Ezekiel 34; Ezekiel 35; Ezekiel 36

1 The Lord spoke his word to me, saying:

2 "Human, prophesy against the leaders of Israel, who are like shepherds. Prophesy and say to them: 'This is what the Lord God says: How terrible it will be for the shepherds of Israel who feed only themselves! Why don't the shepherds feed the flock?

3 You eat the milk curds, and you clothe yourselves with the wool. You kill the fat sheep, but you do not feed the flock.

4 You have not made the weak strong. You have not healed the sick or put bandages on those that were hurt. You have not brought back those who strayed away or searched for the lost. But you have ruled the sheep with cruel force.

5 The sheep were scattered, because there was no shepherd, and they became food for every wild animal.

6 My flock wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. They were scattered all over the face of the earth, and no one searched or looked for them.

7 "'So, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord. This is what the Lord God says:

8 As surely as I live, my flock has been caught and eaten by all the wild animals, because the flock has no shepherd. The shepherds did not search for my flock. No, they fed themselves instead of my flock.

9 So, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord.

10 This is what the Lord God says: I am against the shepherds. I will blame them for what has happened to my sheep and will not let them tend the flock anymore. Then the shepherds will stop feeding themselves, and I will take my flock from their mouths so they will no longer be their food.

11 "'This is what the Lord God says: I, myself, will search for my sheep and take care of them.

12 As a shepherd takes care of his scattered flock when it is found, I will take care of my sheep. I will save them from all the places where they were scattered on a cloudy and dark day.

13 I will bring them out from the nations and gather them from the countries. I will bring them to their own land and pasture them on the mountains of Israel, in the ravines, and in all the places where people live in the land.

14 I will feed them in a good pasture, and they will eat grass on the high mountains of Israel. They will lie down on good ground where they eat grass, and they will eat in rich grassland on the mountains of Israel.

15 I will feed my flock and lead them to rest, says the Lord God.

16 I will search for the lost, bring back those that strayed away, put bandages on those that were hurt, and make the weak strong. But I will destroy those sheep that are fat and strong. I will tend the sheep with fairness.

17 "'This is what the Lord God says: As for you, my flock, I will judge between one sheep and another, between the male sheep and the male goats.

18 Is it not enough for you to eat grass in the good land? Must you crush the rest of the grass with your feet? Is it not enough for you to drink clear water? Must you make the rest of the water muddy with your feet?

19 Must my flock eat what you crush, and must they drink what you make muddy with your feet?

20 "'So this is what the Lord God says to them: I, myself, will judge between the fat sheep and the thin sheep.

21 You push with your side and with your shoulder, and you knock down all the weak sheep with your horns until you have forced them away.

22 So I will save my flock; they will not be hurt anymore. I will judge between one sheep and another.

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

24 Then I, the Lord, will be their God, and my servant David will be a ruler among them. I, the Lord, have spoken.

25 "'I will make an agreement of peace with my sheep and will remove harmful animals from the land. Then the sheep will live safely in the desert and sleep in the woods.

26 I will bless them and let them live around my hill. I will cause the rains to come when it is time; there will be showers to bless them.

27 Also the trees in the countryside will give their fruit, and the land will give its harvest. And the sheep will be safe on their land. Then they will know that I am the Lord when I break the bars of their captivity and save them from the power of those who made them slaves.

28 They will not be led captive by the nations again. The wild animals will not eat them, but they will live safely, and no one will make them afraid.

29 I will give them a place famous for its good crops, so they will no longer suffer from hunger in the land. They will not suffer the insults of other nations anymore.

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

31 You, my human sheep, are the sheep I care for, and I am your God, says the Lord God.'"

1 The Lord spoke his word to me, saying:

2 "Human, look toward Edom and prophesy against it.

3 Say to it: 'This is what the Lord God says: I am against you, Edom. I will stretch out my hand against you and make you an empty desert.

4 I will destroy your cities, and you will become empty. Then you will know that I am the Lord.

5 "'You have always been an enemy of Israel. You let them be defeated in war when they were in trouble at the time of their final punishment.

6 So the Lord God says, as surely as I live, I will let you be murdered. Murder will chase you. Since you did not hate murdering people, murder will chase you.

7 I will make Edom an empty ruin and destroy everyone who goes in or comes out of it.

8 I will fill its mountains with those who are killed. Those killed in war will fall on your hills, in your valleys, and in all your ravines.

9 I will make you a ruin forever; no one will live in your cities. Then you will know that I am the Lord.

10 "'You said, "These two nations, Israel and Judah, and these two lands will be ours. We will take them for our own." But the Lord was there.

11 So this is what the Lord God says: As surely as I live, I will treat you just as you treated them. You were angry and jealous because you hated them. So I will punish you and show the Israelites who I am.

12 Then you will know that I, the Lord, have heard all your insults against the mountains of Israel. You said, "They have been ruined. They have been given to us to eat."

