The Doomed Flock

11 Open your doors, O Lebanon,

⁴ Thus says the Lord my God, “Pasture the flock doomed to ^(E)slaughter. ⁵ Those who buy them slay them and ^[d]go ^(F)unpunished, and each of those who sell them says, ‘Blessed be the Lord, for ^(G)I have become rich!’ And their ^(H)own shepherds have no pity on them. ⁶ For I will ^(I)no longer have pity on the inhabitants of the land,” declares the Lord; “but behold, I will ^(J)cause the men to ^[e]fall, each into another’s ^[f]power and into the ^[g]power of his king; and they will strike the land, and I will ^(K)not deliver them from their ^[h]power.”

⁷ So I ^(L)pastured the flock doomed to slaughter, ^[i]hence the ^(M)afflicted of the flock. And I took for myself two ^(N)staffs: the one I called ^[j](O)Favor and the other I called ^[k](P)Union; so I pastured the flock. ⁸ Then I annihilated the three shepherds in ^(Q)one month, for my soul was impatient with them, and their soul also ^[l]was weary of me. ⁹ Then I said, “I will not pasture you. What is to ^(R)die, ^[m]let it die, and what is to be annihilated, ^[n]let it be annihilated; and ^[o]let those who are left eat one another’s flesh.” ¹⁰ I took my staff ^[p](S)Favor and cut it in pieces, to ^[q](T)break my covenant which I had made with all the peoples. ¹¹ So it was ^[r]broken on that day, and ^[s]thus the ^(U)afflicted of the flock who were watching me realized that it was the word of the Lord. ¹² I said to them, “If it is good in your sight, give me my ^(V)wages; but if not, ^[t]never mind!” So they weighed out ^(W)thirty shekels of silver as my wages. ¹³ Then the Lord said to me, “Throw it to the ^(X)potter, that magnificent price at which I was valued by them.” So I took the thirty shekels of silver and threw them to the potter in the house of the Lord. ¹⁴ Then I cut in pieces my second staff ^[u](Y)Union, to ^(Z)break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.

¹⁵ The Lord said to me, “Take again for yourself the equipment of a ^[v](AA)foolish shepherd. ¹⁶ For behold, I am going to raise up a shepherd in the land who will ^(AB)not care for the perishing, seek the scattered, heal the broken, or sustain the one standing, but will ^(AC)devour the flesh of the fat sheep and tear off their hoofs.

“Preach the Word”

4 ^(A)I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to ^(B)judge the living and the dead, and by His ^(C)appearing and His kingdom: ² preach ^(D)the word; be ready in season and out of season; ^(E)reprove, rebuke, exhort, with ^[a]great ^(F)patience and instruction. ³ For ^(G)the time will come when they will not endure ^(H)sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, ⁴ and ^(I)will turn away their ears from the truth and ^(J)will turn aside to myths. ⁵ But you, ^(K)be sober in all things, ^(L)endure hardship, do the work of an ^(M)evangelist, fulfill your ^(N)ministry.

⁶ For I am already being ^(O)poured out as a drink offering, and the time of ^(P)my departure has come. ^7 (Q)I have fought the good fight, I have finished ^(R)the course, I have kept ^(S)the faith; ⁸ in the future there ^(T)is laid up for me ^(U)the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on ^(V)that day; and not only to me, but also to ^(W)all who have loved His ^(X)appearing.

Personal Concerns

^9 (Y)Make every effort to come to me soon; ¹⁰ for ^(Z)Demas, having loved ^(AA)this present ^[b]world, has deserted me and gone to ^(AB)Thessalonica; Crescens has gone to ^[c](AC)Galatia, ^(AD)Titus to Dalmatia. ^11 (AE)Only ^(AF)Luke is with me. Pick up ^(AG)Mark and bring him with you, ^(AH)for he is useful to me for service. ¹² But ^(AI)Tychicus I have sent to ^(AJ)Ephesus. ¹³ When you come bring the cloak which I left at ^(AK)Troas with Carpus, and the books, especially the parchments. ^14 (AL)Alexander the coppersmith did me much harm; ^(AM)the Lord will repay him according to his deeds. ¹⁵ Be on guard against him yourself, for he vigorously opposed our ^[d]teaching.

¹⁶ At my first defense no one supported me, but all deserted me; ^(AN)may it not be counted against them. ¹⁷ But the Lord stood with me and ^(AO)strengthened me, so that through me ^(AP)the proclamation might ^[e]be ^(AQ)fully accomplished, and that all ^(AR)the Gentiles might hear; and I was ^(AS)rescued out of ^(AT)the lion’s mouth. ¹⁸ The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed, and will ^[f](AU)bring me safely to His ^(AV)heavenly kingdom; ^(AW)to ^[g]Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

¹⁹ Greet Prisca and ^(AX)Aquila, and ^(AY)the household of Onesiphorus. ^20 (AZ)Erastus remained at ^(BA)Corinth, but ^(BB)Trophimus I left sick at ^(BC)Miletus. ^21 (BD)Make every effort to come before ^(BE)winter. Eubulus greets you, also Pudens and Linus and Claudia and all the brethren.

^22 (BF)The Lord be with your spirit. ^(BG)Grace be with you.