The Prophet Ezekiel

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- Kapitel 34 -

And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:

“Son of man, prophesy about the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy, and you shall say to the shepherds: Thus says the Lord God: Woe to the shepherds of Israel who feed themselves! Should not the flocks be fed by the shepherds?(a)

You consumed the milk, and you covered yourselves with the wool, and you killed what was fattened. But my flock you did not feed.

What was weak, you have not strengthened, and what was sick, you have not healed. What was broken, you have not bound, and what was cast aside, you have not led back again, and what was lost, you have not sought. Instead, you ruled over them with severity and with power.

And my sheep were scattered, because there was no shepherd. And they became devoured by all the wild beasts of the field, and they were dispersed.

My sheep have wandered to every mountain and to every exalted hill. And my flocks have been scattered across the face of the earth. And there was no one who sought them; there was no one, I say, who sought them.

Because of this, O shepherds, listen to the word of the Lord:

As I live, says the Lord God, since my flocks have become a prey, and my sheep have been devoured by all the wild beasts of the field, since there was no shepherd, for my shepherds did not seek my flock, but instead the shepherds fed themselves, and they did not feed my flocks:

because of this, O shepherds, listen to the word of the Lord:

Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I myself will be over the shepherds. I will require my flock at their hand, and I will cause them to cease, so that they no longer refrain from feeding the flock. Neither will the shepherds feed themselves any more. And I will deliver my flock from their mouth; and it will no longer be food for them.

The Good Shepherd

(Psalm 23:1–6; John 10:1–21)

For thus says the Lord God: Behold, I myself will seek my sheep, and I myself will visit them.

Just as a shepherd visits his flock, in the day when he will be in the midst of his sheep that were scattered, so will I visit my sheep. And I will deliver them from all the places to which they had been scattered in the day of gloom and darkness.

And I will lead them away from the peoples, and I will gather them from the lands, and I will bring them into their own land. And I will pasture them on the mountains of Israel, by the rivers, and in all the settlements of the land.

I will feed them in very fertile pastures, and their pastures will be on the lofty mountains of Israel. There they will rest on the green grass, and they will be fed in the fat pastures, on the mountains of Israel.

I will feed my sheep, and I will cause them to lie down, says the Lord God.

I will seek what had been lost. And I will lead back again what had been cast aside. And I will bind up what had been broken. And I will strengthen what had been infirm. And I will preserve what was fat and strong. And I will feed them on judgment.

But as for you, O my flocks, thus says the Lord God: Behold, I judge between cattle and cattle, among rams and among he-goats.

Was it not enough for you to feed upon good pastures? For you even trample with your feet upon the remainder of your pastures. And when you drank the purist water, you disturbed the remainder with your feet.

And my sheep were pastured from what you had trampled with your feet, and they drank from what your feet had disturbed.

Because of this, thus says the Lord God to you: Behold, I myself am judging between the fat cattle and the lean.

For you have pushed with your sides and shoulders, and you have threatened all the weak cattle with your horns, until they were scattered abroad.

I will save my flock, and it will no longer be a prey, and I will judge between cattle and cattle.

And I will raise up over them ONE SHEPHERD, who will feed them, my servant David. He himself will feed them, and he will be their shepherd.(b)

(c)

And I, the Lord, will be their God. And my servant David will be the leader in their midst. I, the Lord, have spoken.

The Covenant of Peace

And I will make a covenant of peace with them. And I will cause the very harmful beasts to cease from the land. And those who are living in the desert will sleep securely in the forests.

And I will make them a blessing all around my hill. And I will send the rain in due time; there will be showers of blessing.

And the tree of the field will yield its fruit, and the land will yield its crop. And they will be in their own land without fear. And they shall know that I am the Lord, when I will have crushed the chains of their yoke, and when I will have rescued them from the hand of those who rule over them.

And they will no longer be a prey to the Gentiles, nor will the wild beasts of the earth devour them. Instead, they will live in confidence without any terror.

And I will raise up for them a renowned branch. And they will be no longer be diminished by famine in the land, nor will they carry any longer the reproach of the Gentiles.(d)

And they shall know that I, the Lord their God, am with them, and that they are my people, the house of Israel, says the Lord God.

