Ezekiel

And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

1The word of the LORD came to me. He said:

2Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD unto the shepherds; Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the flocks?

2Son of man, speak against the shepherds of Israel. Tell them the Lord GOD says this: How terrible for the shepherds of Israel, who only feed themselves! Shouldn't shepherds feed the flock?

Note"Son of man" is how God speaks to Ezekiel all through this book. It simply means "human being." The "shepherds of Israel" are the country's rulers and leaders; the chapter uses sheep as a picture of the people, and says so plainly in verse 31.

3Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed: but ye feed not the flock.

3You eat the fat and wear the wool. You kill the sheep you have fattened. But you do not feed the flock.

4The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost; but with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them.

4You have not made the weak strong. You have not healed the sick or bandaged the injured. You have not gone after the ones that wandered off, or looked for the lost. Instead you ruled them with force and cruelty.

5And they were scattered, because there is no shepherd: and they became meat to all the beasts of the field, when they were scattered.

5So the sheep were scattered, because they had no shepherd. Once scattered, they became food for every wild animal.

NoteThe KJV says the sheep "became meat" for the animals. In 1611, "meat" meant food of any kind, not just animal flesh.

6My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and upon every high hill: yea, my flock was scattered upon all the face of the earth, and none did search or seek after them.

6My sheep wandered over all the mountains and every high hill. They were scattered across the whole earth, and no one searched or looked for them.

7Therefore, ye shepherds, hear the word of the LORD;

7So, you shepherds, listen to what the LORD says.

8As I live, saith the Lord GOD, surely because my flock became a prey, and my flock became meat to every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd, neither did my shepherds search for my flock, but the shepherds fed themselves, and fed not my flock;

8The Lord GOD says: As surely as I live, my flock had no shepherd. Wild animals hunted them and ate them. My shepherds never looked for my flock. They fed themselves instead of feeding my sheep.

9Therefore, O ye shepherds, hear the word of the LORD;

9So, you shepherds, listen to what the LORD says.

10Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against the shepherds; and I will require my flock at their hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the flock; neither shall the shepherds feed themselves any more; for I will deliver my flock from their mouth, that they may not be meat for them.

10The Lord GOD says this: I am against the shepherds. I will make them answer to me for my flock. I will stop them from tending sheep, so they can no longer feed themselves. I will pull my flock out of their mouths, and my sheep will not be their food.

11For thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep, and seek them out.

11The Lord GOD says this: I myself will search for my sheep and look for them.

12As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered; so will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day.

12A shepherd goes looking when his sheep are scattered. I will look for my flock the same way. I will rescue them from every place they were scattered on that dark and cloudy day.

13And I will bring them out from the people, and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land, and feed them upon the mountains of Israel by the rivers, and in all the inhabited places of the country.

13I will bring them out from other peoples and gather them from other countries. I will bring them to their own land. I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the streams, and in every place where people live.

14I will feed them in a good pasture, and upon the high mountains of Israel shall their fold be: there shall they lie in a good fold, and in a fat pasture shall they feed upon the mountains of Israel.

14I will feed them in good pasture. The high mountains of Israel will be their grazing land. There they will lie down in a good place and eat in rich pasture on the mountains of Israel.

15I will feed my flock, and I will cause them to lie down, saith the Lord GOD.

15I will feed my flock myself, and I will let them lie down and rest, says the Lord GOD.

16I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick: but I will destroy the fat and the strong; I will feed them with judgment.

16I will look for the lost and bring back the ones that wandered off. I will bandage the injured and make the weak strong. But the fat, strong sheep I will destroy. I will shepherd my flock fairly.

17And as for you, O my flock, thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I judge between cattle and cattle, between the rams and the he goats.

17And to you, my flock, the Lord GOD says this: I will judge between one sheep and another, and between the rams and the male goats.

18Seemeth it a small thing unto you to have eaten up the good pasture, but ye must tread down with your feet the residue of your pastures? and to have drunk of the deep waters, but ye must foul the residue with your feet?

18Is it not enough that you feed on the good pasture? Must you also trample the rest with your feet? Is it not enough that you drink the clear water? Must you also muddy the rest?

19And as for my flock, they eat that which ye have trodden with your feet; and they drink that which ye have fouled with your feet.

19So my flock has to eat the grass your feet have trampled. They have to drink the water your feet have muddied.

20Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD unto them; Behold, I, even I, will judge between the fat cattle and between the lean cattle.

20So the Lord GOD says to them: I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the thin sheep.

21Because ye have thrust with side and with shoulder, and pushed all the diseased with your horns, till ye have scattered them abroad;

21You shove with your side and your shoulder. You butt all the weak ones with your horns until they scatter.

22Therefore will I save my flock, and they shall no more be a prey; and I will judge between cattle and cattle.

22So I will save my flock. They will not be hunted and taken again. I will judge between one sheep and another.

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

23I will put one shepherd over them, my servant David. He will feed them. He will feed them and be their shepherd.

24And I the LORD will be their God, and my servant David a prince among them; I the LORD have spoken it.

24I, the LORD, will be their God, and my servant David will be a prince among them. I, the LORD, have spoken.

25And I will make with them a covenant of peace, and will cause the evil beasts to cease out of the land: and they shall dwell safely in the wilderness, and sleep in the woods.

25I will make an agreement of peace with them. I will clear the wild animals out of the land. Then they can live safely in open country and even sleep in the woods.

26And I will make them and the places round about my hill a blessing; and I will cause the shower to come down in his season; there shall be showers of blessing.

26I will make them, and the places around my hill, a blessing. I will send the rains at the right time. They will be showers of blessing.

27And the tree of the field shall yield her fruit, and the earth shall yield her increase, and they shall be safe in their land, and shall know that I am the LORD, when I have broken the bands of their yoke, and delivered them out of the hand of those that served themselves of them.

27The trees will give their fruit, and the ground will give its crops. The people will be safe in their land. They will know I am the LORD when I break the bars off their necks and free them from those who used them as slaves.

28And they shall no more be a prey to the heathen, neither shall the beast of the land devour them; but they shall dwell safely, and none shall make them afraid.

28Other nations will no longer hunt them and carry them off. Wild animals will not eat them. They will live safely, and no one will frighten them.

NoteThe KJV word "heathen" here means the other nations around Israel. It is not about what those people believed.

29And I will raise up for them a plant of renown, and they shall be no more consumed with hunger in the land, neither bear the shame of the heathen any more.

29I will give them land famous for what it grows. They will never again go hungry in their land. They will no longer be shamed by other nations.

NoteThe KJV says God will raise up "a plant of renown." The Hebrew points to a famous planting or garden: land that grows food, so the people are not hungry.

30Thus shall they know that I the LORD their God am with them, and that they, even the house of Israel, are my people, saith the Lord GOD.

30Then they will know that I, the LORD their God, am with them. They will know that they, the people of Israel, are my people, says the Lord GOD.

31And ye my flock, the flock of my pasture, are men, and I am your God, saith the Lord GOD.

31You are my flock, the sheep of my pasture. You are people, and I am your God, says the Lord GOD.