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34 And the Devar Hashem came unto me, saying,

Ben Adam, prophesy against the ro’im (shepherds) of Yisroel, prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith Adonoi Hashem unto the ro’im (shepherds); Oy to the ro’im (shepherds) of Yisroel who are ro’im tending to themselves! Should not the ro’im (shepherds) be ro’im tending to the tzon (flock)?

Ye eat the chelev, and ye clothe you with the tzemer (wool), ye slaughter the healthy; but ye are not ro’im that tend the tzon.

The weak have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was cholah (sick), neither have ye bound up the nishberet (injured ones), neither have ye brought back that which was straying, neither have ye sought haovedet (the lost); but with chazekah (force) and with perek (harshness, severity) have ye ruled them.

And they were scattered, because there is no ro’eh; and they became okhel (food) to kol chayyat hasadeh, when they were scattered.

My tzon wandered through all the harim, and upon every high givah (hill); yes, My tzon was scattered upon all the face of ha’aretz, and none did search or seek after them.

Therefore, ye ro’im, hear the Devar Hashem:

As I live, saith Adonoi Hashem, surely because My tzon became a prey, and My tzon became okhel to kol chayyat hasadeh, because there was no ro’eh, neither did My ro’im (shepherds) search for My tzon, but the ro’im (shepherds) were ro’im tending to themselves, and tended not My tzon;

Therefore, O ye ro’im, hear the Devar Hashem:

10 Thus saith Adonoi Hashem: Hineni, I am against the ro’im; and I will require an accounting for My tzon at their yad, and cause them to cease from being ro’im to the tzon; neither shall the ro’im (shepherds) be ro’im tending to themselves any more; for I will save My tzon from their mouth, that they may not be okhel for them.

11 For thus saith Adonoi Hashem: Hineni, I, even I, will both search for My tzon, and seek after them.

12 As a ro’eh seeketh after his tzon in the day that he is among his tzon that are scattered; so will I seek after My tzon, and will save them out of kol hamekomot (all the places) where they have been scattered there in the yom anan va’arafel (day of clouds and thick darkness).

13 And I will bring them out from HaAmim, and gather them from the aratzot (countries), and will bring them to their own adamah, and I will tend them as Ro’eh upon the harim of Yisroel by the ravines, and in all the moshevei HaAretz.

14 I will give them feeding of a roeh in a mireh tov (good pasture) and upon the high harim of Yisroel shall their naveh (fold, abode of sheep) be; there shall they lie in a naveh tov, and in a mireh shamen (fat pasture) shall they feed upon the harim of Yisroel.

15 As a ro’eh will I tend My tzon, and I will cause them to lie down, saith Adonoi Hashem.

16 I will seek haovedet (that which was lost), and bring back that which was straying, and will bind up the nishberet (that which was injured), and will strengthen the cholah (sick); but I will destroy the shemenah (stout, sleek) and the chazakah; I will tend to them with mishpat (justice).

17 And as for you, O My tzon, thus saith Adonoi Hashem; Hineni, I judge between seh and seh, between the rams and the goats.

18 Seemeth it a small thing unto you to have eaten up the mireh hatov (good pasture), that ye must also trample down with your raglayim what is left of your mirim (pastures)? And to have drunk of the clear mayim, but ye must also foul the rest with your raglayim?

19 And as for My tzon, they feed on that which ye have trampled with your raglayim; and they drink that which ye have fouled with your raglayim.

20 Therefore thus saith Adonoi Hashem unto them; Hineni, I, even I, will act as shofet between the seh biryah (fat lamb) and between the seh razah (emaciated lamb).

21 Because ye have thrust with flank and with shoulder, and butted all the weak emaciated ones with your karnayim, till ye have scattered them abroad;

22 Therefore will I save My tzon, and they shall no more be a prey; and I will act as shofet between seh and seh.

23 And I will set up Ro’eh Echad over them, He shall tend them as ro’eh, even Avdi Dovid; He shall feed them. He shall be their Ro’eh.

24 And I Hashem will be their Elohim, and Avdi Dovid [Moshiach] a Nasi among them; I Hashem have spoken.

25 And I will make with them a Brit Shalom, and will cause the chayyah ra’ah to cease out of HaAretz; and they shall dwell safely in the midbar, and sleep in the ye’arot (forests).

26 And I will make them and the places surrounding My givah (hill) a brocha; and I will cause the geshem to come down in its season; there shall be gishmei brocha (showers of blessing).

27 And the etz hasadeh shall yield her p’ri, and ha’aretz shall yield her increase, and they shall be safe in their adamah, and shall know that I am Hashem, when I have broken the bars of their ol (yoke), and saved them out of the yad haovedim (hand, power of enslavers) of them.

