Prophecy Against the Shepherds of Israel
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The word of the LORD came to me:
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1"Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy, and say to them, even to the shepherds, Thus says the Lord GOD: 2Ah, shepherds of Israel 3who have been feeding yourselves! 4Should not shepherds feed the sheep?
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5You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, 6you slaughter the fat ones, but you do not feed the sheep.
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7The weak you have not strengthened, the sick you have not healed, 8the injured you have not bound up, 9the strayed you have not brought back, 10the lost you have not sought, and with force and 11harshness you have ruled them.
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12So they were scattered, because there was no shepherd, and 13they became food for all the wild beasts.
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My sheep were scattered; they wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. My sheep were scattered over all the face of the earth, 14with none to search or seek for them.
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"Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD:
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15As I live, declares the Lord GOD, surely because 16my 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,
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therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD:
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Thus says the Lord GOD, 17Behold, I am against the shepherds, and 18I will require my sheep at their hand and 19put a stop to their feeding the sheep. 20No longer shall the shepherds feed themselves. 21I will rescue my sheep from their mouths, that they may not be food for them.
The Lord God Will Seek Them Out
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"For thus says the Lord GOD: 22Behold, I, I 23myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out.
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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 24a day of clouds and 25thick darkness.
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And I will bring them out from the peoples 26and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land. And I will feed them on 27the mountains of Israel, by the ravines, and in all the inhabited places of the country.
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28I will feed them with good pasture, and on the mountain heights of Israel shall be their grazing land. 29There they shall lie down in good grazing land, and on rich pasture they shall feed on the mountains of Israel.
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30I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, 31and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord GOD.
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32I will seek the lost, 33and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, and 34the fat and the strong I will destroy.a I will feed them in justice.
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"As for you, my flock, thus says the Lord GOD: 35Behold, I judge between sheep and sheep, between rams and 36male goats.
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Is it not enough for you to feed on the good pasture, that you must tread down with your feet the rest of your pasture; and to drink of 37clear water, that you must muddy the rest of the water with your feet?
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And must my sheep eat what you have trodden with your feet, and drink what you have muddied with your feet?
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"Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD to them: Behold, I, I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep.
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Because you push with side and shoulder, and 38thrust at all the 39weak with your horns, till you have scattered them abroad,
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I will rescueb my flock; 40they shall no longer be a prey. And I will judge between sheep and sheep.
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And 41I will set up over them one shepherd, 42my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd.
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And 43I, the LORD, will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince among them. 44I am the LORD; I have spoken.
The Lord's Covenant of Peace
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45"I will make with them a covenant of peace and 46banish wild beasts from the land, 47so that they may dwell securely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods.
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And I will make them and the places all around my hill 48a blessing, and 49I will send down the showers in their season; they shall be 50showers of blessing.
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51And the trees of the field shall yield their fruit, and the earth shall yield its increase, 52and they shall be secure in their land. And 53they shall know that I am the LORD, when 54I break the bars of their yoke, and 55deliver them from the hand of those who enslaved them.
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56They shall no more be a prey to the nations, 57nor shall the beasts of the land devour them. 58They shall dwell securely, and none shall make them afraid.
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And I will provide for them 59renowned plantations so that 60they shall no more be consumed with hunger in the land, and no longer 61suffer the reproach of the nations.
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And they shall know that 62I am the LORD their God with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are my people, declares the Lord GOD.
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And you are my sheep, 63human sheep of my pasture, and I am your God, declares the Lord GOD."
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.
(English Standard Version - The Holy Bible Online)