17Your fellow countrymen say, “The way of the Lord is unfair.” But it is their way that is unfair! 18When a righteous man turns away from his righteous deeds and commits iniquity, he shall die c-for it.-c 19And when a wicked man turns back from his wickedness and does what is just and right, it is he who shall live by virtue of these things. 20And will you say, “The way of the Lord is unfair”? I will judge each one of you according to his ways, O House of Israel!
21In the twelfth year of our exile, on the fifth day of the tenth month, a fugitive came to me from Jerusalem and reported, “The city has fallen.” 22Now the hand of the LORD had come upon me the evening before the fugitive arrived, and He opened my mouth before he came to me in the morning; thus my mouth was opened and I was no longer speechless.
23The word of the LORD came to me: 24O mortal, those who live in these ruins in the land of Israel argue, “Abraham was but one man, yet he was granted possession of the land. We are many; surely, the land has been given as a possession to us.” 25Therefore say to them: Thus said the Lord GOD: You eat with the blood, you raise your eyes to your fetishes, and you shed blood—yet you expect to possess the land! 26You have relied on your sword, you have committed abominations, you have all defiled other men’s wives—yet you expect to possess the land!
27Thus shall you speak to them: Thus said the Lord GOD: As I live, those who are in the ruins shall fall by the sword, and those who are in the open I have allotted as food to the beasts, and those who are in the strongholds and caves shall die by pestilence. 28I will make the land a desolate waste, and her proud glory shall cease; and the mountains of Israel shall be desolate, with none passing through. 29And they shall know that I am the LORD, when I make the land a desolate waste on account of all the abominations which they have committed.
30Note well, O mortal: your fellow countrymen who converse about you by the walls and in the doorways of their houses and say to each other and propose to one another, “Come and hear what word has issued from the LORD.” 31They will come to you d-in crowds and sit before you in throngs-d and will hear your words, but they will not obey them. For e-they produce nothing but lust with their mouths;-e and their hearts pursue nothing but gain. 32To them you are just a singer of bawdy songs, who has a sweet voice and plays skillfully; they hear your words, but will not obey them. 33But when itf comes—and come it will—they shall know that a prophet has been among them.
34 The word of the LORD came to me: 2O mortal, prophesy against the shepherdsa of Israel. Prophesy, and say to them:
To the shepherds: Thus said the Lord GOD: Ah, you shepherds of Israel, who have been tending yourselves! Is it not the flock that the shepherds ought to tend? 3You partake of the fat,b you clothe yourselves with the wool, and you slaughter the fatlings; but you do not tend the flock. 4You have not sustained the weak, healed the sick, or bandaged the injured; you have not brought back the strayed, or looked for the lost; but you have driven them with harsh rigor, 5and they have been scattered for want of anyone to tend them; scattered, they have become prey for every wild beast. 6My sheep stray through all the mountains and over every lofty hill; My flock is scattered all over the face of the earth, with none to take thought of them and none to seek them. 7Hear then, O shepherds, the word of the LORD! 8As I live—declares the Lord GOD: Because My flock has been a spoil—My flock has been a prey for all the wild beasts, for want of anyone to tend them since My shepherds have not taken thought of My flock, for the shepherds tended themselves instead of tending the flock—9hear indeed, O shepherds, the word of the LORD: 10Thus said the Lord GOD: I am going to deal with the shepherds! I will demand a reckoning of them for My flock, and I will dismiss them from tending the flock. The shepherds shall not tend themselves any more; for I will rescue My flock from their mouths, and it shall not be their prey. 11For thus said the Lord GOD: Here am I! I am going to take thought for My flock and I will seek them out. 12As a shepherd seeks out his flock when some [animals] in his flock have gotten separated, so I will seek out My flock, I will rescue them from all the places to which they were scattered on a day of cloud and gloom. 13I will take them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and I will bring them to their own land, and will pasture them on the mountains of Israel, by the watercourses and in all the settled portions of the land. 14I will feed them in good grazing land, and the lofty hills of Israel shall be their pasture. There, in the hills of Israel, they shall lie down in a good pasture and shall feed on rich grazing land. 15I Myself will graze My flock, and I Myself will let them lie down—declares the Lord GOD. 16I will look for the lost, and I will bring back the strayed; I will bandage the injured, and I will sustain the weak; and the fat and healthy ones I will destroy.c I will tend them rightly.
17And as for you, My flock, thus said the Lord GOD: I am going to judge between one animal and another.
To the rams and the bucks: 18Is it not enough for you to graze on choice grazing ground, but you must also trample with your feet what is left from your grazing? And is it not enough for you to drink d-clear water,-d but you must also muddy with your feet what is left? 19And must My flock graze on what your feet have trampled and drink what your feet have muddied? 20Assuredly, thus said the Lord GOD to them: Here am I, I am going to decide between the stout animals and the lean. 21Because you pushed with flank and shoulder against the feeble ones and butted them with your horns until you scattered them abroad, 22I will rescue My flock and they shall no longer be a spoil. I will decide between one animal and another.
23Then I will appoint a single shepherd over them to tend them—My servant David. He shall tend them, he shall be a shepherd to them. 24I the LORD will be their God, and My servant David shall be a ruler among them—I the LORD have spoken. 25And I will grant them a covenant of friendship. I will banish vicious beasts from their land, and they shall live secure in the wasteland, they shall even sleep in the woodland. 26I will make e-these and the environs of My hill-e a blessing: I will send down the rain in its season, rains that bring blessing. 27The trees of the field shall yield their fruit and the land shall yield its produce. [My people] shall continue secure on its own soil. They shall know that I am the LORD when I break the bars of their yoke and rescue them from those who enslave them. 28They shall no longer be a spoil for the nations, and the beasts of the earth shall not devour them; they shall dwell secure and untroubled. 29I shall establish for them e-a planting of renown;-e they shall no more be carried off by famine, and they shall not have to bear again the taunts of the nations.f 30They shall know that I the LORD their God am with them and they, the House of Israel, are My people—declares the Lord GOD.
31For you, My flock, flock that I tend, are men; and I am your God—declares the Lord GOD.
35 The word of the LORD came to me: 2O mortal, set your face against Mount Seir and prophesy against it. 3Say to it: Thus said the Lord GOD: I am going to deal with you, Mount Seir: I will stretch out My hand against you and make you an utter waste. 4I will turn your towns into ruins, and you shall be a desolation; then you shall know that I am the LORD. 5Because you harbored an ancient hatred and handed the people of Israel over to the sword
