Ezekiel 34

The word of the LORD came to me: “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 feed themselves! Should not shepherds feed the flock? You eat the fat, clothe yourselves with the wool, and slaughter the fattened sheep, but you do not feed the flock. You have not strengthened the weak, healed the sick, bound up the broken, brought back the driven away, or sought the lost. You have ruled them with force and cruelty. They were scattered for lack of a shepherd and became food for all the beasts of the field. They were scattered! My sheep wander over all the mountains and every high hill. My sheep have been scattered over the whole face of the earth, with no one searching or seeking them. Therefore, shepherds, hear the word of the LORD. As I live, declares the Lord GOD, because my sheep have become plunder and food for all the beasts of the field for lack of a shepherd, and because my shepherds have not searched for my sheep but have fed themselves instead of feeding my sheep, therefore, shepherds, hear the word of the LORD. This is what the Lord GOD says: I am against the shepherds. I will demand my sheep from their hands and put an end to their tending the flock. The shepherds will no longer feed themselves. I will rescue my sheep from their mouths, and they will no longer be food for them. For this is what the Lord GOD says: I myself will search for my sheep and look after them. As a shepherd looks after his flock when he is among his scattered sheep, so I will look after my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness. I will bring them out from the peoples, gather them from the countries, and bring them to their own land. I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, in the ravines, and in all the inhabited places of the land. I will feed them in good pasture, and their dwelling will be on the high mountains of Israel. There they will lie down in a good dwelling and graze in rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. I myself will feed my sheep, and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord GOD. I will seek the lost, bring back the driven away, bind up the broken, and strengthen the sick. But I will destroy the fat and the strong. I will feed them with justice. As for you, my sheep, this is what the Lord GOD says: I will judge between one sheep and another, between rams and male goats. Is it not enough for you to graze in the good pasture? Must you trample the rest of your pasture with your feet? Is it not enough for you to drink clear water? Must you muddy the rest with your feet? My sheep graze on what your feet have trampled and drink what your feet have muddied. Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says to them: I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. Because you push with side and shoulder and thrust with your horns at all the weak until you have scattered them outside, I will save my sheep, and they will no longer be plunder. I will judge between one sheep and another. I will appoint one shepherd over them to feed them, my servant David. He will feed them and be their shepherd. I, the LORD, will be their God, and my servant David will be a prince among them. I, the LORD, have spoken. I will make a covenant of peace with them and put an end to wild beasts in the land. They will live securely in the wilderness and sleep in the forests. I will make them and the places around my hill a blessing. I will send down rain in its season; there will be showers of blessing. The trees of the field will yield their fruit, and the land will yield its produce. They will be secure on their own land and know that I am the LORD when I break the bars of their yoke and rescue them from the hands of those who enslave them. They will no longer be plunder for the nations, and the beasts of the earth will not devour them. They will live securely, with no one to make them afraid. I will establish for them a planting of renown. They will no longer be consumed by famine in the land or bear the disgrace of the nations. 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. You, my sheep, the sheep of my pasture, are human beings, and I am your God, declares the Lord GOD.’”

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