1 The word of Yahweh came to me, saying, 2 Son of man, prophesy
against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and tell them, even to the
shepherds, Thus says the Lord Yahweh: Woe to the shepherds of Israel who feed
themselves! Shouldn't the shepherds feed the sheep? 3 You eat the
fat, and you clothe you with the wool, you kill the fatlings; but
you don't feed the sheep. 4 You haven't strengthened the
diseased, neither have you healed that which was sick, neither have
you bound up that which was broken, neither have you brought back
that which was driven away, neither have you sought that which was lost;
but with force and with rigor have you ruled over them. 5 They were
scattered, because there was no shepherd; and they became food to all the
animals of the field, and were scattered. 6 My sheep wandered through all
the mountains, and on every high hill: yes, my sheep were scattered on all
the surface of the earth; and there was none who searched or sought.
7 Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of Yahweh: 8 As I live,
says the Lord Yahweh, surely because my sheep became a prey, and my sheep
became food to all the animals of the field, because there was no shepherd,
neither did my shepherds search for my sheep, but the shepherds fed
themselves, and didn't feed my sheep; 9 therefore, you shepherds,
hear the word of Yahweh: 10 Thus says the Lord Yahweh: Behold, I am
against the shepherds; and I will require my sheep at their hand, and cause
them to cease from feeding the sheep; neither shall the shepherds feed
themselves any more; and I will deliver my sheep from their mouth, that they
may not be food for them. 11 For thus says the Lord Yahweh: Behold, I
myself, even I, will search for my sheep, and will seek them out. 12 As a
shepherd seeks out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are
scattered abroad, so will I seek out my sheep; and I will deliver them out of
all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day. 13 I
will bring them out from the peoples, and gather them from the countries, and
will bring them into their own land; and I will feed them on the mountains of
Israel, by the watercourses, and in all the inhabited places of the country.
14 I will feed them with good pasture; and on the mountains of the height
of Israel shall their fold be: there shall they lie down in a good fold; and
on fat pasture shall they feed on the mountains of Israel. 15 I myself
will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I will cause them to lie down, says the
Lord Yahweh. 16 I will seek that which was lost, and will bring back that
which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will
strengthen that which was sick: but the fat and the strong I will destroy; I
will feed them in justice. 17 As for you, O my flock, thus says the Lord
Yahweh: Behold, I judge between sheep and sheep, the rams and the male goats.
18 Seems it a small thing to you to have fed on the good pasture, but
you must tread down with your feet the residue of your pasture? and to
have drunk of the clear waters, but you must foul the residue with your
feet? 19 As for my sheep, they eat that which you have trodden with
your feet, and they drink that which you have fouled with your feet.
20 Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh to them: Behold, I, even I, will
judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. 21 Because you thrust
with side and with shoulder, and push all the diseased with your horns, until
you have scattered them abroad; 22 therefore will I save my flock,
and they shall no more be a prey; and I will judge between sheep and sheep.
23 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 I,
Yahweh, will be their God, and my servant David prince among them; I, Yahweh,
have spoken it. 25 I will make with them a covenant of peace, and will
cause evil animals to cease out of the land; and they shall dwell securely in
the wilderness, and sleep in the woods. 26 I will make them and the places
round about my hill a blessing; and I will cause the shower to come down in
its season; there shall be showers of blessing. 27 The tree of the field
shall yield its fruit, and the earth shall yield its increase, and they shall
be secure in their land; and they shall know that I am Yahweh, when I have
broken the bars of their yoke, and have delivered them out of the hand of
those who made slaves of them. 28 They shall no more be a prey to the
nations, neither shall the animals of the earth devour them; but they shall
dwell securely, and none shall make them afraid. 29 I will raise up to
them a plantation for renown, and they shall be no more consumed with famine
in the land, neither bear the shame of the nations any more. 30 They shall
know that I, Yahweh, their God am with them, and that they, the house of
Israel, are my people, says the Lord Yahweh. 31 You my sheep, the
sheep of my pasture, are men, and I am your God, says the Lord Yahweh.
World English Bible - Public Domain |
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