New Living Translation

New American Standard Bible 1995

1Then this message came to me from the LORD:

1Then the word of the LORD came to me saying,

2“Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds, the leaders of Israel. Give them this message from the Sovereign LORD: What sorrow awaits you shepherds who feed yourselves instead of your flocks. Shouldn’t shepherds feed their sheep?

2"Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and say to those shepherds, 'Thus says the Lord GOD, "Woe, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flock?

3You drink the milk, wear the wool, and butcher the best animals, but you let your flocks starve.

3"You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fat sheep without feeding the flock.

4You have not taken care of the weak. You have not tended the sick or bound up the injured. You have not gone looking for those who have wandered away and are lost. Instead, you have ruled them with harshness and cruelty.

4"Those who are sickly you have not strengthened, the diseased you have not healed, the broken you have not bound up, the scattered you have not brought back, nor have you sought for the lost; but with force and with severity you have dominated them.

5So my sheep have been scattered without a shepherd, and they are easy prey for any wild animal.

5"They were scattered for lack of a shepherd, and they became food for every beast of the field and were scattered.

6They have wandered through all the mountains and all the hills, across the face of the earth, yet no one has gone to search for them.

6"My flock wandered through all the mountains and on every high hill; My flock was scattered over all the surface of the earth, and there was no one to search or seek for them."'"

7“Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD:

7Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD:

8As surely as I live, says the Sovereign LORD, you abandoned my flock and left them to be attacked by every wild animal. And though you were my shepherds, you didn’t search for my sheep when they were lost. You took care of yourselves and left the sheep to starve.

8"As I live," declares the Lord GOD, "surely because My flock has become a prey, My flock has even become food for all the beasts of the field for lack of a shepherd, and My shepherds did not search for My flock, but rather the shepherds fed themselves and did not feed My flock;

9Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD.

9therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD:

10This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I now consider these shepherds my enemies, and I will hold them responsible for what has happened to my flock. I will take away their right to feed the flock, and I will stop them from feeding themselves. I will rescue my flock from their mouths; the sheep will no longer be their prey. The Good Shepherd

10'Thus says the Lord GOD, "Behold, I am against the shepherds, and I will demand My sheep from them and make them cease from feeding sheep. So the shepherds will not feed themselves anymore, but I will deliver My flock from their mouth, so that they will not be food for them."'"

11“For this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I myself will search and find my sheep.

11For thus says the Lord GOD, "Behold, I Myself will search for My sheep and seek them out.

12I will be like a shepherd looking for his scattered flock. I will find my sheep and rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on that dark and cloudy day.

12"As a shepherd cares for his herd in the day when he is among his scattered sheep, so I will care for My sheep and will deliver them from all the places to which they were scattered on a cloudy and gloomy day.

13I will bring them back home to their own land of Israel from among the peoples and nations. I will feed them on the mountains of Israel and by the rivers and in all the places where people live.

13"I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries and bring them to their own land; and I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the streams, and in all the inhabited places of the land.

14Yes, I will give them good pastureland on the high hills of Israel. There they will lie down in pleasant places and feed in the lush pastures of the hills.

14"I will feed them in a good pasture, and their grazing ground will be on the mountain heights of Israel. There they will lie down on good grazing ground and feed in rich pasture on the mountains of Israel.

15I myself will tend my sheep and give them a place to lie down in peace, says the Sovereign LORD.

15"I will feed My flock and I will lead them to rest," declares the Lord GOD.

16I will search for my lost ones who strayed away, and I will bring them safely home again. I will bandage the injured and strengthen the weak. But I will destroy those who are fat and powerful. I will feed them, yes—feed them justice!

16"I will seek the lost, bring back the scattered, bind up the broken and strengthen the sick; but the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them with judgment.

17“And as for you, my flock, this is what the Sovereign LORD says to his people: I will judge between one animal of the flock and another, separating the sheep from the goats.

17"As for you, My flock, thus says the Lord GOD, 'Behold, I will judge between one sheep and another, between the rams and the male goats.

18Isn’t it enough for you to keep the best of the pastures for yourselves? Must you also trample down the rest? Isn’t it enough for you to drink clear water for yourselves? Must you also muddy the rest with your feet?

18'Is it too slight a thing for you that you should feed in the good pasture, that you must tread down with your feet the rest of your pastures? Or that you should drink of the clear waters, that you must foul the rest with your feet?

19Why must my flock eat what you have trampled down and drink water you have fouled?

19'As for My flock, they must eat what you tread down with your feet and drink what you foul with your feet!'"

20“Therefore, this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I will surely judge between the fat sheep and the scrawny sheep.

20Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD to them, "Behold, I, even I, will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep.

21For you fat sheep pushed and butted and crowded my sick and hungry flock until you scattered them to distant lands.

21"Because you push with side and with shoulder, and thrust at all the weak with your horns until you have scattered them abroad,

22So I will rescue my flock, and they will no longer be abused. I will judge between one animal of the flock and another.

22therefore, I will deliver My flock, and they will no longer be a prey; and I will judge between one sheep and another.

23And I will set over them one shepherd, my servant David. He will feed them and be a shepherd to them.

23"Then I will set over them one shepherd, My servant David, and he will feed them; he will feed them himself and be their shepherd.

24And I, the LORD, will be their God, and my servant David will be a prince among my people. I, the LORD, have spoken! The LORD’s Covenant of Peace

24"And I, the LORD, will be their God, and My servant David will be prince among them; I the LORD have spoken.

25“I will make a covenant of peace with my people and drive away the dangerous animals from the land. Then they will be able to camp safely in the wildest places and sleep in the woods without fear.

25"I will make a covenant of peace with them and eliminate harmful beasts from the land so that they may live securely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods.

26I will bless my people and their homes around my holy hill. And in the proper season I will send the showers they need. There will be showers of blessing.

26"I will make them and the places around My hill a blessing. And I will cause showers to come down in their season; they will be showers of blessing.

27The orchards and fields of my people will yield bumper crops, and everyone will live in safety. When I have broken their chains of slavery and rescued them from those who enslaved them, then they will know that I am the LORD.

27"Also the tree of the field will yield its fruit and the earth will yield its increase, and they will be secure on their land. Then they will know that I am the LORD, when I have broken the bars of their yoke and have delivered them from the hand of those who enslaved them.

28They will no longer be prey for other nations, and wild animals will no longer devour them. They will live in safety, and no one will frighten them.

28"They will no longer be a prey to the nations, and the beasts of the earth will not devour them; but they will live securely, and no one will make them afraid.

29“And I will make their land famous for its crops, so my people will never again suffer from famines or the insults of foreign nations.

29"I will establish for them a renowned planting place, and they will not again be victims of famine in the land, and they will not endure the insults of the nations anymore.

30In this way, they will know that I, the LORD their God, am with them. And they will know that they, the people of Israel, are my people, says the Sovereign LORD.

30"Then they will know that I, the LORD their God, am with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are My people," declares the Lord GOD.

31You are my flock, the sheep of my pasture. You are my people, and I am your God. I, the Sovereign LORD, have spoken!”

31"As for you, My sheep, the sheep of My pasture, you are men, and I am your God," declares the Lord GOD.

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit //www.lockman.org