Irresponsible Shepherds
1 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
2 “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God to the shepherds: a“Woe to the shepherds of Israel who feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flocks?
3 aYou eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool; you bslaughter the fatlings, but you do not feed the flock.
4 aThe weak you have not strengthened, nor have you healed those who were sick, nor bound up the broken, nor brought back what was driven away, nor bsought what was lost; but with cforce and cruelty you have ruled them.
5 aSo they were bscattered because there was no shepherd; cand they became food for all the beasts of the field when they were scattered.
6 My sheep awandered through all the mountains, and on every high hill; yes, My flock was scattered over the whole face of the earth, and no one was seeking or searching for them.”
7 ‘Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord:
8 “As I live,” says the Lord God, “surely because My flock became a prey, and My flock abecame food for every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd, nor did My shepherds search for My flock, bbut the shepherds fed themselves and did not feed My flock”—
9 therefore, O shepherds, hear the word of the Lord!
10 Thus says the Lord God: “Behold, I am aagainst the shepherds, and bI will require My flock at their hand; I will cause them to cease feeding the sheep, and the shepherds shall cfeed themselves no more; for I will ddeliver My flock from their mouths, that they may no longer be food for them.”
God, the True Shepherd
11 ‘For thus says the Lord God: “Indeed I Myself will search for My sheep and seek them out.
12 As a ashepherd seeks out his flock on the day he is among his scattered sheep, so will I seek out My sheep and deliver them from all the places where they were scattered on ba cloudy and dark day.
13 And aI will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land; I will feed them on the mountains of Israel,1 in the valleys and in all the inhabited places of the country.
14 aI will feed them in good pasture, and their fold shall be on the high mountains of Israel. bThere they shall lie down in a good fold and feed in rich pasture on the mountains of Israel.
15 I will feed My flock, and I will make them lie down,” says the Lord God.
16 a“I will seek what was lost and bring back what was driven away, bind up the broken and strengthen what was sick; but I will destroy bthe fat and the strong, and feed them cin judgment.”
17 ‘And as for you, O My flock, thus says the Lord God: a“Behold, I shall judge between sheep and sheep, between rams and goats.
18 Is it too little for you to have eaten up the good pasture, that you must tread down with your feet the1 residue of your pasture—and to have drunk of the clear waters, that you must foul the residue with your feet?
New King James Version®, Copyright© 1982, Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.
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