Israel Is Like a Flock of Sheep

34 The word of the Lord came to me. He said, ²“Son of man,* speak against the shepherds (leaders) of Israel for me. Speak to them for me. Tell them that the Lord and Master says these things, ‘You shepherds of Israel have only been feeding yourselves. It will be very bad for you! Why don’t you shepherds feed the flock? ³You eat the fat sheep and use their wool to make clothes for yourselves. You kill the fat sheep, but you don’t feed the flock. ⁴You have not made the weak strong. You have not cared for the sick sheep. You have not put bandages on the sheep that were hurt. Some of the sheep wandered away, and you did not go get them and bring them back. You did not go to look for those lost sheep. No, you were cruel and severe—that’s the way you tried to lead the sheep! ⁵“‘And now the sheep are scattered because there was no shepherd. They became food for every wild animal. So they were scattered. ⁶My flock wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. My flock was scattered over all the face of the earth. There was no one to search or to look for them.’” ⁷So, you shepherds, listen to the word of the Lord. The Lord my Master says, ⁸“By my life, I promise this to you. Wild animals caught my sheep. Yes, my flock has become food for all the wild animals. Why? Because they did not have a real shepherd. My shepherds did not look out for my flock. No, those shepherds only killed the sheep and fed themselves. They did not feed my flock.” ⁹So, you shepherds, listen to the word of the Lord! ¹⁰The Lord says, “I am against those shepherds! I will demand my sheep from them. I will fire them! They won’t be my shepherds any more! Then the shepherds won’t be able to feed themselves. And I will save my flock from their mouths. Then my sheep won’t be food for them.” ¹¹The Lord my Master says, “I, myself, will be their Shepherd. I will search for my sheep. I will look out for them. ¹²If a shepherd is with his sheep when they begin to wander away, then he will go searching for them. In the same way I will search for my sheep. I will save my sheep. I will bring them back from all the places where they were scattered on that dark and cloudy day. ¹³I will bring them back from those nations. I will gather them from those countries. I will bring them to their own land. And I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the streams, in all the places where people live. ¹⁴I will lead them to grassy fields. They will go to the place high on the mountains of Israel. There they will lie down on good ground and eat the grass. They will eat in rich grassland on the mountains of Israel. ¹⁵Yes, I will feed my flock and I will lead them to a place of rest.” The Lord my Master said those things. ¹⁶“I will search for the lost sheep. I will bring back the sheep that were scattered. I will put bandages on the sheep that were hurt. I will make the weak sheep strong. But I will destroy those fat and powerful {shepherds}. I will feed them the punishment they deserve.” ¹⁷The Lord my Master says these things, “And you, my flock, I will judge between one sheep and another. I will judge between the male sheep and the male goats. ¹⁸You can eat the grass growing on the good land. So why do you also crush the grass that other sheep want to eat? You can drink plenty of clear water. So why do you also stir the water that other sheep want to drink? ¹⁹My flock must eat the grass you crushed with your feet, and they must drink the water you stir with your feet!” ²⁰So the Lord my Master says to them: “I, myself, will judge between the fat sheep and the thin sheep! ²¹You push with your side and shoulder. You knock down all the weak sheep with your horns. You push until you have forced them away. ²²So I will save my flock. They won’t be caught by wild animals any more. I will judge between one sheep and another. ²³Then I will put one shepherd over them, my servant David. He will feed them and be their shepherd. ²⁴Then I, the Lord and Master, will be their God. And my servant David will be the ruler living among them. I, the Lord, have spoken. ²⁵“And I will make a peace agreement with my sheep. I will take harmful animals away from the land. Then the sheep can be safe in the desert and sleep in the woods. ²⁶I will bless the sheep and the places around my hill (Jerusalem). I will cause the rains to fall at the right time. They will shower them with blessings. ²⁷And the trees growing in the field will produce their fruit. The earth will give its harvest. So the sheep will be safe on their land. I will break the yokes* on them. I will save them from the power of the people that made them slaves. Then they will know that I am the Lord. ²⁸They won’t be caught like an animal by the nations any more. Those animals won’t eat them any more. But they will live safely. No one will make them afraid. ²⁹I will give them some land that will make a good garden. Then they won’t suffer from hunger in that land. They won’t suffer the insults from the nations any more. ³⁰Then they will know that I am the Lord their God. And they will know that I am with them. And the family of Israel will know that they are my people!” The Lord my Master said those things! ³¹“You are my sheep, the sheep of my grassland. You are only human beings. And I am your God.” The Lord my Master said those things.

Son of man This was usually just a way of saying “a person,” or “a human being.” But here this is a title for the man, Ezekiel. yokes A pole that was put on the shoulders of men or animals to help them carry or pull things. This often showed that a person was a slave.

The Message Against Edom

35 The word of the Lord came to me. He said, ²“Son of man,* look toward Mount Seir, and speak against it for me. ³Say to it, ‘The Lord my Master says these things: “‘I am against you, Mount Seir! I will punish you. I will make you an empty wasteland. ⁴I will destroy your cities. And you will become empty. Then you will know that I am the Lord. ⁵Why? Because you have always been against my people. You used your sword against Israel at the time of their trouble, at the time of their final punishment.’” ⁶So the Lord my Master says, “By my life I promise that I will let death have you. Death will chase you. You did not hate killing people. So death will chase you. ⁷And I will make Mount Seir an empty ruin. I will kill every person that comes from that city. And I will kill every person that tries to go into that city. ⁸I will cover its mountains with dead bodies. Those dead bodies will be all over your hills, in your valleys, and in all your ravines. ⁹I will make you empty forever. No one will live in your cities. Then you will know that I am the Lord.” ¹⁰You said, “These two nations and countries (Israel and Judah) will be mine. We will take them for our own.” But the Lord is there! ¹¹And the Lord my Master says, “You were jealous of my people. You were angry at them and you were hateful to me. So by my life, I promise that I will punish you the same way you hurt them! I will punish you and let my people know that I am with them. ¹²And then you too will know that I have heard all your insults. You said many bad things against the mountain of Israel. You said, ‘Israel has been destroyed! We will chew them up like food!’ ¹³And you were proud and said things against me. You spoke too many times and I have heard every word you said! Yes, I heard you.” ¹⁴The Lord my Master says these things, “All the earth will be happy when I destroy you ¹⁵You were happy when the country of Israel was destroyed. I will treat you the same way. Mount Seir and the whole country of Edom will be destroyed. Then you will know that I am the Lord.”

Son of man This was usually just a way of saying “a person,” or “a human being.” But here this is a title for the man, Ezekiel.