Ezekiel 34
1 The word of the LORD came to me:
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 have been feeding themselves! Shouldn’t shepherds feed the flock?
3 You eat the fat, wear the wool, and slaughter the fattened sheep, but you do not feed the flock.
4 You have not strengthened the weak, healed the sick, bandaged the injured, brought back the strays, or searched for the lost. Instead, you ruled them harshly and cruelly.
5 So they were scattered because there was no shepherd, and they became food for every wild animal. They were scattered.
6 My flock wanders over every mountain and every high hill; my flock has been scattered over the whole earth, and no one asks about them or looks for them.
7 So, shepherds, hear the word of the LORD.
8 As surely as I live, declares the Lord GOD, my flock has become prey, and my flock has become food for every wild animal because there was no shepherd. My shepherds did not look after my flock; they fed themselves instead of feeding my flock.
9 So, shepherds, hear the word of the LORD.
10 This is what the Lord GOD says: I am against the shepherds, and I will demand my flock from them. I will make them stop tending the flock, and the shepherds will no longer feed themselves. I will rescue my flock from their mouths, and it will no longer be food for them.»’”
11 “‘«For this is what the Lord GOD says: Here I am, and I myself will search for my flock and look after them.
12 As a shepherd looks after his flock when he is among his scattered sheep, so I will look after my flock. I will rescue them from every place where they were scattered on a day of cloud and darkness.
13 I will bring them out from among the peoples, gather them from the lands, and bring them to their own soil. I will tend them on the mountains of Israel, beside the streams and in all the inhabited places of the land.
14 I will tend them in good pasture, and their sheepfold will be on the high mountains of Israel. There they will lie down in a good fold and graze in rich pasture on the mountains of Israel.
15 I myself will tend my flock, and I myself will let them lie down to rest, declares the Lord GOD.
16 I will search for the lost, bring back the strays, bandage the injured, and strengthen the sick; but I will destroy the fat and the strong. I will tend them with justice.
17 As for you, my flock, this is what the Lord GOD says: I am going to judge between one sheep and another, between the rams and the male goats.
18 Is it not enough for you to graze in good pasture? Must you also trample the rest of your pasture underfoot? Is it not enough for you to drink clear water? Must you also muddy what is left with your feet?
19 My flock must graze on what your feet have trampled and drink what your feet have muddied.
20 So this is what the Lord GOD says to them: Here I am, and I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the thin sheep.
21 Because you shove with your flank and shoulder and butt with your horns all the weak ones until you drive them out.»’”
22 “‘«I will save my flock, and they will no longer be prey. I will judge between one sheep and another.
23 I will appoint one shepherd over them, and he will tend them: my servant David. He will tend 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 remove dangerous animals from the land. They will live securely in the wilderness and sleep in the forests.
26 I will make them and the area around my hill a blessing, and I will send rain at the proper time; there will be showers of blessing.
27 The trees of the field will bear their fruit, and the land will yield its crops. They will be secure on their own soil. 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 prey for the nations, and the wild animals will not devour them. They will live securely, with no one to frighten them.
29 I will provide them with a renowned planting, and they will no longer be swept away by famine in the land or bear the shame of the nations.
30 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 As for you, my flock, the flock of my pasture, you are human beings, and I am your God, declares the Lord GOD.»’”
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