| NET Bible | New International Version |
| 1Open your gates, Lebanon, so that the fire may consume your cedars. | 1Open your doors, Lebanon, so that fire may devour your cedars! |
| 2Howl, fir tree, because the cedar has fallen; the majestic trees have been destroyed. Howl, oaks of Bashan, because the impenetrable forest has fallen. | 2Wail, you juniper, for the cedar has fallen; the stately trees are ruined! Wail, oaks of Bashan; the dense forest has been cut down! |
| 3Listen to the howling of shepherds, because their magnificence has been destroyed. Listen to the roaring of young lions, because the thickets of the Jordan have been devastated. | 3Listen to the wail of the shepherds; their rich pastures are destroyed! Listen to the roar of the lions; the lush thicket of the Jordan is ruined! |
| 4The LORD my God says this: "Shepherd the flock set aside for slaughter. | 4This is what the LORD my God says: "Shepherd the flock marked for slaughter. |
| 5Those who buy them slaughter them and are not held guilty; those who sell them say, 'Blessed be the LORD, for I am rich.' Their own shepherds have no compassion for them. | 5Their buyers slaughter them and go unpunished. Those who sell them say, 'Praise the LORD, I am rich!' Their own shepherds do not spare them. |
| 6Indeed, I will no longer have compassion on the people of the land," says the LORD, "but instead I will turn every last person over to his neighbor and his king. They will devastate the land, and I will not deliver it from them." | 6For I will no longer have pity on the people of the land," declares the LORD. "I will give everyone into the hands of their neighbors and their king. They will devastate the land, and I will not rescue anyone from their hands." |
| 7So I began to shepherd the flock destined for slaughter, the most afflicted of all the flock. Then I took two staffs, calling one "Pleasantness" and the other "Binders," and I tended the flock. | 7So I shepherded the flock marked for slaughter, particularly the oppressed of the flock. Then I took two staffs and called one Favor and the other Union, and I shepherded the flock. |
| 8Next I eradicated the three shepherds in one month, for I ran out of patience with them and, indeed, they detested me as well. | 8In one month I got rid of the three shepherds. The flock detested me, and I grew weary of them |
| 9I then said, "I will not shepherd you. What is to die, let it die, and what is to be eradicated, let it be eradicated. As for those who survive, let them eat each other's flesh!" | 9and said, "I will not be your shepherd. Let the dying die, and the perishing perish. Let those who are left eat one another's flesh." |
| 10Then I took my staff "Pleasantness" and cut it in two to annul my covenant that I had made with all the people. | 10Then I took my staff called Favor and broke it, revoking the covenant I had made with all the nations. |
| 11So it was annulled that very day, and then the most afflicted of the flock who kept faith with me knew that that was the word of the LORD. | 11It was revoked on that day, and so the oppressed of the flock who were watching me knew it was the word of the LORD. |
| 12Then I said to them, "If it seems good to you, pay me my wages, but if not, forget it." So they weighed out my payment--thirty pieces of silver. | 12I told them, "If you think it best, give me my pay; but if not, keep it." So they paid me thirty pieces of silver. |
| 13The LORD then said to me, "Throw to the potter that exorbitant sum at which they valued me!" So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them to the potter at the temple of the LORD. | 13And the LORD said to me, "Throw it to the potter"--the handsome price at which they valued me! So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them to the potter at the house of the LORD. |
| 14Then I cut the second staff "Binders" in two in order to annul the covenant of brotherhood between Judah and Israel. | 14Then I broke my second staff called Union, breaking the family bond between Judah and Israel. |
| 15Again the LORD said to me, "Take up once more the equipment of a foolish shepherd. | 15Then the LORD said to me, "Take again the equipment of a foolish shepherd. |
| 16Indeed, I am about to raise up a shepherd in the land who will not take heed to the sheep headed to slaughter, will not seek the scattered, and will not heal the injured. Moreover, he will not nourish the one that is healthy but instead will eat the meat of the fat sheep and tear off their hooves. | 16For I am going to raise up a shepherd over the land who will not care for the lost, or seek the young, or heal the injured, or feed the healthy, but will eat the meat of the choice sheep, tearing off their hooves. |
| 17Woe to the worthless shepherd who abandons the flock! May a sword fall on his arm and his right eye! May his arm wither completely away, and his right eye become completely blind!" | 17"Woe to the worthless shepherd, who deserts the flock! May the sword strike his arm and his right eye! May his arm be completely withered, his right eye totally blinded!" |
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