Ezekiel 34-36
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 34[a]
The Shepherds of Israel.[b] 1 This word of the Lord came to me: 2 Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and say to them: Thus says the Lord God: Woe to you shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and say to them: Thus says the Lord God: Woe to the shepherds of Israel who have been feeding themselves. Should not shepherds rather feed their flock?
3 You have fed on their milk, you have clothed yourselves with their wool, and you have slaughtered the fatlings, but you have not fed the sheep. 4 You have not strengthened the weak, you have not healed the sick, and you have not bandaged those who were injured. Nor have you bothered to bring back those who strayed or searched for the lost. On the contrary, you have ruled them with cruelty and harshness.
5 Therefore, they were scattered for lack of a shepherd, and thus they became the prey of all the wild beasts. 6 My sheep were scattered, wandering aimlessly over all the mountains and on every high hill. My flock has been scattered over the entire world, with no one to inquire about them or search for them.
7 Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: 8 As I live, says the Lord God, because my sheep are without a shepherd and thus have been ravaged and have become food for all the wild animals, and because my shepherds have not gone forth in search of my sheep, but have fed themselves and not been concerned about feeding my sheep, 9 therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord.
10 Thus says the Lord God: I intend to punish the shepherds. I will remove the sheep from their charge and not allow them to feed the flock. As a result, the shepherds will no longer be able to feed themselves. I will rescue my sheep from their mouths so that they will no longer use them for their food.
11 [c]For thus says the Lord God: I myself will search for my sheep and look after them. 12 As a shepherd goes forth in search of his flocks when they are scattered from him in every direction, so I will go forth in search of my sheep. I will retrieve them from all the places to which they have been scattered on a day of clouds and darkness.
13 I will bring them back from among the peoples and gather them from foreign lands, I will lead them back to their own land and pasture them on the mountains of Israel, in the ravines, and in all the inhabited areas of the country. 14 I will feed them in fertile pastures, and the mountain heights of Israel will be their grazing grounds. There they will lie down on good grazing land and feed in rich pastures on the mountains of Israel.
15 I, myself, will pasture my sheep, and I, myself, will give them rest, says the Lord God. 16 I will search for those who are lost; I will bring back those who have strayed away. I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak, but the fat and the strong, I will destroy. I will shepherd my flock with justice.
17 Judgment of the Sheep.[d]As for you, my flock, the Lord God says this: I will judge between one sheep and another, between rams and goats. 18 Is it not sufficient for you to graze on the best pasture land? Must you also trample with your feet on the rest of the pastures? Is it not enough for you to drink clear water? Must you also foul the rest with your feet? 19 As a result, my sheep must graze on what you have trampled underfoot and drink what you have befouled with your feet.
20 Therefore, thus says the Lord God to them: I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. 21 Because you have shoved with flank and shoulder and butted all the weak sheep with your horns until you have scattered them in every direction, 22 I will save my flock, and they will never again be treated unfairly. I will judge between one sheep and another.
23 [e]I will raise up one shepherd, my servant David, to care for them. He shall feed them and be their shepherd. 24 I, the Lord, will be their God, and my servant David will be a prince in their midst. I, the Lord, have spoken.
25 I will make a covenant of peace with them and rid the land of wild animals so that they may live in the desert and sleep in the woods free from danger. 26 I will make them and the region surrounding my hill a blessing, and I will send them rain in due season that will be showers of blessing.
27 The trees of the field shall bear their fruit, and the soil will yield its crops. My people will be secure on their own soil and they will know that I am the Lord when I break the bars of their yoke and rescue them from the power of those who enslaved them.
28 They will no longer be plundered by the nations or devoured by the wild animals of the land. They will live in safety, and no one ever again will terrify them. 29 I will make their land bring forth abundant crops so that they will never again be the victims of famine or have to suffer the insults of the nations.
30 Thus, they will be assured that I, the Lord, their God, am with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are my people, says the Lord God. 31 You are my sheep, the sheep of my pasture, and I am your God, says the Lord God.
Chapter 35[f]
Against Edom. 1 This word of the Lord came to me: 2 Son of man, set your face against Mount Seir and prophesy against it. 3 Say to it: Thus says the Lord God:
Behold, I am against you, Mount Seir
I will stretch out my hand against you
and reduce you to a desolate waste.
4 I will lay your towns in ruins,
and you will become a wasteland.
Then you will know that I am the Lord.
5 Because you refused to cease an ancient feud,
you handed over the people of Israel
to the power of the sword
on the day of their distress,
the hour of their final punishment.
