Eze 34 | NASB2020 | STEP | Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying ,

Ezekiel 34

Prophecy against the Shepherds of Israel

1 Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 “Son of man, prophesy against the ^ashepherds of Israel. Prophesy and say to ^{▼▼Lit them, the shepherds}those shepherds, ‘This is what the Lord ^{▼▼Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord, and so throughout the ch}God says: “Woe, shepherds of Israel who have been ^{▼▼Lit pasturing, pasture
,} ^efeeding themselves! Should the shepherds not ^{▼▼Lit pasturing, pasture
,} ^gfeed the flock? 3 You ^heat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool, you ⁱslaughter the fat sheep ^{▼▼Lit you do not pasture}without feeding the flock. 4 Those who are sickly you have not strengthened, the diseased you have not healed, ^kthe broken you have not bound up, the scattered you have not brought back, nor have you ^lsearched for the lost; but with force and with violence you have ^{▼▼Or ruled}dominated them. 5 They ⁿscattered for lack of a shepherd, and they became ^ofood for every animal of the field and scattered. 6 My flock ^pstrayed through all the mountains and on every high hill; ^qMy flock was scattered over all the surface of the earth, and there was ^rno one to search or seek for them.”’”

7 Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: 8 “As I live,” declares the Lord God, “certainly, because My flock has become ^splunder, and My flock has become food for all the animals 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, 9 therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: 10 ‘This is what the Lord God says: “Behold, I am ^tagainst the shepherds, and I will demand My ^{▼▼Or flock}sheep ^{▼▼Lit from their hand}from them and make them ^wstop tending sheep. So the shepherds will not ^{▼▼Lit pasture, and so throughout the ch}feed themselves anymore, but I will ^ysave My sheep from their mouth, so that they will not be food for them.”’”

The Restoration of Israel

11 For the Lord God says this: “Behold, I Myself will ^zsearch for My sheep and look after them. 12 ^aaAs a shepherd cares for his flock on a day when he is among his scattered ^{▼▼Or flock}sheep, so I will ^accare for My ^{▼▼Or flock}sheep and will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on a ^aecloudy and gloomy day. 13 I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries and bring them to their own land; and I will ^affeed them on the mountains of Israel, by the ^agstreams, and in all the inhabited places of the land. 14 I will feed them in a ^ahgood pasture, and their grazing place will be on the mountain heights of Israel. There they will lie down in a good grazing place and feed in ^{▼▼Lit fat
,} ^ajrich pasture on the mountains of Israel. 15 I Myself will ^akfeed My flock and I Myself will ^{▼▼Lit let them lie down}lead 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 ^amfat and the strong I will eliminate. I will ^anfeed them with judgment.

17 “As for you, My flock, this is what the Lord God says: ‘Behold, I am going to ^aojudge between one ^{▼▼Or lamb}sheep and another, between the rams and the male goats. 18 Is it too ^aqlittle a thing for you to feed in the good pasture, that you must trample with your feet the rest of your pastures? Or too little for you to drink the clear waters, that you must muddy the rest with your feet? 19 But as for My flock, they must eat what you trample with your feet, and drink what you muddy with your feet!’”

20 Therefore, this is what the Lord God says to them: “Behold, I, I Myself will also judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. 21 Since you push away with your side and shoulder, and ^argore all the ^{▼▼Or sick}weak with your horns until you have scattered them ^{▼▼Lit to the outside}abroad, 22 therefore, I will ^ausave My flock, and they will no longer be plunder; and I will judge between one sheep and another.

23 “Then I will ^avappoint over them one ^awshepherd, My servant ^axDavid, and he will feed them; he will feed them himself and be their shepherd. 24 And I, the Lord, will be their God, and My servant ^ayDavid will be prince among them; I the Lord have spoken.

25 “And I will make a ^azcovenant of peace with them and ^baeliminate harmful animals from the land, so that they may ^bblive securely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods. 26 I will make them and the places around My hill a ^bcblessing. And I will make ^bdshowers fall in their season; they will be showers of ^beblessing. 27 Also the tree of the field will yield its fruit and the earth will yield its produce, and they will be ^bfsecure on their land. Then they will know that I am the Lord, when I have ^bgbroken the bars of their yoke and have saved them from the hand of those who enslaved them. 28 They will no longer be plunder to the nations, and the animals of the earth will not devour them; but they will ^bhlive securely, and no one will make them afraid. 29 I will establish for them a ^birenowned planting place, and they will ^bjnot again be ^{▼▼Lit those gathered}victims of famine in the land, and they will not ^blendure the insults of the nations anymore. 30 Then they will know that ^bmI, 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 ^bnsheep, ^{▼▼As in MT; LXX you are sheep of My flock, and}the ^bpsheep of My pasture, you are mankind, and I am your God,” declares the Lord God.