Book of Ezekiel_Chapter 34

The word of the Lord came to me, saying,

Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, saying, Woe to the Lord GOD. The shepherds of Israel only know how to feed themselves. Shouldn’t a shepherd care for a flock of sheep?

You eat fat, wear wool, slaughter fat, but do not feed the flock.

Thin and weak, you haven’t grown strong. Those who are sick have not been treated by you. Injured, you are not wrapped up. Those who have been expelled have not been retrieved by you. Lost, you haven’t searched. But with strict and violent control.

Without a shepherd, the sheep are scattered. Once dispersed, it became food for all wild beasts.

My sheep are wandering among the mountains, on every high hill, scattered throughout the whole earth, with no one seeking or searching.

So, you shepherds, listen to the word of the Lord.

As I live forever, declares the Lord GOD, my sheep have become plunder without a shepherd, and have become food for all wild beasts. My shepherd does not seek my sheep. These shepherds only care for themselves and do not care for my sheep.

So you shepherds, listen to the word of the Lord.

This is what the Lord GOD says: I will be against the shepherds, and I will pursue my sheep from their hands, so that they will no longer graze their flocks. The shepherd no longer grasps himself. I will rescue my sheep from their mouths and no longer be their food.

This is what the Lord GOD says: “See, I myself will search for my sheep and find them.”.

How the shepherd searches for his sheep on the day when the flock is scattered, so will I search for my sheep. These sheep have scattered everywhere in the dark days of dense clouds, and I will rescue them from there.

I will bring them out of all nations, gather them from all nations, guide them back to their homeland, and feed them by all streams and waters on the mountains of Israel, and in all habitable places within their borders.

I will feed them in a beautiful pasture. Their circle will be on the high mountains of Israel, they will lie down in the beautiful circle, and they will eat grass in the fertile grasslands of the mountains of Israel.

The Lord GOD has said, I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, so that they may lie down.

I will search for those who are lost. I will retrieve those who have been expelled. I will wrap around those who are injured. I will heal those who are sick. I will destroy the fat and strong ones, and I will feed them impartially.

As for you, O my flock, this is what the Lord Jehovah says: I will make judgments between the sheep and between the male sheep and the male goat.

Do you fat sheep think it’s a small matter to eat grass on a beautiful grassland? You have trampled on the remaining grass with your hooves. You drink clean water, and the remaining water is mixed up with your hooves.

As for my sheep, I will only eat what you have trampled on and drink what you have stirred up.

Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD, I will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep.

Because you crowded all the thin and weak with your threats and shoulders, and resisted them with your horns, causing them to scatter.

Therefore, I will save my flock from being plundered. I will also judge between the sheep and the sheep.

I will appoint a shepherd to take care of them and feed them, which is my servant David. He will feed them and be their shepherd.

I, the Lord, will be their God, and my servant David will be king among them. This is what the Lord has said.

I will make a peace treaty with them, cutting off evil beasts from within their borders, and they will settle in the wilderness and lie down in the forest.

I will make them and the surrounding areas of my mountain a source of blessings, and I will make the rain fall in time, and blessings will come like showers.

The trees in the fields will bear fruit, and the land will also yield. They will reside peacefully in their homeland. I broke the yoke on them and saved them from the hands of those who enslaved them. At that time, they knew that I was the Lord.

They will no longer be plundered by foreigners, and the wild beasts of the earth will no longer devour them. But they must live in peace, without anyone to be frightened.

I will raise up famous plants for them. They will no longer be destroyed by famine within their borders, nor will they be subjected to the shame of the Gentiles,

You will know that the Lord their God is with them, and that the house of Israel is my people. This is what the Lord Jehovah has said.

You are my sheep, the sheep on my pasture are the Israelites, and I am also your God. This is what the Lord Jehovah has said.