Ezekiel 34 : 1 (NLT)
Then this message came to me from the LORD:
Ezekiel 34 : 2 (NLT)
"Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds, the leaders of Israel. Give them this message from the Sovereign LORD: What sorrow awaits you shepherds who feed yourselves instead of your flocks. Shouldn't shepherds feed their sheep?
Ezekiel 34 : 3 (NLT)
You drink the milk, wear the wool, and butcher the best animals, but you let your flocks starve.
Ezekiel 34 : 4 (NLT)
You have not taken care of the weak. You have not tended the sick or bound up the injured. You have not gone looking for those who have wandered away and are lost. Instead, you have ruled them with harshness and cruelty.
Ezekiel 34 : 5 (NLT)
So my sheep have been scattered without a shepherd, and they are easy prey for any wild animal.
Ezekiel 34 : 6 (NLT)
They have wandered through all the mountains and all the hills, across the face of the earth, yet no one has gone to search for them.
Ezekiel 34 : 7 (NLT)
"Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD:
Ezekiel 34 : 8 (NLT)
As surely as I live, says the Sovereign LORD, you abandoned my flock and left them to be attacked by every wild animal. And though you were my shepherds, you didn't search for my sheep when they were lost. You took care of yourselves and left the sheep to starve.
Ezekiel 34 : 9 (NLT)
Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD.
Ezekiel 34 : 10 (NLT)
This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I now consider these shepherds my enemies, and I will hold them responsible for what has happened to my flock. I will take away their right to feed the flock, and I will stop them from feeding themselves. I will rescue my flock from their mouths; the sheep will no longer be their prey.
Ezekiel 34 : 11 (NLT)
"For this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I myself will search and find my sheep.
Ezekiel 34 : 12 (NLT)
I will be like a shepherd looking for his scattered flock. I will find my sheep and rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on that dark and cloudy day.
Ezekiel 34 : 13 (NLT)
I will bring them back home to their own land of Israel from among the peoples and nations. I will feed them on the mountains of Israel and by the rivers and in all the places where people live.
Ezekiel 34 : 14 (NLT)
Yes, I will give them good pastureland on the high hills of Israel. There they will lie down in pleasant places and feed in the lush pastures of the hills.
Ezekiel 34 : 15 (NLT)
I myself will tend my sheep and give them a place to lie down in peace, says the Sovereign LORD.
Ezekiel 34 : 16 (NLT)
I will search for my lost ones who strayed away, and I will bring them safely home again. I will bandage the injured and strengthen the weak. But I will destroy those who are fat and powerful. I will feed them, yes-- feed them justice!
Ezekiel 34 : 17 (NLT)
"And as for you, my flock, this is what the Sovereign LORD says to his people: I will judge between one animal of the flock and another, separating the sheep from the goats.
Ezekiel 34 : 18 (NLT)
Isn't it enough for you to keep the best of the pastures for yourselves? Must you also trample down the rest? Isn't it enough for you to drink clear water for yourselves? Must you also muddy the rest with your feet?
Ezekiel 34 : 19 (NLT)
Why must my flock eat what you have trampled down and drink water you have fouled?
Ezekiel 34 : 20 (NLT)
"Therefore, this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I will surely judge between the fat sheep and the scrawny sheep.
Ezekiel 34 : 21 (NLT)
For you fat sheep pushed and butted and crowded my sick and hungry flock until you scattered them to distant lands.
Ezekiel 34 : 22 (NLT)
So I will rescue my flock, and they will no longer be abused. I will judge between one animal of the flock and another.
Ezekiel 34 : 23 (NLT)
And I will set over them one shepherd, my servant David. He will feed them and be a shepherd to them.
Ezekiel 34 : 24 (NLT)
And I, the LORD, will be their God, and my servant David will be a prince among my people. I, the LORD, have spoken!
Ezekiel 34 : 25 (NLT)
"I will make a covenant of peace with my people and drive away the dangerous animals from the land. Then they will be able to camp safely in the wildest places and sleep in the woods without fear.
Ezekiel 34 : 26 (NLT)
I will bless my people and their homes around my holy hill. And in the proper season I will send the showers they need. There will be showers of blessing.
Ezekiel 34 : 27 (NLT)
The orchards and fields of my people will yield bumper crops, and everyone will live in safety. When I have broken their chains of slavery and rescued them from those who enslaved them, then they will know that I am the LORD.
Ezekiel 34 : 28 (NLT)
They will no longer be prey for other nations, and wild animals will no longer devour them. They will live in safety, and no one will frighten them.
Ezekiel 34 : 29 (NLT)
"And I will make their land famous for its crops, so my people will never again suffer from famines or the insults of foreign nations.
Ezekiel 34 : 30 (NLT)
In this way, they will know that I, the LORD their God, am with them. And they will know that they, the people of Israel, are my people, says the Sovereign LORD.
Ezekiel 34 : 31 (NLT)
You are my flock, the sheep of my pasture. You are my people, and I am your God. I, the Sovereign LORD, have spoken!"
❮
❯