The shepherds of Israel
1 ① The word of Yahweh came to me in these terms, 2“Son of man, speak on my behalf against the shepherds of Israel! Say to the shepherds on my behalf: Woe to the shepherds of Israel who feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flock? 3But you feed on milk and are clothed in wool, and you slaughter the fattest sheep. You have not taken care of the flock, 4you have not strengthened the weak, cared for the sick or bandaged the injured. You have not gone after the sheep that strayed or searched for the one that was lost. Instead you ruled them harshly and were their oppressors. 5They have scattered for want of a shepherd and became prey of wild animals. 6My sheep wander over the mountains and high hills; and when they are scattered through out the land, no one bothers about them or looks for them.
7Hear then shepherds, what Yahweh says: 8As I live – word of Yahweh, – because my sheep have been the prey of wild animals and become their food for want of shepherds, because the shepherds have not cared for my sheep, because you shepherds have not bothered about them but fed yourselves and not the flocks, because of that, 9hear the word of Yahweh. 10This is what Yahweh says: I will ask an account of the shepherds and reclaim my sheep from them. No longer shall they tend my flock; nor shall there be shepherds who feed themselves. I shall save the flock from their mouths and no longer shall it be food for them.
11Indeed Yahweh says this: I my self will care for my sheep and watch over them. 12As the shepherd looks after his flock when he finds them scattered, so will I watch over my sheep and gather them from all the places where they were scattered in a time of cloud and fog. 13I will bring them out from the nations and gather them from other countries. I will lead them to their own land and pasture them on the mountains of Israel in all the valleys and inhabited regions of the land. 14I will take them to good pastures on the high mountains of Israel. They will rest where the grazing is good and feed in lush pastures on the heights of Israel. 15I myself will tend my sheep and let them rest, word of Yahweh. 16I will search for the lost and lead back the strays. I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak, but the fat and strong will be eliminated. I will shepherd my flock with justice.
17As for you, my flock – says Yahweh – I will distinguish between one sheep and another, and set apart rams and goats. 18Was it not enough for you to feed on good pasture? Why did you trample under your feet the rest of the pasture? Were you not satisfied with drinking clear water? Why did you muddy the rest with your feet? 19Must my sheep feed on what you have trampled and drink what you have muddied with your feet?
20That is why thus says the Lord Yahweh to the shepherds: Here I am. I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean. 21Because with flank, shoulder and horns you butt the weak sheep until you have driven them away, 22I will rescue my flock and no longer will they be plundered. I will judge between one sheep and another.
23Over them I will put one shepherd, my servant David who will tend them, pasture them and be a true shepherd for them. 24I, Yahweh, will be their God and my servant David a ruler among them. I, Yahweh, have this to say: 25I will make a covenant of peace with them and rid the land of wild beasts, so that they may live safely in the desert and sleep in forests. 26I will settle them on my holy mountain, sending them rain in season, showers of rich blessings. 27The trees of the field will give their fruit and the soil its produce, while they are safe in their land, and they will know that I am Yahweh.
I will break the bars of their yoke and free them from the power of those who enslave them. 28No longer will they be plundered by the nations or ravaged by wild beasts. They will live in security without anyone causing them to fear. 29I will give them splendid crops; people will not die of hunger and no longer will you be scorned by other nations. 30This people will know that I, Yahweh, am their God and that I am with them and that they, Israel, are my people – word of Yahweh. 31You are my sheep, the flock of my pasture, and I am your God, declares Yahweh.”
- Ezk 34,1 The Lord Yahweh gathers his scattered flock. There are two parts to this long comparison in which Yahweh promises to become the shepherd of his flock: - a revolution, - a judgment. Speak on my behalf against the shepherds of Israel. Here Yahweh announces a radical change in the social life of Israel: he will replace all the shepherds. The expression shepherd applies to all civil authorities, and thus includes the king, the magistrates and the judges. It does not include the priests and the prophets. This is contrary to modern usage, since for us the word pastor (shepherd) refers only to the spiritual leaders of a community. Should not the shepherds feed the flock? (v. 2) The flock does not belong to the shepherds. Yahweh condemns the leaders of his people who find it normal to enjoy power and wealth without first seeing themselves as the servants of the people. We can easily imagine the misery of the Jewish people in the days about which Ezekiel writes, immediately after the catastrophe in Jerusalem: - weak, hungry, sick sheep; - stray sheep: wandering without home or work, isolated, alienated by the lies of their rulers; - they became the prey of all the nations, they were taken into exile, or left their homeland looking for work. I myself will care for my sheep. Now Yahweh has rejected Israel's leaders who have disappeared in the catastrophe and promises to become Israel's pastor. Yahweh will be the good shepherd and he names the responsibilities of a shepherd: to gather, protect, and feed everyone, and to hold back the very powerful. The time of cloud and fog (v. 12), when God seemed distant and Israel was overwhelmed and without hope, are over. Now Yahweh will gather his people from among the nations. The Kingdom that God has prepared for this discouraged crowd will surpass all they could ever hope for. Not only will they enjoy material prosperity, but will also live in peace and rest with God. I myself, will let them rest (v. 15). As for you, I will distinguish between one sheep and another. With these words the second part begins: God's judgment. On one hand, the fat sheep: those that took advantage of the unjust social order. They were not satisfied with having a standard of living higher than the rest, but they trampled the rest of the pasture: they grew nothing on the best land in the country; they deposited abroad the money which would have stimulated economic development; they prevented the access of many to education and culture. Shoulder and horns you butt the weak sheep until you have driven them away (v. 21). They took advantage of their power and because justice was at their disposal, they imposed their order by force. Over them I will put one shepherd, my servant David who will tend them, pasture them. This shepherd is Christ, the new David. As we said with regard to Isaiah 11:1, the Messiah is not announced as another descendant of David, nor is he to resume the past. He will be another David and with him will begin something completely new. We can easily see here some of the images and ideas on which Jesus reflected and which he used in his parables: the Good Shepherd (Jn 10:1); the parable of the lost sheep (Lk 15:4) and the Final Judgment (Mt 25:31).
