Prophecy against the Shepherds of Israel

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

2 “Son of man, prophesy against the ashepherds of Israel. Prophesy and say to 1those shepherds, ‘Thus says the Lord 2God, “Woe, shepherds of Israel who have been 3bfeeding themselves! Should not the shepherds 3cfeed the flock?

3 “You aeat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool, you bslaughter the fat sheep without 1feeding the flock.

4 “Those who are sickly you have not strengthened, the 1diseased you have not healed, athe broken you have not bound up, the scattered you have not brought back, nor have you bsought for the lost; but with force and with severity you have dominated them.

5 “They were ascattered for lack of a shepherd, and they became bfood for every beast of the field and were scattered.

6 “My flock awandered through all the mountains and on every high hill; bMy flock was scattered over all the surface of the earth, and there was cno one to search or seek for them.” ’ ”

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

8 “As I live,” declares the Lord God, “surely because My flock has become a aprey, 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;

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

10 ‘Thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I am aagainst the shepherds, and I will demand My 1sheep 2from them and make them bcease from feeding 1sheep. So the shepherds will not 3feed themselves anymore, but I will cdeliver My flock from their mouth, so that they will not be food for them.” ’ ”

The Restoration of Israel

11 For thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I Myself will asearch for My sheep and seek them out.

12 “aAs a shepherd 1cares for his herd in the day when he is among his scattered 2sheep, so I will 1bcare for My 2sheep and will deliver them from all the places to which they were scattered on a ccloudy and gloomy day.

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 afeed them on the mountains of Israel, by the bstreams, and in all the inhabited places of the land.

14 “I will feed them in a agood 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 1brich pasture on the mountains of Israel.

15 “I will afeed My flock and I will 1lead them to rest,” declares the Lord God.

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

17 “As for you, My flock, thus says the Lord God, ‘Behold, I will ajudge between one 1sheep and another, between the rams and the male goats.

18 ‘Is it too aslight 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 1foul the rest with your feet?

19 ‘As for My flock, they must eat what you tread down with your feet and drink what you 1foul with your feet!’ ”

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

21 “Because you push with side and with shoulder, and athrust at all the 1weak with your horns until you have scattered them 2abroad,

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

23 “Then I will aset over them one bshepherd, My servant cDavid, and he will feed them; he will feed them himself and be their shepherd.

24 “And I, the Lord, will be their God, and My servant aDavid will be prince among them; I the Lord have spoken.

25 “I will make a acovenant of peace with them and beliminate harmful beasts from the land so that they may clive securely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods.

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

27 “Also the tree of the field will yield its fruit and the earth will yield its increase, and they will be asecure on their land. Then they will know that I am the Lord, when I have bbroken the bars of their yoke and have delivered them from the hand of those who enslaved 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 alive securely, and no one will make them afraid.

29 “I will establish for them a arenowned planting place, and they will bnot again be 1victims of famine in the land, and they will not cendure the insults of the nations anymore.

30 “Then they will know that aI, the Lord their God, am with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are My people,” declares the Lord God.

31 “As for you, My asheep, the bsheep of My pasture, you are men, and I am your God,” declares the Lord God.