The word of the LORD came to me: “Son of man, prophesy against
the shepherds of Israel; prophesy, and say to them, even to the
shepherds, Thus says the Lord GOD: Ah, shepherds of Israel who have
been feeding yourselves! Should not shepherds feed the sheep? You
eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the
fat ones, but you do not feed the sheep. The weak you have not
strengthened, the sick you have not healed, the injured you have
not bound up, the strayed you have not brought back, the lost you
have not sought, and with force and harshness you have ruled them.
So they were scattered, because there was no shepherd, and they
became food for all the wild beasts. My sheep were scattered; they
wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. My sheep
were scattered over all the face of the earth, with none to search
or seek for them.
“Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD: As I live,
declares the Lord GOD, surely because my sheep have become a prey,
and my sheep have become food for all the wild beasts, since there
was no shepherd, and because my shepherds have not searched for my
sheep, but the shepherds have fed themselves, and have not fed my
sheep, therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD: Thus
says the Lord GOD, Behold, I am against the shepherds, and I will
require my sheep at their hand and put a stop to their feeding the
sheep. No longer shall the shepherds feed themselves. I will rescue
my sheep from their mouths, that they may not be food for them.
“For thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I, I myself will search for
my sheep and will seek them out. As a shepherd seeks out his flock
when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, so will I seek
out my sheep, and I will rescue them from all places where they
have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness. And I
will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the
countries, and will bring them into their own land. And I will feed
them on the mountains of Israel, by the ravines, and in all the
inhabited places of the country. I will feed them with good
pasture, and on the mountain heights of Israel shall be their
grazing land. There they shall lie down in good grazing land, and
on rich pasture they shall feed on the mountains of Israel. I
myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I myself will make
them lie down, declares the Lord GOD. I will seek the lost, and I
will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I
will strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will
destroy. I will feed them in justice.
“As for you, my flock, thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I judge
between sheep and sheep, between rams and male goats. Is it not
enough for you to feed on the good pasture, that you must tread
down with your feet the rest of your pasture; and to drink of clear
water, that you must muddy the rest of the water with your feet?
And must my sheep eat what you have trodden with your feet, and
drink what you have muddied with your feet?
“Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD to them: Behold, I, I myself
will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. Because you
push with side and shoulder, and thrust at all the weak with your
horns, till you have scattered them abroad, I will rescue my flock;
they shall no longer be a prey. And I will judge between sheep and
sheep. And I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David,
and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd.
And I, the LORD, will be their God, and my servant David shall be
prince among them. I am the LORD; I have spoken.
“I will make with them a covenant of peace and banish wild beasts
from the land, so that they may dwell securely in the wilderness
and sleep in the woods. And I will make them and the places all
around my hill a blessing, and I will send down the showers in
their season; they shall be showers of blessing. And the trees of
the field shall yield their fruit, and the earth shall yield its
increase, and they shall be secure in their land. And they shall
know that I am the LORD, when I break the bars of their yoke, and
deliver them from the hand of those who enslaved them. They shall
no more be a prey to the nations, nor shall the beasts of the land
devour them. They shall dwell securely, and none shall make them
afraid. And I will provide for them renowned plantations so that
they shall no more be consumed with hunger in the land, and no
longer suffer the reproach of the nations. And they shall know that
I am the LORD their God with them, and that they, the house of
Israel, are my people, declares the Lord GOD. And you are my sheep,
human sheep of my pasture, and I am your God, declares the Lord
GOD.”
