Hesekiel 34 | New International Reader’s Version English Standard Version

Hesekiel 34 | New International Reader’s Version

The Lord will be the shepherd of his people

1 A message from the LORD came to me. The LORD said, 2 ‘Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Tell them, “The LORD and King says, ‘How terrible it will be for you shepherds of Israel! You only take care of yourselves. You should take good care of your flocks. 3 Instead, you eat the butter. You dress yourselves with the wool. You kill the finest animals. But you do not take care of your flocks. 4 You have not made the weak ones in the flock stronger. You have not healed the ill. You have not bandaged those who are hurt. You have not brought back those who have wandered away. You have not searched for the lost. When you ruled over them, you were mean to them. You treated them badly. 5 So they were scattered because they did not have a shepherd. They became food for all of the wild animals. 6 My sheep wandered all over the mountains and high hills. They were scattered over the whole earth. No one searched for them. No one looked for them.’ 7 ‘ “Shepherds, listen to the LORD’s message. He says, 8 ‘My flock does not have a shepherd. Many of my sheep have been stolen. They have become food for all the wild animals. My shepherds did not care for my sheep. They did not even search for them. Instead, they only took care of themselves. And that is just as sure as I am alive,’ announces the LORD and King. 9 Shepherds, listen to the LORD’s message. 10 The LORD and King says, ‘I am against the shepherds. I will hold them responsible for my flock. I will stop them from taking care of the flock. Then they will not be able to feed themselves anymore. I will save my flock from their mouths. My sheep will no longer be food for them.’ ” ’ 11 The LORD and King says, ‘I myself will search for my sheep. I will look after them. 12 A shepherd looks after his scattered flock when he is with them. And I will look after my sheep. I will save them from all the places where they were scattered on a dark and cloudy day. 13 I will bring them out from among the nations. I will gather them together from other countries. I will bring them into their own land. There they will eat grass on the mountains and in the valleys. And they will eat in all the fields of Israel. 14 I will take care of them in the best grasslands. They will eat grass on the highest mountains of Israel. There they will lie down in the finest grasslands. They will eat grass in the best places on Israel’s mountains. 15 I myself will take care of my sheep. I will let them lie down in safety,’ announces the LORD and King. 16 ‘I will search for the lost. I will bring back those who have wandered away. I will bandage the ones who are hurt. I will make the weak ones stronger. But I will destroy those who are fat and strong. I will take good care of my sheep. I will treat them fairly.’ 17 The LORD and King says, ‘You are my flock. I will judge between one sheep and another. I will judge between rams and goats. 18 You already eat in the best grasslands. Must you also trample all over the other fields? You already drink clear water. Must you also make the rest of the water muddy with your feet? 19 Must my flock have to eat the grass you have trampled on? Must they drink the water you have made muddy?’ 20 So the LORD and King speaks to them. He says, ‘I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the skinny sheep. 21 You push the other sheep around with your hips and shoulders. You use your horns to butt all the weak sheep. Finally, you drive them away. 22 But I will save my sheep. They will not be carried off anymore. I will judge between one sheep and another. 23 I will place one shepherd over them. He will belong to the family line of my servant David. He will take good care of them. He will look after them. He will be their shepherd. 24 I am the LORD. I will be their God. And my servant from David’s family line will be the prince among them. I have spoken. I am the LORD. 25 ‘I will make a covenant with them. It promises to give them peace. I will get rid of the wild animals in the land. Then my sheep can live safely in the desert. They can sleep in the forests. 26 I will make them and the places surrounding my holy mountain of Zion a blessing. I will send down rain at the right time. There will be showers of blessing. 27 The trees will bear their fruit. And the ground will produce its crops. The people will be secure in their land. I will break the chains that hold them. I will save them from the power of those who made them slaves. Then they will know that I am the LORD. 28 The nations will not carry them off anymore. Wild animals will no longer eat them up. They will live in safety. And no one will make them afraid. 29 I will give them a land that is famous for its crops. They will never again be hungry there. The nations will not make fun of them anymore. 30 Then they will know that I am with them. I am the LORD their God. And the Israelites will know that they are my people,’ announces the LORD and King. 31 ‘You are my sheep. You belong to my flock. And I am your God,’ announces the LORD and King.

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English Standard Version

Prophecy Against the Shepherds of Israel

1 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy, and say to them, even to the shepherds, Thus says the Lord God: Ah, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves! Should not shepherds feed the sheep? 3 You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fat ones, but you do not feed the sheep. 4 The weak you have not strengthened, the sick you have not healed, the injured you have not bound up, the strayed you have not brought back, the lost you have not sought, and with force and harshness you have ruled them. 5 So they were scattered, because there was no shepherd, and they became food for all the wild beasts. My sheep were scattered; 6 they wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. My sheep were scattered over all the face of the earth, with none to search or seek for them. 7 “Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: 8 As I live, declares the Lord God, surely because my sheep have become a prey, and my sheep have become food for all the wild beasts, since there was no shepherd, and because my shepherds have not searched for my sheep, but the shepherds have fed themselves, and have not fed my sheep, 9 therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: 10 Thus says the Lord God, Behold, I am against the shepherds, and I will require my sheep at their hand and put a stop to their feeding the sheep. No longer shall the shepherds feed themselves. I will rescue my sheep from their mouths, that they may not be food for them.

The Lord God Will Seek Them Out

11 “For thus says the Lord God: Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out. 12 As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, so will I seek out my sheep, and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness. 13 And I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land. And I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the ravines, and in all the inhabited places of the country. 14 I will feed them with good pasture, and on the mountain heights of Israel shall be their grazing land. There they shall lie down in good grazing land, and on rich pasture they shall feed on the mountains of Israel. 15 I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord God. 16 I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will destroy.* I will feed them in justice. 17 “As for you, my flock, thus says the Lord God: Behold, I judge between sheep and sheep, between rams and male goats. 18 Is it not enough for you to feed on the good pasture, that you must tread down with your feet the rest of your pasture; and to drink of clear water, that you must muddy the rest of the water with your feet? 19 And must my sheep eat what you have trodden with your feet, and drink what you have muddied with your feet? 20 “Therefore, thus says the Lord God to them: Behold, I, I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. 21 Because you push with side and shoulder, and thrust at all the weak with your horns, till you have scattered them abroad, 22 I will rescue* my flock; they shall no longer be a prey. And I will judge between sheep and sheep. 23 And I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd. 24 And I, the Lord, will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince among them. I am the Lord; I have spoken.

The Lord’s Covenant of Peace

25 “I will make with them a covenant of peace and banish wild beasts from the land, so that they may dwell securely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods. 26 And I will make them and the places all around my hill a blessing, and I will send down the showers in their season; they shall be showers of blessing. 27 And the trees of the field shall yield their fruit, and the earth shall yield its increase, and they shall be secure in their land. 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 enslaved them. 28 They shall no more be a prey to the nations, nor shall the beasts of the land devour them. They shall dwell securely, and none shall make them afraid. 29 And I will provide for them renowned plantations so that they shall no more be consumed with hunger in the land, and no longer suffer the reproach of the nations. 30 And they shall know that I am the Lord their God with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are my people, declares the Lord God. 31 And you are my sheep, human sheep of my pasture, and I am your God, declares the Lord God.”