Lockman - Bible questions and answers

		Ezek 34:1 And the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
		Ezek 34:2 "Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and say to them, the [spiritual] shepherds, 'Thus says the Lord GOD, "Woe (judgment is coming) to the [spiritual] shepherds of Israel who have been feeding themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flock?
		Ezek 34:3 "You eat the fat [the choicest of meat], and clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the best of the livestock, but you do not feed the flock.
		Ezek 34:4 "You have not strengthened those who are weak, you have not healed the sick, you have not bandaged the crippled, you have not brought back those gone astray, you have not looked for the lost; but you have ruled them with force and violence.
		Ezek 34:5 "They were scattered because there was no shepherd, and when they were scattered they became food for all the predators of the field.
		Ezek 34:6 "My flock wandered through all the mountains and on every high hill; My flock was scattered over all the face of the earth and no one searched or sought them."'" [Matt 9:36]
		Ezek 34:7 ¶ Therefore, you [spiritual] shepherds, hear the word of the LORD:
		Ezek 34:8 "As I live," says the Lord GOD, "certainly because My flock has become prey, My flock has even become food for every predator of the field for lack of a shepherd, and My shepherds did not search for My flock, but rather the shepherds fed themselves and did not feed My flock;
		Ezek 34:9 therefore, you [spiritual] shepherds, hear the word of the LORD:
		Ezek 34:10 'Thus says the Lord GOD, "Behold, I am against the shepherds, and I will demand My flock from them and make them stop tending the flock, so that the shepherds cannot feed themselves anymore. I will rescue My flock from their mouth, so that they will not be food for them."'"
		Ezek 34:11 ¶ For thus says the Lord GOD, "Behold, I Myself will search for My flock and seek them out.
		Ezek 34:12 "As a shepherd cares for his sheep on the day that he is among his scattered flock, so I will care for My sheep; and I will rescue them from all the places to which they were scattered on a cloudy and gloomy day.
		Ezek 34:13 "I will bring them out from the nations and gather them from the countries and bring them to their own land; and I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the streams, and in all the inhabited places of the land.
		Ezek 34:14 "I will feed them in a good pasture, and their grazing ground will be on the mountain heights of Israel. There they will lie down on good grazing ground and feed in rich pasture on the mountains of Israel.
		Ezek 34:15 "I will feed My flock and I will let them lie down [to rest]," says the Lord GOD.
		Ezek 34:16 "I will seek the lost, bring back the scattered, bandage the crippled, and strengthen the weak and the sick; but I will destroy the fat and the strong [who have become hard-hearted and perverse]. I will feed them with judgment and punishment. [Luke 19:10]
		Ezek 34:17 ¶ "And as for you, My flock, thus says the Lord GOD, 'Behold, I judge between one sheep and another, between the rams and the male goats [between the righteous and the unrighteous].
		Ezek 34:18 'Is it too little a thing for you that you [unrighteous ones who are well-fed] feed in the best pasture, yet you must trample down with your feet [of wickedness] the rest of your pastures? Or that you drink clear [still] water, yet you must muddy with your feet [of wickedness] the rest [of the water]?
		Ezek 34:19 'As for My flock (the righteous), they must feed on what you trample with your feet and drink what you muddy with your feet!'"
		Ezek 34:20 ¶ Therefore thus says the Lord GOD to them, "Behold, I Myself will judge between the [well-fed] fat sheep and the lean sheep.
		Ezek 34:21 "Because you push with side and shoulder, and gore with your horns all those that have become weak and sick until you have scattered them away,
		Ezek 34:22 therefore, I will rescue My flock, and they shall no longer be prey; and I will judge between one sheep [ungodly] and another [godly].
		Ezek 34:23 ¶ "Then I will appoint over them one shepherd and he will feed them, [a ruler like] My servant David; he will feed them and be their shepherd. [Ezek 37:24; John 10:14-18]
		Ezek 34:24 "And I the LORD will be their God, and My servant David will be a prince among them; I the LORD have spoken.
		Ezek 34:25 ¶ "I will make a covenant of peace with them and will eliminate the predatory animals from the land so that they may live securely in the wilderness and sleep [safely] in the woods. [Ps 127:2; Is 11:6-9; John 14:27; 16:33]
		Ezek 34:26 "I will make them and the places around My hill (Jerusalem, Zion) a blessing. And I will make showers come down in their season; there will be [abundant] showers of blessing (divine favor).
		Ezek 34:27 "Also the tree of the field will yield its fruit and the earth will yield its produce; and My people will be secure on their land. Then they will know [with confidence] that I am the LORD, when I have broken the bars of their yoke and have rescued them from the hand of those who made them slaves.
		Ezek 34:28 "They will no longer be prey to the nations, and the predators of the earth will not devour them; but they will live safely, and no one will make them afraid [in the day of the Messiah's reign]. [Is 60:21; 61:3]
		Ezek 34:29 "I will prepare for them a place renowned for planting [crops], and they will not again be victims of famine in the land, and they will not endure the insults of the nations any longer.
		Ezek 34:30 "Then they will know [with assurance] that I the LORD their God, am with them and that they, the house of Israel, are My people," says the Lord GOD.
		Ezek 34:31 "As for you, My flock, the flock of My pasture, you are men, and I am your God," says the Lord GOD.

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