Irresponsible Shepherds

34 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 (B)You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool; you ^(C)slaughter the fatlings, but you do not feed the flock. ^4 (D)The 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 ^(E)sought what was lost; but with ^(F)force and ^[a]cruelty you have ruled them. ^5 (G)So they were ^(H)scattered because there was no shepherd; ^(I)and they became food for all the beasts of the field when they were scattered. ⁶ My sheep ^(J)wandered 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 ^(K)became food for every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd, nor did My shepherds search for My flock, ^(L)but 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 ^(M)against the shepherds, and ^(N)I will require My flock at their hand; I will cause them to cease feeding the sheep, and the shepherds shall ^(O)feed themselves no more; for I will ^(P)deliver 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 ^(Q)shepherd 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 ^(R)a cloudy and dark day. ¹³ And ^(S)I 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, ^[b]in the valleys and in all the inhabited places of the country. ^14 (T)I will feed them in good pasture, and their fold shall be on the high mountains of Israel. ^(U)There 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 (V)“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 ^(W)the fat and the strong, and feed them ^(X)in judgment.”

¹⁷ ‘And as for you, O My flock, thus says the Lord God: ^(Y)“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 the ^[c]residue of your pasture—and to have drunk of the clear waters, that you must foul the residue with your feet? ¹⁹ And as for My flock, they eat what you have trampled with your feet, and they drink what you have fouled with your feet.”

²⁰ ‘Therefore thus says the Lord God to them: ^(Z)“Behold, I Myself will judge between the fat and the lean sheep. ²¹ Because you have pushed with side and shoulder, butted all the weak ones with your horns, and scattered them abroad, ²² therefore I will save My flock, and they shall no longer be a prey; and I will judge between sheep and sheep. ²³ I will establish one ^(AA)shepherd over them, and he shall feed them—^(AB)My servant David. He shall feed them and be their shepherd. ²⁴ And ^(AC)I, the Lord, will be their God, and My servant David ^(AD)a prince among them; I, the Lord, have spoken.

¹⁹ Now we know that whatever ^(A)the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that ^(B)every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become ^[a]guilty before God. ²⁰ Therefore ^(C)by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.

God’s Righteousness Through Faith

²¹ But now ^(D)the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, ^(E)being witnessed by the Law ^(F)and the Prophets, ²² even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all ^[b]and on all who believe. For ^(G)there is no difference; ²³ for ^(H)all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ²⁴ being justified ^[c]freely ^(I)by His grace ^(J)through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, ²⁵ whom God set forth ^(K)as a ^[d]propitiation ^(L)by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over ^(M)the sins that were previously committed, ²⁶ to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

Boasting Excluded

^27 (N)Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? No, but by the law of faith. ²⁸ Therefore we conclude ^(O)that a man is ^[e]justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law. ²⁹ Or is He the God of the Jews only? Is He not also the God of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also, ³⁰ since ^(P)there is one God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith. ³¹ Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the law.