6 Therefore, as I live, says the Lord God,
blood shall be your destiny,
and it will pursue you.
Since by shedding blood you incurred guilt,
bloodshed will pursue you.
7 I will make Mount Seir a desolate waste
and prevent anyone from going there or departing.
8 I will fill its mountains with the slain;
those slain by the sword will fall
on your hills and in your valleys and ravines.
9 I will make you desolate forever,
and your towns will never again be inhabited.
Thus, you shall know that I am the Lord.
10 Because you said, “These two nations and the two lands will be mine, and we will take possession of them,” even though I, the Lord, was there, 11 therefore, as I live, says the Lord God, I will act with the same anger and jealousy that you showed in your hatred for them, and I will make myself known among you when I judge you.
12 You will know that I, the Lord, have heard of all the contemptible things you have uttered against the mountains of Israel, saying, “They have been laid waste and have been given to us to devour.” 13 You made insolent remarks about me and showed no restraint in your insults, and I have heard them.
14 Thus says the Lord God: I will make you a desolate wasteland, and the entire earth will rejoice. 15 As you were unable to conceal your joy over the devastation of the heritage of the house of Israel, so will I treat you. You will be desolate, Mount Seir, you and all of Edom. Thus, they shall know that I am the Lord.
Chapter 36
Restoration of the Land.[g] 1 Son of man, prophesy to the mountains of Israel and say: Mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord. 2 Thus says the Lord God, The enemy has gloated over you, saying: “Aha! These ancient heights have become our possession.”
3 In reply, prophesy and say: Thus says the Lord God: Since you have been ravaged and hounded from all sides, and thus have become the possession of the rest of the nations and the object of people’s gossip and slander, 4 therefore, mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord God and what the Lord God says to the mountains and hills, to the ravines and valleys, to the desolate ruins and the deserted towns which have been plundered and have become a source of ridicule to the surrounding nations.
5 Therefore, thus says the Lord God: With seething jealousy I am speaking against the rest of the nations, and against the whole of Edom, who, with wholehearted joy and utter contempt, took my country as their possession so that they might plunder its pastures.
6 Therefore, prophesy concerning the land of Israel, and say to the mountains and hills, the ravines and valleys: Thus says the Lord God: I am speaking with jealous fury because you have been forced to endure the insults of the nations. 7 Therefore, thus says the Lord God: I raise my hand and swear that the nations all around you will have to endure insults.
8 As for you, mountains of Israel, you shall grow branches and bear fruit for my people Israel, for they will soon return home. 9 Behold, I am coming to you. It is to you that I shall turn. You will be tilled and sown, 10 and I will multiply your population, that of the whole house of Israel. The towns will again be inhabited, and the ruins will be rebuilt.
11 Furthermore, I will settle large numbers of human beings and animals upon you. They will multiply and be fruitful, and I will make you as populous as in your former times. Moreover, I will make you more prosperous than ever before. Thus you will know that I am the Lord. 12 I will cause my people Israel to tread your soil once again. They will possess you, and you will be their heritage. Never again will they be left childless.
13 Thus says the Lord God: Because it has been said of you, “You are a land that devours people, and you bereave your nation of children,” 14 therefore, you will no longer devour people or make your nation childless, says the Lord God. 15 I will never again let you hear the taunts of the nations; no longer will you be forced to endure the insults of the peoples; no longer will your people be deprived of their children, says the Lord God.
16 Restoration of the People.[h]This word of the Lord was addressed to me: 17 Son of man, when the people of the house of Israel lived in their own land, they defiled it with their conduct and their deeds. In my eyes, their conduct was like the uncleanness of a woman during her menstrual period.
18 Therefore, I poured out my wrath upon them because of the blood that they had shed upon the land, and because of their idols with which they had defiled it. 19 I scattered them throughout the nations, and they were dispersed in many lands. I passed sentence on them in accordance with their conduct and their deeds.
20 But whenever they came to the nations, they profaned my holy name, so that the people there would say about them, “These are the people of the Lord, yet they have been banished from his land.” 21 However, I have relented because of my concern about my holy name which the house of Israel has profaned among the nations where they have gone.
22 Therefore, say to the house of Israel: Thus says the Lord God: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am acting, but for the sake of my holy name which you have profaned among the nations where you have gone. 23 I intend to prove the holiness of my great name which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them. Thus, the nations will know that I am the Lord, says the Lord God, when through you I will display my holiness in their sight.
24 I will take you from among the nations and gather you from all the foreign lands, and I will bring you back to your own land. 25 I will sprinkle clean water upon you to cleanse you from everything that defiles you. I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols.