For you are my flocks; the flocks of my pasture are men. And I am the Lord your God, says the Lord God.”

Fußnoten

(a)34:2 Shepherds:That is, princes, magistrates, chief priests, and scribes.(Challoner)

(b)34:23 Jesus Christ is here spoken of under the figure of David, since he was a king and faithful to God.(Conte)

(d)34:29 A bud of renown:Germen nominatum. He speaks of Christ our Lord, the illustrious bud of the house of David, renowned over all the earth. See Jer. 33:15.(Challoner)

The LORD’s word came to me, saying,

“Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy, and tell them, even the shepherds, ‘The Lord GOD says: “Woe to the shepherds of Israel who feed themselves! Shouldn’t the shepherds feed the sheep?

You eat the fat. You clothe yourself with the wool. You kill the fatlings, but you don’t feed the sheep.

You haven’t strengthened the diseased. You haven’t healed that which was sick. You haven’t bound up that which was broken. You haven’t brought back that which was driven away. You haven’t sought that which was lost, but you have ruled over them with force and with rigor.

They were scattered, because there was no shepherd. They became food to all the animals of the field, and were scattered.

My sheep wandered through all the mountains and on every high hill. Yes, my sheep were scattered on all the surface of the earth. There was no one who searched or sought.”

“‘Therefore, you shepherds, hear the LORD’s word:

“As I live,” says the Lord GOD, “surely because my sheep became a prey, and my sheep became food to all the animals of the field, because there was no shepherd, and my shepherds didn’t search for my sheep, but the shepherds fed themselves, and didn’t feed my sheep,

therefore, you shepherds, hear the LORD’s word!”

The Lord GOD says: “Behold, I am against the shepherds. I will require my sheep at their hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the sheep. The shepherds won’t feed themselves any more. I will deliver my sheep from their mouth, that they may not be food for them.”

The Good Shepherd

(Psalm 23:1–6; John 10:1–21)

“‘For the Lord GOD says: “Behold, I myself, even I, will search for my sheep, and will seek them out.

As a shepherd seeks out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered abroad, so I will seek out my sheep. I will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day.

I will bring them out from the peoples, and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land. I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the watercourses, and in all the inhabited places of the country.

I will feed them with good pasture, and their fold will be on the mountains of the height of Israel. There they will lie down in a good fold. They will feed on rich pasture on the mountains of Israel.

I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I will cause them to lie down,” says the Lord GOD.

“I will seek that which was lost, and will bring back that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick; but I will destroy the fat and the strong. I will feed them in justice.”’

“As for you, O my flock, the Lord GOD says: ‘Behold, I judge between sheep and sheep, the rams and the male goats.

Does it seem a small thing to you to have fed on the good pasture, but you must tread down with your feet the residue of your pasture? And to have drunk of the clear waters, but must you foul the residue with your feet?

As for my sheep, they eat that which you have trodden with your feet, and they drink that which you have fouled with your feet.’

“Therefore the Lord GOD says to them: ‘Behold, I, even I, will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep.

Because you thrust with side and with shoulder, and push all the diseased with your horns, until you have scattered them abroad,

therefore I will save my flock, and they will no more be a prey. I will judge between sheep and sheep.

I will set up one shepherd over them, and he will feed them, even my servant David. He will feed them, and he will be their shepherd.

I, the LORD, will be their God, and my servant David prince among them. I, the LORD, have spoken it.

The Covenant of Peace

“‘I will make with them a covenant of peace, and will cause evil animals to cease out of the land. They will dwell securely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods.

I will make them and the places around my hill a blessing. I will cause the shower to come down in its season. There will be showers of blessing.

The tree of the field will yield its fruit, and the earth will yield its increase, and they will be secure in their land. Then they will know that I am the LORD, when I have broken the bars of their yoke, and have delivered them out of the hand of those who made slaves of them.

They will no more be a prey to the nations, neither will the animals of the earth devour them; but they will dwell securely, and no one will make them afraid.

I will raise up to them a plantation for renown, and they will no more be consumed with famine in the land, and not bear the shame of the nations any more.

They will know that I, the LORD, their God am with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are my people, says the Lord GOD.

You my sheep, the sheep of my pasture, are men, and I am your God,’ says the Lord GOD.”