Prophecy Against the Shepherds of Israel

1 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 ^d“Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy, and say to them, even to the shepherds, Thus says the Lord God: ^eAh, shepherds of Israel ^fwho have been feeding yourselves! ^gShould not shepherds feed the sheep? 3 ^hYou eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, ⁱyou slaughter the fat ones, but you do not feed the sheep. 4 ^jThe weak you have not strengthened, the sick you have not healed, ^hthe injured you have not bound up, ^hthe strayed you have not brought back, ^kthe lost you have not sought, and with force and ^lharshness you have ruled them. 5 ^mSo they were scattered, because there was no shepherd, and ⁿthey became food for all the wild beasts. My sheep were scattered; 6 they wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. My sheep were scattered over all the face of the earth, ^owith none to search or seek for them.

7 “Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: 8 ^pAs I live, declares the Lord God, surely because ^qmy 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, 9 therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: 10 Thus says the Lord God, ^rBehold, I am against the shepherds, and ^sI will require my sheep at their hand and ^tput a stop to their feeding the sheep. ^uNo longer shall the shepherds feed themselves. ^vI will rescue my sheep from their mouths, that they may not be food for them.

The Lord God Will Seek Them Out

11 “For thus says the Lord God: ^wBehold, I, I ^xmyself will search for my sheep and will seek them out. 12 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 ^ya day of clouds and ^zthick darkness. 13 And I will bring them out from the peoples ^aand gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land. And I will feed them on ^bthe mountains of Israel, by the ravines, and in all the inhabited places of the country. 14 ^cI will feed them with good pasture, and on the mountain heights of Israel shall be their grazing land. ^dThere they shall lie down in good grazing land, and on rich pasture they shall feed on the mountains of Israel. 15 ^eI myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, ^dand I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord God. 16 ^fI will seek the lost, ^gand I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, and ^hthe fat and the strong I will destroy.¹ I will feed them in justice.

31 And you are my sheep, ^ehuman sheep of my pasture, and I am your God, declares the Lord God.”