August 22, 2012, Reading

The Book of the Prophet Ezekiel    34: 1-11

34:1 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:
34:2 “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?
34:3 You consumed the milk, and you covered yourselves with the wool, and you killed what was fattened. But my flock you did not feed.
34:4 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.
34:5 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.
34:6 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.
34:7 Because of this, O shepherds, listen to the word of the Lord:
34:8 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:
34:9 because of this, O shepherds, listen to the word of the Lord:
34:10 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.
34:11 For thus says the Lord God: Behold, I myself will seek my sheep, and I myself will visit them.

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