28 And they shall no more be a prey to the Goyim, neither shall the chayyat HaAretz devour them; but they shall dwell safely, and none shall make them afraid.

29 And I will raise up for them a planting of renown, and they shall be no more consumed with ra’av in HaAretz, neither bear the shame of the Goyim any more.

30 Thus shall they know that I Hashem Eloheihem am with them, and that they, even Bais Yisroel, are My people, saith Adonoi Hashem.

31 And ye My tzon, the tzon of My mireh, are adam, and I am Eloheichem, saith Adonoi Hashem.

The Lord Will Be Israel’s Shepherd

34 The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Woe to you shepherds of Israel who only take care of yourselves! Should not shepherds take care of the flock?(A) You eat the curds, clothe yourselves with the wool and slaughter the choice animals, but you do not take care of the flock.(B) You have not strengthened the weak or healed(C) the sick or bound up(D) the injured. You have not brought back the strays or searched for the lost. You have ruled them harshly and brutally.(E) So they were scattered because there was no shepherd,(F) and when they were scattered they became food for all the wild animals.(G) My sheep wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill.(H) They were scattered(I) over the whole earth, and no one searched or looked for them.(J)

“‘Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, because my flock lacks a shepherd and so has been plundered(K) and has become food for all the wild animals,(L) and because my shepherds did not search for my flock but cared for themselves rather than for my flock,(M) therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: 10 This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am against(N) the shepherds and will hold them accountable for my flock. I will remove them from tending the flock so that the shepherds can no longer feed themselves. I will rescue(O) my flock from their mouths, and it will no longer be food for them.(P)

11 “‘For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I myself will search for my sheep(Q) and look after them. 12 As a shepherd(R) looks after his scattered flock when he is with them, so will I look after my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness.(S) 13 I will bring them out from the nations and gather(T) them from the countries, and I will bring them into their own land.(U) I will pasture them on the mountains of Israel, in the ravines and in all the settlements in the land.(V) 14 I will tend them in a good pasture, and the mountain heights of Israel(W) will be their grazing land. There they will lie down in good grazing land, and there they will feed in a rich pasture(X) on the mountains of Israel.(Y) 15 I myself will tend my sheep and have them lie down,(Z) declares the Sovereign Lord.(AA) 16 I will search for the lost and bring back the strays. I will bind up(AB) the injured and strengthen the weak,(AC) but the sleek and the strong I will destroy.(AD) I will shepherd the flock with justice.(AE)

17 “‘As for you, my flock, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will judge between one sheep and another, and between rams and goats.(AF) 18 Is it not enough(AG) for you to feed on the good pasture? Must you also trample the rest of your pasture with your feet?(AH) Is it not enough for you to drink clear water? Must you also muddy the rest with your feet? 19 Must my flock feed on what you have trampled and drink what you have muddied with your feet?

20 “‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says to them: See, I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep.(AI) 21 Because you shove with flank and shoulder, butting all the weak sheep with your horns(AJ) until you have driven them away, 22 I will save my flock, and they will no longer be plundered. I will judge between one sheep and another.(AK) 23 I will place over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he will tend(AL) them; he will tend them and be their shepherd.(AM) 24 I the Lord will be their God,(AN) and my servant David(AO) will be prince among them.(AP) I the Lord have spoken.(AQ)

25 “‘I will make a covenant(AR) of peace(AS) with them and rid the land of savage beasts(AT) so that they may live in the wilderness and sleep in the forests in safety.(AU) 26 I will make them and the places surrounding my hill a blessing.[a](AV) I will send down showers in season;(AW) there will be showers of blessing.(AX) 27 The trees will yield their fruit(AY) and the ground will yield its crops;(AZ) the people will be secure(BA) in their land. They will know that I am the Lord, when I break the bars of their yoke(BB) and rescue them from the hands of those who enslaved them.(BC) 28 They will no longer be plundered by the nations, nor will wild animals devour them. They will live in safety,(BD) and no one will make them afraid.(BE) 29 I will provide for them a land renowned(BF) for its crops, and they will no longer be victims of famine(BG) in the land or bear the scorn(BH) of the nations.(BI) 30 Then they will know that I, the Lord their God, am with them and that they, the Israelites, are my people, declares the Sovereign Lord.(BJ) 31 You are my sheep,(BK) the sheep of my pasture,(BL) and I am your God, declares the Sovereign Lord.’”

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 34:26 Or I will cause them and the places surrounding my hill to be named in blessings (see Gen. 48:20); or I will cause them and the places surrounding my hill to be seen as blessed