A Prophecy against Israel’s Shepherds 1 Brenton And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, BSB BSB: Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
2 Brenton Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say to the shepherds, Thus saith the Lord God; O shepherds of Israel, do shepherds feed themselves? do not the shepherds feed the sheep? BSB BSB: “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Woe to the shepherds of Israel, who only feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed their flock?
3 Brenton Behold, ye feed on the milk, and clothe yourselves with the wool, and slay the fat: but ye feed not my sheep. BSB BSB: You eat the fat, wear the wool, and butcher the fattened sheep, but you do not feed the flock.
4 Brenton The weak one ye have not strengthened, and the sick ye have not cherished, and the bruised ye have not bound up, and the stray one ye have not turned back, and the lost ye have not sought; and the strong ye have wearied with labour. BSB BSB: You have not strengthened the weak, healed the sick, bound up the injured, brought back the strays, or searched for the lost. Instead, you have ruled them with violence and cruelty.
5 Brenton And my sheep were scattered, because there were no shepherds: and they became meat to all the wild beasts of the field. BSB BSB: They were scattered for lack of a shepherd, and when they were scattered they became food for all the wild beasts.
6 Brenton And my sheep were scattered on every mountain, and on every high hill: yea, they were scattered on the face of the earth, and there was none to seek them out, nor to bring them back. BSB BSB: My flock went astray on all the mountains and every high hill. They were scattered over the face of all the earth, with no one to search for them or seek them out.’
7 Brenton Therefore, ye shepherds, hear the word of the Lord. BSB BSB: Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD:
8 Brenton As I live, saith the Lord God, surely because my sheep became a prey, and my sheep became meat to all the wild beasts of the field, because there were no shepherds, and the shepherds sought not out my sheep, and the shepherds fed themselves, but fed not my sheep.BSB BSB: ‘As surely as I live, declares the Lord GOD, because My flock lacks a shepherd and has become prey and food for every wild beast, and because My shepherds did not search for My flock but fed themselves instead,
9 Brenton For this cause, O shepherds, BSB BSB: therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD!’
10 Brenton thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I am against the shepherds; and I will require my sheep at their hands, and will turn them back that they shall not feed my sheep, and the shepherds shall no longer feed them; and I will deliver my sheep out of their mouth, and they shall no longer be meat for them. BSB BSB: This is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Behold, I am against the shepherds, and I will demand from them My flock and remove them from tending the flock, so that they can no longer feed themselves. For I will deliver My flock from their mouths, and it will no longer be food for them.’
The Good Shepherd (Psalm 23:1–6; John 10:1–21)
11 Brenton For thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I will seek out my sheep, and will visit them. BSB BSB: For this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Behold, I Myself will search for My flock and seek them out.
12 Brenton As the shepherd seeks his flock, in the day when there is darkness and cloud, in the midst of the sheep that are separated: so will I seek out my sheep, and will bring them back from every place where they were scattered in the day of cloud and darkness. BSB BSB: As a shepherd looks for his scattered sheep when he is among the flock, so I will look for My flock. I will rescue them from all the places to which they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness.
13 Brenton And I will bring them out from the Gentiles, and will gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land, and will feed them upon the mountains of Israel, and in the valleys, and in every inhabited place of the land. BSB BSB: I will bring them out from the peoples, gather them from the countries, and bring them into their own land. I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, in the ravines, and in all the settlements of the land.
14 Brenton I will feed them in a good pasture, on a high mountain of Israel: and their folds shall be there, and they shall lie down, and there shall they rest in perfect prosperity, and they shall feed in a fat pasture on the mountains of Israel. BSB BSB: I will feed them in good pasture, and the lofty mountains of Israel will be their grazing land. There they will lie down in a good grazing land; they will feed in rich pasture on the mountains of Israel.
15 Brenton I will feed my sheep, and I will cause them to rest; and they shall know that I am the Lord: thus saith the Lord God. BSB BSB: I will tend My flock and make them lie down, declares the Lord GOD.
