A Prophecy against Israel’s Shepherds 1 CPDV And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: BSB BSB: Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
2 CPDV “Son of man, prophesy about the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy, and you shall say to the shepherds: Thus says the Lord God: Woe to the shepherds of Israel who feed themselves! Should not the flocks be fed by the shepherds? 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 CPDV You consumed the milk, and you covered yourselves with the wool, and you killed what was fattened. But my flock you did not feed. BSB BSB: You eat the fat, wear the wool, and butcher the fattened sheep, but you do not feed the flock.
4 CPDV What was weak, you have not strengthened, and what was sick, you have not healed. What was broken, you have not bound, and what was cast aside, you have not led back again, and what was lost, you have not sought. Instead, you ruled over them with severity and with power. 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 CPDV And my sheep were scattered, because there was no shepherd. And they became devoured by all the wild beasts of the field, and they were dispersed. BSB BSB: They were scattered for lack of a shepherd, and when they were scattered they became food for all the wild beasts.
6 CPDV My sheep have wandered to every mountain and to every exalted hill. And my flocks have been scattered across the face of the earth. And there was no one who sought them; there was no one, I say, who sought them. 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 CPDV Because of this, O shepherds, listen to the word of the Lord: BSB BSB: Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD:
8 CPDV As I live, says the Lord God, since my flocks have become a prey, and my sheep have been devoured by all the wild beasts of the field, since there was no shepherd, for my shepherds did not seek my flock, but instead the shepherds fed themselves, and they did not feed my flocks: 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 CPDV because of this, O shepherds, listen to the word of the Lord: BSB BSB: therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD!’
10 CPDV Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I myself will be over the shepherds. I will require my flock at their hand, and I will cause them to cease, so that they no longer refrain from feeding the flock. Neither will the shepherds feed themselves any more. And I will deliver my flock from their mouth; and it will no longer be food 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 CPDV For thus says the Lord God: Behold, I myself will seek my sheep, and I myself 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 CPDV Just as a shepherd visits his flock, in the day when he will be in the midst of his sheep that were scattered, so will I visit my sheep. And I will deliver them from all the places to which they had been scattered in the day of gloom 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 CPDV And I will lead them away from the peoples, and I will gather them from the lands, and I will bring them into their own land. And I will pasture them on the mountains of Israel, by the rivers, and in all the settlements 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 CPDV I will feed them in very fertile pastures, and their pastures will be on the lofty mountains of Israel. There they will rest on the green grass, and they will be fed in the fat pastures, 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 CPDV I will feed my sheep, and I will cause them to lie down, says the Lord God. BSB BSB: I will tend My flock and make them lie down, declares the Lord GOD.
16 CPDV I will seek what had been lost. And I will lead back again what had been cast aside. And I will bind up what had been broken. And I will strengthen what had been infirm. And I will preserve what was fat and strong. And I will feed them on 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 CPDV But as for you, O my flocks, thus says the Lord God: Behold, I judge between cattle and cattle, among rams and among 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 CPDV Was it not enough for you to feed upon good pastures? For you even trample with your feet upon the remainder of your pastures. And when you drank the purist water, you disturbed the remainder 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 CPDV And my sheep were pastured from what you had trampled with your feet, and they drank from what your feet had disturbed. BSB BSB: Why must My flock feed on what your feet have trampled, and drink what your feet have muddied?’
20 CPDV Because of this, thus says the Lord God to you: Behold, I myself am judging between the fat cattle and the lean. 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 CPDV For you have pushed with your sides and shoulders, and you have threatened all the weak cattle with your horns, until they were scattered abroad. BSB BSB: Since you shove with flank and shoulder, butting all the weak ones with your horns until you have scattered them abroad,
22 CPDV I will save my flock, and it will no longer be a prey, and I will judge between cattle and cattle. BSB BSB: I will save My flock, and they will no longer be prey. I will judge between one sheep and another.
23 CPDV And I will raise up over them ONE SHEPHERD, who will feed them, my servant David. He himself will feed them, and he will 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 CPDV And I, the Lord, will be their God. And my servant David will be the leader in their midst. I, the Lord, have spoken. 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 CPDV And I will make a covenant of peace with them. And I will cause the very harmful beasts to cease from the land. And those who are living in the desert will sleep securely 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 CPDV And I will make them a blessing all around my hill. And I will send the rain in due time; there will be showers 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 CPDV And the tree of the field will yield its fruit, and the land will yield its crop. And they will be in their own land without fear. And they shall know that I am the Lord, when I will have crushed the chains of their yoke, and when I will have rescued them from the hand of those who rule over 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 CPDV And they will no longer be a prey to the Gentiles, nor will the wild beasts of the earth devour them. Instead, they will live in confidence without any terror. 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 CPDV And I will raise up for them a renowned branch. And they will be no longer be diminished by famine in the land, nor will they carry any longer the reproach of the Gentiles. 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 CPDV And they shall know that I, the Lord their God, am with them, and that they are my people, the house of Israel, says 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 CPDV For you are my flocks; the flocks of my pasture are men. And I am the Lord your God, says 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.”
Select verses for actions: Enter goes to them and Escape comes back.