Ezekiel 34

The Failure of Israel’s Shepherds

Woe to the False Shepherds

1 The word of the LORD came to me, saying,

2 “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and say to them, to the shepherds, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says: Woe to the shepherds of Israel who only feed themselves. Should not the shepherds feed the flock,

3 You eat the fat, clothe yourselves with the wool, and slaughter the fat sheep, but you do not feed the flock.

4 You have not strengthened the weak, healed the sick, bandaged the injured, brought back the strayed, or searched for the lost. Instead, you ruled them with force and cruelty.

5 So they were scattered because there was no shepherd. When they were scattered, they became food for every wild animal.

6 My flock wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. My flock was scattered over the whole face of the earth, with no one searching or looking for them.

7 Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD.

8 As I live,” declares the Lord GOD, “because My flock became prey and My flock became food for every wild animal since there was no shepherd, and because My shepherds did not search for My flock but fed themselves instead,

9 therefore, shepherds, hear the word of the LORD.

10 This is what the Lord GOD says: Look, I am against the shepherds. I will demand My flock from them and stop them from feeding the flock. The shepherds will no longer feed themselves. I will rescue My flock from their mouths so they will not be food for them anymore.

The LORD the True Shepherd

11 “For this is what the Lord GOD says: Look, I Myself will search for My sheep and look after them.

12 Just like a shepherd looks after his scattered flock when he is among them, so I will look after My sheep. I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness.

13 I will bring them out from the peoples, gather them from the countries, and bring them into their own land. I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the ravines, and in all the inhabited places of the land.

14 I will feed them in good pasture, and their grazing land will be on the mountain heights of Israel. There they will lie down in good grazing land and feed in rich pasture on the mountains of Israel.

15 I Myself will tend My sheep and make them lie down,” declares the Lord GOD.

16 “I will search for the lost, bring back the strayed, bandage the injured, and strengthen the weak. But the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will shepherd them with justice.

Judgment Between Sheep

17 “As for you, My flock, this is what the Lord GOD says: Look, I will judge between one sheep and another, between rams and goats.

18 Is it not enough for you to feed on good pasture that you trample the rest with your feet, Or to drink clear water that you muddy the rest with your feet,

19 Must My flock feed on what you trampled with your feet and drink what you muddied with your feet,

20 Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says to them: Look, I Myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep.

21 Because you shove with side and shoulder and thrust all the weak aside with your horns until you scatter them,

22 I will save My flock, and they will no longer be prey. I will judge between one sheep and another.

The Coming Shepherd-king

23 “I will set up one shepherd over them, and he will feed them, My servant David. He will feed them and be their shepherd.

24 I, the LORD, will be their God, and My servant David will be prince among them. I, the LORD, have spoken.

25 “I will make a covenant of peace with them and eliminate dangerous animals from the land, so they may live securely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods.

26 I will make them and the places around My hill a blessing. I will send down showers in their season; they will be showers of blessing.

27 The trees of the field will yield their fruit, and the land will yield its produce. They will live securely in their land. Then they will know that I am the LORD, when I break the bars of their yoke and rescue them from the hands of those who enslaved them.

28 They will no longer be plunder for the nations, and wild animals will not devour them. They will live securely, and no one will make them afraid.

29 “I will establish for them a place of renown, and they will no longer be consumed by famine in the land or endure insults from the nations.

30 Then they will know that I, the LORD their God, am with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are My people,” declares the Lord GOD.

31 “You are My flock, the flock of My pasture, you are people, and I am your God,” declares the Lord GOD.