1 Thus the word of the LORD came to me:
2 Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, in these words prophesy to them (to the shepherds): Thus says the Lord GOD: Woe to the shepherds of Israel who have been pasturing themselves! Should not shepherds, rather, pasture sheep?
3 You have fed off their milk, worn their wool, and slaughtered the fatlings, but the sheep you have not pastured.
4 You did not strengthen the weak nor heal the sick nor bind up the injured. You did not bring back the strayed nor seek the lost, but you lorded it over them harshly and brutally.
5 So they were scattered for lack of a shepherd, and became food for all the wild beasts. My sheep were scattered
6 and wandered over all the mountains and high hills; my sheep were scattered over the whole earth, with no one to look after them or to search for them.
7 Therefore, shepherds, hear the word of the LORD:
8 As I live, says the Lord GOD, because my sheep have been given over to pillage, and because my sheep have become food for every wild beast, for lack of a shepherd; because my shepherds did not look after my sheep, but pastured themselves and did not pasture my sheep;
9 because of this, shepherds, hear the word of the LORD:
10 Thus says the Lord GOD: I swear I am coming against these shepherds. I will claim my sheep from them and put a stop to their shepherding my sheep so that they may no longer pasture themselves. I will save my sheep, that they may no longer be food for their mouths.
11 For thus says the Lord GOD: I myself will look after and tend my sheep.
12 As a shepherd tends his flock when he finds himself among his scattered sheep, so will I tend my sheep. I will rescue them from every place where they were scattered when it was cloudy and dark.
13 I will lead them out from among the peoples and gather them from the foreign lands; I will bring them back to their own country and pasture them upon the mountains of Israel (in the land's ravines and all its inhabited places).
14 In good pastures will I pasture them, and on the mountain heights of Israel shall be their grazing ground. There they shall lie down on good grazing ground, and in rich pastures shall they be pastured on the mountains of Israel.
15 I myself will pasture my sheep; I myself will give them rest, says the Lord GOD.
16 The lost I will seek out, the strayed I will bring back, the injured I will bind up, the sick I will heal (but the sleek and the strong I will destroy), shepherding them rightly.
17 As for you, my sheep, says the Lord GOD, I will judge between one sheep and another, between rams and goats.
18 Was it not enough for you to graze on the best pasture, that you had to trample the rest of your pastures with your feet? Was it not enough for you to drink the clearest water, that you had to foul the remainder with your feet?
19 Thus my sheep had to graze on what your feet had trampled and drink what your feet had fouled.
20 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Now will I judge between the fat and the lean sheep.
21 Because you push with side and shoulder, and butt all the weak sheep with your horns until you have driven them out,
22 I will save my sheep so that they may no longer be despoiled, and I will judge between one sheep and another.
23 I will appoint one shepherd over them to pasture them, my servant David; he shall pasture them and be their shepherd.
24 I, the LORD, will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince among them. I, the LORD, have spoken.
25 I will make a covenant of peace with them, and rid the country of ravenous beasts, that they may dwell securely in the desert and sleep in the forests.
26 I will place them about my hill, sending rain in due season, rains that shall be a blessing to them.
27 The trees of the field shall bear their fruits, and the land its crops, and they shall dwell securely on their own soil. Thus they shall know that I am the LORD when I break the bonds of their yoke and free them from the power of those who enslaved them.
28 They shall no longer be despoiled by the nations or devoured by beasts of the earth, but shall dwell secure, with no one to frighten them.
29 I will prepare for them peaceful fields for planting; they shall no longer be carried off by famine in the land, or bear the reproaches of the nations.
30 Thus they shall know that I, the LORD, am their God, and they are my people, the house of Israel, says the Lord GOD.
31 (You, my sheep, you are the sheep of my pasture, and I am your God, says the Lord GOD.)
Versículos relacionados com Ezekiel, 34:
Ezekiel 34 talks about the religious leadership of Israel and its neglect of the people, leading to the oppression and helplessness of the sheep, which represent the people of God. The chapter denounces the shepherds who benefit at the expense of the people and calls for a new leader who takes care of the flock with justice and love. Below are five verses related to the topics covered in Ezekiel 34:
Isaiah 56:11: "They are greedy dogs, who never have sufficient; they are pastors who understand nothing. They all turn to their own way, each for their greed, each in turn." The verse denounces the greed and neglect of religious leaders who do not take care of the people, as well as Ezekiel 34.
Zechariah 11:4-5: "Thus saith the Lord my God: cease the sheep destined for the slaughterhouse, whose buyers kill them and are not considered guilty; and those who sell them say, Blessed be the Lord, because I am enriching! pastors themselves have no mercy on them. " The verse shows the cruelty of religious leaders who exploit the people for their own benefit, as described in Ezekiel 34.
Jeremiah 23:1-2: "Woe to the shepherds who destroy and disperse the flock of my pastures! Declares the Lord. So, thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel, against the shepherds who take care of my people: You have scattered mine flock, and expelled him, and did not visit him. Behold, I will visit you the evil of your actions, declares the Lord. " The verse also denounces the neglect of religious leaders and announces divine justice over them.
John 10:11: "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives his life through the sheep." The verse presents Jesus as the example of leader who cares for the people with love and justice, as opposed to the negligent leaders described in Ezekiel 34.
Hebrews 13:17: "I obey your leaders, and submit to them, for they sail for your soul as one who will be accountable, that they may do it with joy and not moaning, because that would not be useful for you." The verse encourages obedience to religious leaders who take care of the people with responsibility and love, as should be the role of pastors described in Ezekiel 34.
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