeding 24sheep. So the shepherds will not 25feed themselves anymore, but I will 26deliver My flock from their mouth, so that they will not be food for them.”’”

The Restoration of Israel

11For thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I Myself will 27search for My sheep and seek them out. 1228As a shepherd 29cares for his herd in the day when he is among his scattered 30sheep, so I will 3132care for My 33sheep and will deliver them from all the places to which they were scattered on a 34cloudy and gloomy day. 13I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries and bring them to their own land; and I will 35feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the 36streams, and in all the inhabited places of the land. 14I will feed them in a 37good pasture, and their grazing ground will be on the mountain heights of Israel. There they will lie down on good grazing ground and feed in 3839rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. 15I will 40feed My flock and I will 41lead them to rest,” declares the Lord God. 16“I will seek the lost, bring back the scattered, bind up the broken and strengthen the sick; but the 42fat and the strong I will destroy. I will 43feed them with judgment.

17“As for you, My flock, thus says the Lord God, ‘Behold, I will 44judge between one 45sheep and another, between the rams and the male goats. 18Is it too 46slight a thing for you that you should feed in the good pasture, that you must tread down with your feet the rest of your pastures? Or that you should drink of the clear waters, that you must 47foul the rest with your feet? 19As for My flock, they must eat what you tread down with your feet and drink what you 48foul with your feet!’”

20Therefore, thus says the Lord God to them, “Behold, I, even I, will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. 21Because you push with side and with shoulder, and 49thrust at all the 50weak with your horns until you have scattered them 51abroad, 22therefore, I will 52deliver My flock, and they will no longer be a prey; and I will judge between one sheep and another.

23“Then I will 53set over them one 54shepherd, My servant 55David, and he will feed them; he will feed them himself and be their shepherd. 24And I, the Lord, will be their God, and My servant 56David will be prince among them; I the Lord have spoken.

25“I will make a 57covenant of peace with them and 58eliminate harmful beasts from the land so that they may 59live securely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods. 26I will make them and the places around My hill a 60blessing. And I will cause 61showers to come down in their season; they will be showers of 62blessing. 27Also the tree of the field will yield its fruit and the earth will yield its increase, and they will be 63secure on their land. Then they will know that I am the Lord, when I have 64broken the bars of their yoke and have delivered them from the hand of those who enslaved them. 28They will no longer be a prey to the nations, and the beasts of the earth will not devour them; but they will 65live securely, and no one will make them afraid. 29I will establish for them a 66renowned planting place, and they will 67not again be 68victims of famine in the land, and they will not 69endure the insults of the nations anymore. 30Then they will know that 70I, the Lord their God, am with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are My people,” declares the Lord God. 31“As for you, My 71sheep, the 72sheep of My pasture, you are men, and I am your God,” declares the Lord God.