1The word of the LORD came to me:
2"Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and say to them, 'This is what the Lord GOD says to the shepherds: Woe to the shepherds of Israel who feed themselves. Should not the shepherds feed the flocks?"
3"'You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool. You kill the ones that are well fed, but you do not feed the flock."
4"'You have not made the weak ones strong. You have not healed the sick one, or bound up the broken one. You have not brought back the one that was driven away, or looked for the one that was lost. Instead you have ruled them with force and with cruelty."
5"'So they were scattered, because there was no shepherd. When they were scattered they became food for all the wild animals of the field."
6"'My sheep wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. My flock was scattered over the whole face of the earth, and no one searched for them or looked for them."
7"'So, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD:"
8"'As surely as I live, says the Lord GOD, my flock became a prey. My flock became food for every wild animal of the field, because there was no shepherd. My shepherds did not search for my flock. The shepherds fed themselves and did not feed my flock."
9"'So, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD.'"
10"This is what the Lord GOD says: Look, I am against the shepherds. I will demand my flock from their hand, and I will stop them from feeding the flock. The shepherds will not feed themselves any more. I will rescue my flock from their mouth, so that the sheep will not be food for them."
11"For this is what the Lord GOD says: Look, I myself will search for my sheep and seek them out."
12"A shepherd seeks out his flock on the day he is among his scattered sheep. In the same way I will seek out my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on the cloudy and dark day."
13"I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries. I will bring them to their own land. I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the rivers, and in all the places where people live in the country."
14"I will feed them in a good pasture, and their fold will be on the high mountains of Israel. There they will lie down in a good fold, and they will feed in a 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"I will look for the one that was lost, and bring back the one that was driven away. I will bind up the broken one and make the sick one strong. But I will destroy the fat and the strong. I will feed them with judgment."
17"And as for you, my flock, this is what the Lord GOD says: Look, I judge between one sheep and another, between the rams and the male goats."
18"Does it seem a small thing to you to have eaten up the good pasture? Must you also trample down the rest of your pastures with your feet? You have drunk the deep waters. Must you also make the rest dirty with your feet?"
19"And as for my flock, they eat what you have trampled with your feet, and they drink what you have made dirty with your feet."
20"So this is what the Lord GOD says to them: Look, I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the thin sheep."
21"You have pushed with your side and with your shoulder. You have shoved all the weak ones with your horns until you scattered them far away."
22"So I will save my flock, and they will no longer be a prey. I will judge between one sheep and another."
23"I will set up one shepherd over them, my servant David, and he will feed them. He will feed them, and he will be their shepherd."
24"And I the LORD will be their God, and my servant David will be a prince among them. I the LORD have spoken it."
25"I will make a covenant of peace with them, and I will rid the land of dangerous animals. They will live safely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods."
26"I will make them and the places around my hill a blessing. I will send down the rain in its season; there will be showers of blessing."
27"The tree of the field will give its fruit, and the earth will give its crops, and they will be safe in their land. Then they will know that I am the LORD, when I have broken the bars of their yoke and rescued them from the hand of those who made slaves of them."
28"They will no longer be a prey to the nations, and the wild animals of the land will not devour them. They will live safely, and no one will make them afraid."
29"I will raise up for them a plant of renown. They will no longer be destroyed by hunger in the land, and they will no longer bear the shame of the nations."
30"So they will know that I the LORD their God am with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are my people, says the Lord GOD."
31"And you, my flock, the flock of my pasture, are people, and I am your God, says the Lord GOD."