| NET Bible | New Living Translation |
| 1Open your gates, Lebanon, so that the fire may consume your cedars. | 1Open your doors, Lebanon, so that fire may devour your cedar forests. |
| 2Howl, fir tree, because the cedar has fallen; the majestic trees have been destroyed. Howl, oaks of Bashan, because the impenetrable forest has fallen. | 2Weep, you cypress trees, for all the ruined cedars; the most majestic ones have fallen. Weep, you oaks of Bashan, for the thick forests have 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 wailing of the shepherds, for their rich pastures are destroyed. Hear the young lions roaring, for their thickets in the Jordan Valley are ruined. The Good and Evil Shepherds |
| 4The LORD my God says this: "Shepherd the flock set aside for slaughter. | 4This is what the LORD my God says: “Go and care for the flock that is intended 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. | 5The buyers slaughter their sheep without remorse. The sellers say, ‘Praise the LORD! Now I’m rich!’ Even the shepherds have no compassion for 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." | 6Likewise, I will no longer have pity on the people of the land,” says the LORD. “I will let them fall into each other’s hands and into the hands of their king. They will turn the land into a wilderness, and I will not rescue them.” |
| 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 cared for the flock intended for slaughter—the flock that was oppressed. Then I took two shepherd’s staffs and named one Favor and the other Union. |
| 8Next I eradicated the three shepherds in one month, for I ran out of patience with them and, indeed, they detested me as well. | 8I got rid of their three evil shepherds in a single month. But I became impatient with these sheep, and they hated me, too. |
| 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!" | 9So I told them, “I won’t be your shepherd any longer. If you die, you die. If you are killed, you are killed. And let those who remain devour each other!” |
| 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 cut it in two, showing that I had revoked 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. | 11That was the end of my covenant with them. The suffering flock was watching me, and they knew that the LORD was speaking through my actions. |
| 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. | 12And I said to them, “If you like, give me my wages, whatever I am worth; but only if you want to.” So they counted out for my wages 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 ”—this magnificent sum at which they valued me! So I took the thirty coins and threw them to the potter in the Temple 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 took my other staff, Union, and cut it in two, showing that the bond of unity between Judah and Israel was broken. |
| 15Again the LORD said to me, "Take up once more the equipment of a foolish shepherd. | 15Then the LORD said to me, “Go again and play the part of a worthless 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. | 16This illustrates how I will give this nation a shepherd who will not care for those who are dying, nor look after the young, nor heal the injured, nor feed the healthy. Instead, this shepherd will eat the meat of the fattest sheep and tear 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“What sorrow awaits this worthless shepherd who abandons the flock! The sword will cut his arm and pierce his right eye. His arm will become useless, and his right eye completely blind.” |
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