And the
word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
02 Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of
Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith
the Lord God unto the shepherds; Woe be to the
shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves!
should not the shepherds feed the flocks?
03 Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the
wool, ye kill them that are fed: but ye feed not
the flock.
04 The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither
have ye healed that which was sick, neither have
ye bound up that which was broken, neither have
ye brought again that which was driven away,
neither have ye sought that which was lost; but
with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them.
05 And they were scattered, because there is no
shepherd: and they became meat to all the beasts
of the field, when they were scattered.
06 My sheep wandered through all the mountains,
and upon every high hill: yea, my flock was
scattered upon all the face of the earth, and
none did search or seek after them.
07 Therefore, ye shepherds, hear the word of the
Lord;
08 As I live, saith the Lord God, surely because
my flock became a prey, and my flock became meat
to every beast of the field, because there was no
shepherd, neither did my shepherds search for my
flock, but the shepherds fed themselves, and fed
not my flock;
09 Therefore, O ye shepherds, hear the word of
the Lord;
10 Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against
the shepherds; and I will require my flock at
their hand, and cause them to cease from feeding
the flock; neither shall the shepherds feed
themselves any more; for I will deliver my flock
from their mouth, that they may not be meat for
them.
11 For thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I, even
I, will both search my sheep, and seek them out.
12 As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day
that he is among his sheep that are scattered; so
will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them
out of all places where they have been scattered
in the cloudy and dark day.
13 And I will bring them out from the people, and
gather them from the countries, and will bring
them to their own land, and feed them upon the
mountains of Israel by the rivers, and in all the
inhabited places of the country.
14 I will feed them in a good pasture, and upon
the high mountains of Israel shall their fold be:
there shall they lie in a good fold, and in a fat
pasture shall they feed upon the mountains of
Israel.
15 I will feed my flock, and I will cause them to
lie down, saith the Lord God.
16 I will seek that which was lost, and bring
again that which was driven away, and will bind
up that which was broken, and will strengthen
that which was sick: but I will destroy the fat
and the strong; I will feed them with judgment.
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17 And as for you, O my flock, thus saith the
Lord God; Behold, I judge between cattle and
cattle, between the rams and the he goats.
18 Seemeth it a small thing unto you to have
eaten up the good pasture, but ye must tread down
with your feet the residue of your pastures? and
to have drunk of the deep waters, but ye must
foul the residue with your feet?
19 And as for my flock, they eat that which ye
have trodden with your feet; and they drink that
which ye have fouled with your feet.
20 Therefore thus saith the Lord God unto them;
Behold, I, even I, will judge between the fat
cattle and between the lean cattle.
21 Because ye have thrust with side and with
shoulder, and pushed all the diseased with your
horns, till ye have scattered them abroad;
22 Therefore will I save my flock, and they shall
no more be a prey; and I will judge between
cattle and cattle.
23 And I will set up one shepherd over them, and
he shall feed them, even my servant David; he
shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd.
24 And I the Lord will be their God, and my
servant David a prince among them; I the Lord
have spoken it.
25 And I will make with them a covenant of peace,
and will cause the evil beasts to cease out of
the land: and they shall dwell safely in the
wilderness, and sleep in the woods.
26 And I will make them and the places round
about my hill a blessing; and I will cause the
shower to come down in his season; there shall be
showers of blessing.
27 And the tree of the field shall yield her
fruit, and the earth shall yield her increase,
and they shall be safe in their land, and shall
know that I am the Lord, when I have broken the
bands of their yoke, and delivered them out of
the hand of those that served themselves of them.
28 And they shall no more be a prey to the
heathen, neither shall the beast of the land
devour them; but they shall dwell safely, and
none shall make them afraid.
29 And I will raise up for them a plant of
renown, and they shall be no more consumed with
hunger in the land, neither bear the shame of the
heathen any more.
30 Thus shall they know that I the Lord their God
am with them, and that they, even the house of
Israel, are my people, saith the Lord God.
31 And ye my flock, the flock of my pasture, are
men, and I am your God, saith the Lord God.
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