26 I will give you a new heart and place a new spirit within you. I will remove from your body a heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh in its place. 27 I will put my Spirit in you and make you follow my statutes and my ordinances.
28 Then you will live in the land that I gave to your ancestors. You will be my people, but I shall be your God. 29 I will save you from everything that defiles you. I will command the grain to be abundant and not allow any famine to afflict you. 30 I will make abundant the fruit of the trees and the crops in your fields, so that you will never have to suffer the disgrace of famine among the nations.
31 Then you will remember your evil conduct and your wicked deeds, and you will loathe yourselves for your sins and your abominable deeds. 32 I assure you that it is not for your sake that I am doing all this, says the Lord God. Let that be clearly understood. Be ashamed and feel intense disgrace for your conduct, O house of Israel.
33 Thus says the Lord God: On the day when I cleanse you from all your sins, I will repopulate your towns, and your ruins will be rebuilt. 34 The wasteland will be cultivated instead of being a desolate sight to all who walk past it.
35 People will say, “The land that was desolate is now like the Garden of Eden, and the towns that were once in ruins, desolate wastelands, are now inhabited once again and fortified.” 36 Then the neighboring nations that are still left around you will know that I, the Lord, have rebuilt what was destroyed and replanted what was desolate. I, the Lord, have spoken, and I will do it.
37 Thus says the Lord God: I also will allow the house of Israel to persuade me to do this for them: I shall increase their numbers like a flock. 38 Like the flocks of sacrificial sheep in Jerusalem on its appointed feasts, so shall the formerly ruined cities be filled with flocks of people. Then they shall know that I am the Lord.
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 34:1 Ezekiel takes over from Jeremiah (Ezek 23) the theme of the shepherd and the flock, but he develops other aspects of it. He censures the kings and other leaders of Israel, showing them that in the end the destiny of the people is in the hands of God.
- Ezekiel 34:1 The image of the shepherd was a traditional one for kings in the ancient East. The prophets frequently use it, speaking of unworthy leaders as wicked shepherds (Jer 2:8; 10:21; Zec 11:4-17).
- Ezekiel 34:11 The true shepherd of Israel is the Lord (Gen 49:24; Ps 80:1). Since there are no real leaders, he himself will restore his people (see Pss 23; 77:20; Isa 40:11; Jer 23:3). Jesus will use the image of the shepherd looking for the lost sheep, in order to show how great is God’s concern for lost human beings (Mt 18:12; Lk 15:4) and will describe himself as the only Good Shepherd (Jn 10).
- Ezekiel 34:17 God’s visitation of his flock will be first and foremost for judgment, for separating the good and the bad. He will establish the social justice often proclaimed in Ezekiel’s preaching (see Ezek 18:5-9, 12-13; 33:14f; 45:9-12). When the only true shepherd comes, the leaders will take their place in the flock and will be judged according to their injustice. We may think here of the judgment scene that Jesus will one day describe (Mt 25:1-46).
- Ezekiel 34:23 In the midst of ruin, Ezekiel foretells an age of fidelity, peace, and prosperity. A new shepherd will be in charge, a true successor to David, who was portrayed as the ideal king in the service of his people (see 1 Sam 16:19; 2 Sam 7:7; Ps 78:70-72).
- Ezekiel 35:1 The prophecy against the mountains of Egypt is an announcement of punishment; the prophecy on the mountains of Israel in chapter 36 is a promise of salvation. The parallel is deliberate, chosen in order to highlight the second prophecy. Here the prophecy is against Mount Seir, which is south of the Dead Sea and represents the entire population of Edom. Israel has many complaints against Edom as a deceitful brother.
- Ezekiel 36:1 These two chapters, which at first sight are like what we have already read, convey the very heart of the Book of Ezekiel, for they give his vision of reality and sum up his theology, that is, his idea of God, of the Lord’s relationship with human beings and with his people, of the vocation of Israel, and of the destiny of the nations.
- Ezekiel 36:16 We reach here the high point of the revelation given through Ezekiel. God’s work consists in removing humanity from sin and making it one with himself as the center. This is truly grace, such that this work of God is essentially unmerited. It completely renews the links between God and his people or, better, between God and humanity (see Ezek 16:60; 37:26; Jer 31:31-34; Isa 54:10). The prophet sees the renewal taking the form of a grandiose liturgy in which cleansing water pours from the temple, which is God’s house and the center of worship (see Ezek 47:1-13). Humanity will then emerge from this liturgy with a new heart, a feeling heart; it will have a new spirit and share in the very Spirit of God. There could not be a more attractive prefiguration of Christian baptism.