13 You have not stopped your proud talk against me. I have heard you.

14 This is what the Lord God says: All the earth will be happy when I make you an empty ruin.

15 You were happy when the land of Israel was ruined, but I will do the same thing to you. Mount Seir and all Edom, you will become an empty ruin. Then you will know that I am the Lord.'"

1 "Human, prophesy to the mountains of Israel and say: 'Mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord.

2 This is what the Lord God says: The enemy has said about you, "Now the old places to worship gods have become ours."'

3 So prophesy and say: 'This is what the Lord God says: They have made you an empty ruin and have crushed you from all around. So you became a possession of the other nations. People have talked and whispered against you.

4 So, mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord God. The Lord God speaks to the mountains, hills, ravines, and valleys, to the empty ruins and abandoned cities that have been robbed and laughed at by the other nations.

5 This is what the Lord God says: I speak in hot anger against the other nations. I speak against the people of Edom, who took my land for themselves with joy and with hate in their hearts. They forced out the people and took their pastureland.'

6 So prophesy about the land of Israel and say to the mountains, hills, ravines, and valleys: 'This is what the Lord God says: I speak in my jealous anger, because you have suffered the insults of the nations.

7 So this is what the Lord God says: I promise that the nations around you will also have to suffer insults.

8 "'But you, mountains of Israel, will grow branches and fruit for my people, who will soon come home.

9 I am concerned about you; I am on your side. You will be plowed, and seed will be planted in you.

10 I will increase the number of people who live on you, all the people of Israel. The cities will have people living in them, and the ruins will be rebuilt.

11 I will increase the number of people and animals living on you. They will grow and have many young. You will have people living on you as you did before, and I will make you better off than at the beginning. Then you will know that I am the Lord.

12 I will cause my people Israel to walk on you and own you, and you will belong to them. You will never again take their children away from them.

13 "'This is what the Lord God says: People say about you, "You eat people and take children from your nation."

14 But you will not eat people anymore or take away the children, says the Lord God.

15 I will not make you listen to insults from the nations anymore; you will not suffer shame from them anymore. You will not cause your nation to fall anymore, says the Lord God.'"

16 The Lord spoke his word to me again, saying:

17 "Human, when the nation of Israel was living in their own land, they made it unclean by their ways and the things they did. Their ways were like a woman's uncleanness in her time of monthly bleeding.

18 So I poured out my anger against them, because they murdered in the land and because they made the land unclean with their idols.

19 I scattered them among the nations, and they were spread through the countries. I punished them for how they lived and what they did.

20 They dishonored my holy name in the nations where they went. The nations said about them: 'These are the people of the Lord, but they had to leave the land which he gave them.'

21 But I had concern for my holy name, which the nation of Israel had dishonored among the nations where they went.

22 "So say to the people of Israel, 'This is what the Lord God says: Israel, I am going to act, but not for your sake. I will do something to help my holy name, which you have dishonored among the nations where you went.

23 I will prove the holiness of my great name, which has been dishonored among the nations. You have dishonored it among these nations, but the nations will know that I am the Lord when I prove myself holy before their eyes, says the Lord God.

24 "'I will take you from the nations and gather you out of all the lands and bring you back into your own land.

25 Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. I will cleanse you from all your uncleanness and your idols.

26 Also, I will teach you to respect me completely, and I will put a new way of thinking inside you. I will take out the stubborn hearts of stone from your bodies, and I will give you obedient hearts of flesh.

27 I will put my Spirit inside you and help you live by my rules and carefully obey my laws.

28 You will live in the land I gave to your ancestors, and you will be my people, and I will be your God.

29 So I will save you from all your uncleanness. I will command the grain to come and grow; I will not allow a time of hunger to hurt you.

30 I will increase the harvest of the field so you will never again suffer shame among the nations because of hunger.

31 Then you will remember your evil ways and actions that were not good, and you will hate yourselves because of your sins and your terrible acts that I hate.

32 I want you to know that I am not going to do this for your sake, says the Lord God. Be ashamed and embarrassed about your ways, Israel.

33 "'This is what the Lord God says: This is what will happen on the day I cleanse you from all your sins: I will cause the cities to have people living in them again, and the destroyed places will be rebuilt.

34 The empty land will be plowed so it will no longer be a ruin for everyone who passes by to see.

35 They will say, "This land was ruined, but now it has become like the garden of Eden. The cities were destroyed, empty, and ruined, but now they are protected and have people living in them."

36 Then those nations still around you will know that I, the Lord, have rebuilt what was destroyed and have planted what was empty. I, the Lord, have spoken, and I will do it.'

37 "This is what the Lord God says: I will let myself be asked by the people of Israel to do this for them again: I will make their people grow in number like a flock.

38 They will be as many as the flocks brought to Jerusalem during her holy feasts. Her ruined cities will be filled with flocks of people. Then they will know that I am the Lord."