Ezekiel 34

Prophecy Against the Shepherds of Israel

1 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 *See ch. 2:1"Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy, and say to them, even to the shepherds, Thus says the Lord God: *See Jer. 23:1Ah, shepherds of Israel *[ver. 8, 10; Jude 12] who have been feeding yourselves! *[2 Cor. 12:14]Should not shepherds feed the sheep? 3 *Zech. 11:16You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, *Zech. 11:4,5;[Mic. 3:2,3]you slaughter the fat ones, but you do not feed the sheep. 4 *[ver. 16, 21] The weak you have not strengthened, the sick you have not healed, *[See ver. 3above] the injured you have not bound up, *[See ver. 3above] the strayed you have not brought back, *[Matt. 18:12;Luke 15:4] the lost you have not sought, and with force and *Ex. 1:13,14;[1 Pet. 5:3]harshness you have ruled them. 5 *1 Kgs. 22:17;Matt. 9:36So they were scattered, because there was no shepherd, and *[Jer. 50:7,17]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, *[ver. 11]with none to search or seek for them.

7 "Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: 8 *See ch. 16:48As I live, declares the Lord God, surely because *[ver. 22]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, *See ch. 13:8Behold, I am against the shepherds, and *[Heb. 13:17]; See ch. 3:18I will require my sheep at their hand and *[Zech. 11:8] put a stop to their feeding the sheep. *[ver. 2, 8] No longer shall the shepherds feed themselves. *[ch. 13:21]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: *[Luke 19:10;John 10:11] Behold, I, I *[Mic. 4:6,7]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 *ch. 30:3a day of clouds and *Joel 2:2;Zeph. 1:15thick darkness. 13 And I will bring them out from the peoples *See ch. 11:17and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land. And I will feed them on *See ch. 6:2the mountains of Israel, by the ravines, and in all the inhabited places of the country. 14 *Ps. 23:2;[John 10:9] I will feed them with good pasture, and on the mountain heights of Israel shall be their grazing land. *[Isa. 32:18;Jer. 33:12]There they shall lie down in good grazing land, and on rich pasture they shall feed on the mountains of Israel. 15 *[ver. 23; Isa. 40:11] I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, *[See ver. 14above]and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord God. 16 *[ver. 4] I will seek the lost, *Mic. 4:6and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, and *[ver. 20;Isa. 10:16;Amos 4:1]the fat and the strong I will destroy.*34:16 Septuagint, Syriac, Vulgate I will watch over I will feed them in justice.

17 "As for you, my flock, thus says the Lord God: *ver. 20, 22;[ch. 20:38;Matt. 25:32,33] Behold, I judge between sheep and sheep, between rams and *Zech. 10:3male 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 *[ch. 32:14]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 *Deut. 33:17;Dan. 8:4thrust at all the *[ver. 4]weak with your horns, till you have scattered them abroad, 22 I will rescue*34:22 Or save my flock; *[ver. 8]they shall no longer be a prey. And I will judge between sheep and sheep. 23 And *ch. 37:22,24;Jer. 23:4,5;Mic. 5:4;7:14;[ver. 15; John 10:11,16] I will set up over them one shepherd, *ch. 37:24,25;[2 Sam. 5:2;Ps. 78:71,72]my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd. 24 And *See ch. 37:27;Ex. 29:45;Lev. 26:12I, the Lord, will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince among them. *See ch. 17:24I am the Lord; I have spoken.

The Lord’s Covenant of Peace

25 *ch. 37:26;See Isa. 54:10"I will make with them a covenant of peace and *Lev. 26:6;Hos. 2:18;[Isa. 35:9]; See Isa. 11:6-9banish wild beasts from the land, *ch. 38:8,14;39:26so 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 *Gen. 12:2;Isa. 19:24;Zech. 8:13a blessing, and *Lev. 26:4;[ch. 22:24] I will send down the showers in their season; they shall be *Mal. 3:10showers of blessing. 27 *ch. 36:30;Lev. 26:4And the trees of the field shall yield their fruit, and the earth shall yield its increase, *[See ver. 25above] and they shall be secure in their land. And *See ch. 6:7they shall know that I am the Lord, when *Jer. 30:8I break the bars of their yoke, and *Jer. 30:8deliver them from the hand of those who enslaved them. 28 *[See ver. 22above] They shall no more be a prey to the nations, *[See ver. 25above] nor shall the beasts of the land devour them. *[See ver. 25above]They shall dwell securely, and none shall make them afraid. 29 And I will provide for them *Isa. 60:21;61:3a renowned place for planting so that *ch. 36:29they shall no more be consumed with hunger in the land, and no longer *See ch. 32:24suffer the reproach of the nations. 30 And they shall know that *[See ver. 24above]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, *Ps. 74:1;100:3;John 10:16human sheep of my pasture, and I am your God, declares the Lord God."