Ezekiel 34

A Prophecy against Israel’s Shepherds

¹Then the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, ²“Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and tell them that this is what the Lord Yahweh says: ‘Woe to the shepherds of Israel, who only feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed their flock? ³You eat the fat, wear the wool, and butcher the fattened sheep, but you do not feed the flock.

• EZK 34:2[ALLUDED TO]The New Testament refers to this → JUDE 1:12
• EZK 34:2[NOTE]SHEPHERDS. In the Bible, shepherds often means kings and leaders. These ate the best, wore the wool and let the sheep scatter.

⁴You have not strengthened the weak, healed the sick, bound up the injured, brought back the strays, or searched for the lost. Instead, you have ruled them with violence and cruelty. ⁵They were scattered for lack of a shepherd, and when they were scattered they became food for all the wild beasts. ⁶My flock went astray on all the mountains and every high hill. They were scattered over the face of all the earth, with no one to search for them or seek them out.’

⁷Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of Yahweh: ⁸‘As surely as I live, declares the Lord Yahweh, because My flock lacks a shepherd and has become prey and food for every wild beast, and because My shepherds did not search for My flock but fed themselves instead, ⁹therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of Yahweh!’

¹⁰This is what the Lord Yahweh says: ‘Behold, I am against the shepherds, and I will demand from them My flock and remove them from tending the flock, so that they can no longer feed themselves. For I will deliver My flock from their mouths, and it will no longer be food for them.’

The Good Shepherd// Psalm 23:1–6; John 10:1–21

¹¹For this is what the Lord Yahweh says: ‘Behold, I Myself will search for My flock and seek them out. ¹²As a shepherd looks for his scattered sheep when he is among the flock, so I will look for My flock.

• EZK 34:11[PROPHECY]I Myself will search for My sheep and seek them out; I will feed them in good pasture → LK 19:10; JN 10:11-16

I will rescue them from all the places to which they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness. ¹³I will bring them out from the peoples, gather them from the countries, and bring them into their own land. I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, in the ravines, and in all the settlements of the land. ¹⁴I will feed them in good pasture, and the lofty mountains of Israel will be their grazing land. There they will lie down in a good grazing land; they will feed in rich pasture on the mountains of Israel.

¹⁵I will tend My flock and make them lie down, declares the Lord Yahweh. ¹⁶I will seek the lost, bring back the strays, bind up the broken, and strengthen the weak; but the sleek and strong I will destroy. I will shepherd them with justice.’

¹⁷This is what the Lord Yahweh says to you, My flock: ‘I will judge between one sheep and another, between the rams and the goats. ¹⁸Is it not enough for you to feed on the good pasture? Must you also trample the rest of the pasture with your feet? Is it not enough for you to drink the clear waters? Must you also muddy the rest with your feet? ¹⁹Why must My flock feed on what your feet have trampled, and drink what your feet have muddied?’

²⁰Therefore this is what the Lord Yahweh says to them: ‘Behold, I Myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. ²¹Since you shove with flank and shoulder, butting all the weak ones with your horns until you have scattered them abroad, ²²I will save My flock, and they will no longer be prey. I will judge between one sheep and another. ²³I will appoint over them one shepherd, My servant David, and he will feed them. He will feed them and be their shepherd. ²⁴I, Yahweh, will be their God, and My servant David will be a prince among them. I, Yahweh, have spoken.

• EZK 34:23[PROPHECY]I will establish one Shepherd over them, My servant David; He shall be prince among them → JN 10:11; LK 1:32; 1PE 2:25; 1PE 5:4
• EZK 34:23[NOTE]MY SERVANT DAVID. David had died about 400 years before. This is a King from David's line. Christians see Jesus, the good shepherd, John 10:11.

The Covenant of Peace

²⁵I will make with them a covenant of peace and rid the land of wild animals, so that they may dwell securely in the wilderness and sleep in the forest. ²⁶I will make them and the places around My hill a blessing. I will send down showers in season—showers of blessing. ²⁷The trees of the field will give their fruit, and the land will yield its produce; My flock will be secure in their land. Then they will know that I am Yahweh, when I have broken the bars of their yoke and delivered them from the hands that enslaved them.

²⁸They will no longer be prey for the nations, and the beasts of the earth will not consume them. They will dwell securely, and no one will frighten them.

²⁹And I will raise up for them a garden of renown, and they will no longer be victims of famine in the land or bear the scorn of the nations. ³⁰Then they will know that I, Yahweh their God, am with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are My people,’ declares the Lord Yahweh.

³¹‘You are My flock, the sheep of My pasture, My people, and I am your God,’ declares the Lord Yahweh.”