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34 [1] **The word of the Lord was with me, saying: **
[2] **Son of man, prophesy concerning the shepherds of Israel, **its leaders; **prophesy and say to them, to the shepherds: So said the Lord God: Woe! Shepherds of Israel who have been shepherding themselves, isn’t it the flocks that the shepherds should shepherd? **The shepherds’ priority should be to supervise and provide for their flock, not for themselves. Alternatively, the verse can be understood: Listen, shepherds of Israel, is it possible that the flock must herd its shepherds?** **
[3] **You,** the shepherds,** eat the **choice **fat, and **you** wear the wool **of sheep, and** you **also** slaughter the fat ones** for your food,** **but** you do not shepherd the flocks. **You exploit the people for your own interests, while failing to fulfill your obligations to manage and care for them.** **
[4] **The weak **sheep **you did not strengthen, the ill you did not heal, and the injured **bones** you did not bind; the outcast **sheep **you did not return, and the lost,** whose whereabouts are unknown, **you did not seek.** You have not treated the flock with kindness, **and you subjugated them forcefully and with travail. **You exploited the people through hard labor.** **
[5] **They, **the sheep,** were dispersed for lack of a **caring **shepherd **to look after them,** and **once they were away from the flock, they** **were vulnerable and **became food for every beast of the field, and they were dispersed **even more.** **
[6] **My flock strays on all the mountains and on every high hill; My flock was dispersed over the entire face of the earth, but there is no one seeking and there is no one searching. **The shepherds were occupied with themselves and they were uninterested in the whereabouts and welfare of the sheep. The reference to wandering on the mountains could be an allusion to idol worship, which is typically performed on mountaintops.
[7] **Therefore, shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: **
[8] **As I live – the utterance of the Lord God –** **surely because My flock was loot and My flock became food for every beast of the field for lack of a shepherd, and My shepherds did not seek My flock, and the shepherds herded themselves and did not herd My flock. **The authorities cared for no one but themselves;
[9] **therefore, shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: **
[10] **So said the Lord God: Behold, I am against the shepherds, **or: Behold I am turning to the shepherds;** and I will demand My flock from their hand. **The flock in their care belongs to Me, and I will demand an accounting from their leaders.** And I will cause them to cease herding flocks, and the shepherds will not herd themselves any longer. **I will remove them from their positions,** and I will rescue My flock from their mouth, and they will not be food for them. **
[11] **For so said the Lord God: Behold, it is I, and I **Myself** will seek My flock and inspect them, **assess their situation.
[12] **Like the inspection by a shepherd of his flock on the day that he is among his sheep that were separated** from the rest of the herd, **so I will inspect My flock, and I will rescue them from all the places to which they were dispersed on the day of cloud and fog. **On a cloudy day, sheep tend to wander off and scatter to distant places. Similarly, Israel was exiled among the nations during a period of gloom, because their leaders provided for themselves and neglected their people.
[13] **I will take them out from the peoples and I will gather them from the lands, and I will bring them to their soil, and I will herd them on the mountains of Israel, in the streams and in all the dwellings of the land. **
[14] **In good pasture I will herd them, and on the mountains of the heights of Israel will be their grazing place; there they will lie in a good grazing place,** their resting place,** and in a rich pasture they will graze on the mountains of Israel. **When I bring My people of Israel back to their land, they will come to the place that is appropriate for them, where they will find sustenance and serenity.
[15] It is not you, leaders of Israel, who will lead My people. Rather, **I **Myself **will shepherd My flock, and I will lay them down, **prepare a resting place for them **–** **the utterance of the Lord God. **
[16] **The lost I will seek, the outcast I will restore, the injured I will bandage, the ill I will strengthen, and the fat and the strong, **who harm the sheep,** I will destroy. **I will not allow powerful men to gain control over and harm My people.** **Rather, **I will herd them with justice **and** **I will care for the entire flock.
[17] God addresses the sheep of the flocks themselves: As for** you, My flock, so said the Lord God: Behold, I am judging between one lamb and another, **between the sheep and** the rams**,** **the older sheep** and the male goats. **
[18] **Is it not enough for you, **the powerful ones,** that you graze on the good, **lush** pasture, **due to your power and your agility;** **this does not satisfy** **you, so** that the rest of your pasture you trample with your feet, **rather than ensuring they are left for others who are weaker than you?** **Likewise, is it not enough for you that** you drink settled, **clear** waters, and **quench your thirst? At the same time, **you muddy the remainder **of the water by roiling mud and filth **with your feet. **
[19] The rest of **My flock, they graze upon that which was trampled by your feet, and they drink that which was muddied by your feet. **You, the strongest of the people, distractedly trample on the sources of food and water available to others, leaving them only with your remnants.
[20] **Therefore, so said the Lord God to them: Behold, it is I, and I will judge between the fat, **healthy** lamb and the lean lamb, **
[21] **because you, **the large, strong sheep,** shove **the feeble** with the flank and with the shoulder, and with your horns you gore all the weak until you cause them to disperse outside. **You forcibly ejected from the flock all those unable to cope.
[22] **I will save My flock, and they will no longer be as loot, and I will judge between one lamb and another. **
[23] After removing the shepherds and restoring the flock to a healthy, orderly state, **I will establish one shepherd over them, and he will herd them: My servant David, **who began his career as a shepherd. **He will herd them, **rather than only shepherding himself, **and he **alone **will be a shepherd for them, **as he will sustain them and see to their welfare. As is the case elsewhere in the prophecies of Ezekiel and other prophets, the mention of David is a reference to the future unification of the kingdoms of Judah and Israel under the rule of a king from the Davidic dynasty.
[24] **I, the Lord, will be their God, and My servant David **will be** prince among them; I, the Lord, have spoken. **
[25] **I will establish a covenant of peace with them, **as** **I will ensure that My people will live among their neighbors in peace,** and I will eliminate evil beasts from the land, and they, **My flock,** will live in security in the wilderness, **a place for grazing, **and **they** **will** sleep in the forests. **Since the evil beasts will be eradicated, the people will be able to reside in unprotected areas without concern.
[26] **I will render them and the surroundings of My hill, **the Temple Mount,** a blessing, and I will cause the rain to fall in its season, rains of blessing they will be. **
[27] **The tree of the field will yield its fruit and the land will yield its produce, and they, **Israel,** will be upon their land in security, and they will know that I am the Lord when I break the bars of their yoke **of subjugation,** and rescue them from the hand of those who enslave **and exploit **them**.
[28] **They will no longer be loot for the nations, and the beasts of the earth will not devour them; they will live in security, and there will be none to frighten **them.
[29] **I will establish them as an orchard, **as they will be planted in the Land of Israel, where they will thrive until it will be for them** for renown, and they will no longer be victims of famine in the land, and they will no longer bear the humiliation of the nations. **The children of Israel will be satiated and protected and they will never again be forced into exile, to dwell in foreign lands, where they will feel ashamed before the gentiles.
[30] **They, **the other nations,** will know that I, the Lord their God, am with them, **the children of Israel, **and that they are My people, the house of Israel – the utterance of the Lord God. **
[31] **You, **Israel,** My flock, the flock of My pasture, you are people.** Although I lead you, you are not a flock of animals, controlled for profit; rather, you are a flock of people** **and** I am your God – the utterance of the Lord God. **
Version: The Steinsaltz Tanakh - English
Source: https://korenpub.com/collections/the-steinsaltz-tanakh/products/steinsaltz-tanakh
License: Copyright: Steinsaltz Center