Ezekiel 34

¹The word of the Lord came to me:

²Son 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 ?

³You eat the fat , you clothe yourselves with the wool , you slaughter the fat ones , but you do not feed the sheep .

⁴The 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.

⁵So they were scattered , because there was no shepherd , and they became food for all the wild beasts .

⁶My sheep were scattered ; 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.

⁷Therefore , you shepherds , hear the word of the Lord:

⁸As 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 ,

⁹therefore , you shepherds , hear the word of the Lord:

¹⁰Thus 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.

¹¹For thus says the Lord God: Behold , I, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out .

¹²As 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 .

¹³And 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 .

¹⁴I 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 .

¹⁵I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep , and I myself will make them lie down , declares the Lord God.

¹⁶I 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 .

¹⁷As for you , my flock , thus says the Lord God: Behold , I judge between sheep and sheep , between rams and male goats .

¹⁸Is 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 ?

¹⁹And must my sheep eat what you have trodden with your feet , and drink what you have muddied with your feet ?

²⁰Therefore , thus says the Lord God to them: Behold , I, I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep .

²¹Because you push with side and shoulder , and thrust at all the weak with your horns , till you have scattered them abroad ,

²²I will rescue my flock ; they shall no longer be a prey . And I will judge between sheep and sheep .

²³And I will set up over them one shepherd , my servant David , and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd .

²⁴And I , the Lord, will be their God , and my servant David shall be prince among them. I am the Lord; I have spoken .

²⁵I 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 .

²⁶And 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 .

²⁷And 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.

²⁸They 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 .

²⁹And 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 .

³⁰And 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.

³¹And you are my sheep , human sheep of my pasture , and I am your God , declares the Lord God.