16 Brenton I will seek that which is lost, and I will recover the stray one, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen the fainting, and will guard the strong, and will feed them with judgment. BSB BSB: I will seek the lost, bring back the strays, bind up the broken, and strengthen the weak; but the sleek and strong I will destroy. I will shepherd them with justice.’
17 Brenton And as for you, ye sheep, thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I will distinguish between sheep and sheep, between rams and he-goats. BSB BSB: This is what the Lord GOD says to you, My flock: ‘I will judge between one sheep and another, between the rams and the goats.
18 Brenton And is it not enough for you that ye fed on the good pasture, that ye trampled with your feet the remnant of your pasture? and that ye drank the standing water, that ye disturbed the residue with your feet? BSB BSB: Is it not enough for you to feed on the good pasture? Must you also trample the rest of the pasture with your feet? Is it not enough for you to drink the clear waters? Must you also muddy the rest with your feet?
19 Brenton So my sheep fed on that which ye had trampled with your feet; and they drank the water that had been disturbed by your feet. BSB BSB: Why must My flock feed on what your feet have trampled, and drink what your feet have muddied?’
20 Brenton Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will separate between the strong sheep and the weak sheep. BSB BSB: Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says to them: ‘Behold, I Myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep.
21 Brenton Ye did thrust with your sides and shoulders, and pushed with your horns, and ye cruelly treated all the sick. BSB BSB: Since you shove with flank and shoulder, butting all the weak ones with your horns until you have scattered them abroad,
22 Brenton Therefore I will save my sheep, and they shall not be any more for a prey; and will judge between ram and ram. BSB BSB: I will save My flock, and they will no longer be prey. I will judge between one sheep and another.
23 Brenton And I will raise up one shepherd over them, and he shall tend them, even my servant David, and he shall be their shepherd; BSB BSB: I will appoint over them one shepherd, My servant David, and he will feed them. He will feed them and be their shepherd.
24 Brenton and I the Lord will be to them a God, and David a prince in the midst of them; I the Lord have spoken it. BSB BSB: I, the LORD, will be their God, and My servant David will be a prince among them. I, the LORD, have spoken.
The Covenant of Peace 25 Brenton And I will make with David a covenant of peace, and I will utterly destroy evil beasts from off the land; and they shall dwell in the wilderness, and sleep in the forests. BSB BSB: I will make with them a covenant of peace and rid the land of wild animals, so that they may dwell securely in the wilderness and sleep in the forest.
26 Brenton And I will settle them round about my mountain; and I will give you the rain, the rain of blessing. BSB BSB: I will make them and the places around My hill a blessing. I will send down showers in season—showers of blessing.
27 Brenton And the trees that are in the field shall yield their fruit, and the earth shall yield her strength, and they shall dwell in the confidence of peace on their land, and they shall know that I am the Lord, when I have broken their yoke; and I will deliver them out of the hand of those that enslaved them. BSB BSB: The trees of the field will give their fruit, and the land will yield its produce; My flock will be secure in their land. Then they will know that I am the LORD, when I have broken the bars of their yoke and delivered them from the hands that enslaved them.
28 Brenton And they shall no more be a spoil to the nations, and the wild beasts of the land shall no more at all devour them; and they shall dwell safely, and there shall be none to make them afraid. BSB BSB: They will no longer be prey for the nations, and the beasts of the earth will not consume them. They will dwell securely, and no one will frighten them.
29 Brenton And I will raise up for them a plant of peace, and they shall no more perish with hunger upon the land, and they shall no more bear the reproach of the nations. BSB BSB: And I will raise up for them a garden of renown, and they will no longer be victims of famine in the land or bear the scorn of the nations.
30 Brenton And they shall know that I am the Lord their God, and they my people. O house of Israel, saith the Lord God, BSB BSB: Then they will know that I, the LORD their God, am with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are My people,’ declares the Lord GOD.
31 Brenton ye are my sheep, even the sheep of my flock, and I am the Lord your God, saith the Lord God. BSB BSB: ‘You are My flock, the sheep of My pasture, My people, and I am your God,’ declares the Lord GOD.”