Israel’s Shepherds: Good and Bad

⁴ The Lord my God says this: “Shepherd the flock intended for slaughter. ⁵ Those who buy them slaughter them but are not punished.^(H) Those who sell them say, ‘Blessed be the Lord because I have become rich!’ Even their own shepherds have no compassion for them. ⁶ Indeed, I will no longer have compassion on the inhabitants of the land”—this is the Lord’s declaration. “Instead, I will turn everyone over to his neighbor and his king. They will devastate the land, and I will not rescue it from their hand.”^(I)

⁷ So I shepherded the flock intended for slaughter, the oppressed of the flock.^[b] I took two staffs, calling one Favor^(J) and the other Union, and I shepherded the flock. ⁸ In one month I got rid of three shepherds. I became impatient with them, and they also detested me. ⁹ Then I said, “I will no longer shepherd you. Let what is dying die, and let what is perishing perish; let the rest devour each other’s flesh.” ¹⁰ Next I took my staff called Favor and cut it in two, annulling the covenant I had made with all the peoples. ¹¹ It was annulled on that day, and so the oppressed of the flock^[c] who were watching me knew that it was the word of the Lord. ¹² Then I said to them, “If it seems right to you, give me my wages; but if not, keep them.” So they weighed my wages, thirty pieces of silver.^(K)

¹³ “Throw it to the potter,”^[d] the Lord said to me—this magnificent price I was valued by them. So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw it into the house of the Lord, to the potter.^{[e](L) 14} Then I cut in two my second staff, Union, annulling the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.

¹⁵ The Lord also said to me, “Take the equipment of a foolish shepherd. ¹⁶ I am about to raise up a shepherd in the land who will not care for those who are perishing, and he will not seek the lost^[f] or heal the broken. He will not sustain the healthy,^[g] but he will devour the flesh of the fat sheep^(M) and tear off their hooves.

Judah’s Security

12 A pronouncement:

² “Look, I will make Jerusalem a cup that causes staggering^(Q) for the peoples who surround the city. The siege against Jerusalem will also involve Judah.^{(R) 3} On that day I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples; all who try to lift it will injure themselves severely when all the nations of the earth gather against her.^{(S) 4} On that day”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“I will strike every horse with panic and its rider with madness.^(T) I will keep a watchful eye on^(U) the house of Judah but strike all the horses of the nations with blindness. ⁵ Then each of the leaders of Judah will think to himself: The residents of Jerusalem are my strength through the Lord of Armies, their God. ⁶ On that day I will make the leaders of Judah like a firepot in a woodpile,^(V) like a flaming torch among sheaves; they will consume all the peoples around them on the right and the left, while Jerusalem continues to be inhabited on its site, in Jerusalem. ⁷ The Lord will save the tents of Judah first, so that the glory of David’s house and the glory of Jerusalem’s residents may not be greater than that of Judah. ⁸ On that day the Lord will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem,^(W) so that on that day the one who is weakest among them will be like David on that day, and the house of David will be like God, like the angel of the Lord, before them.^{(X) 9} On that day I will set out to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.

Mourning for the Pierced One

¹⁰ “Then I will pour out a spirit^[i](Y) of grace and prayer on the house of David and the residents of Jerusalem, and they will look at^[j] me whom they pierced. They will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child and weep bitterly for him as one weeps for a firstborn.^{(Z) 11} On that day the mourning in Jerusalem will be as great as the mourning of Hadad-rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. ¹² The land will mourn, every family by itself: the family of David’s house by itself and their women by themselves; the family of Nathan’s^[k](AA) house by itself and their women by themselves; ¹³ the family of Levi’s house by itself and their women by themselves; the family of Shimei^[l](AB) by itself and their women by themselves; ¹⁴ all the remaining families, every family by itself, and their women by themselves.

Celebration in Heaven

19 After this I heard something like the loud voice of a vast multitude^(A) in heaven, saying,

³ A second time they said,

⁴ Then the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God,^(H) who is seated on the throne, saying,

⁵ A voice came from the throne, saying,

⁶ Then I heard something like the voice of a vast multitude, like the sound of cascading waters,^(K) and like the rumbling of loud thunder, saying,

For the fine linen represents the righteous acts of the saints.^(P)

⁹ Then he^[b] said to me,^(Q) “Write: Blessed are those invited to the marriage feast^(R) of the Lamb!” He also said to me, “These words of God are true.”^{(S) 10} Then I fell at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, “Don’t do that!^(T) I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers and sisters who hold firmly to the testimony of Jesus.^(U) Worship God, because the testimony of Jesus is the spirit^[c] of prophecy.”

The Rider on a White Horse

¹¹ Then I saw heaven opened,^(V) and there was a white horse. Its rider is called Faithful and True,^(W) and with justice he judges and makes war.^{(X) 12} His eyes were like a fiery flame,^(Y) and many crowns^[d] were on his head.^(Z) He had a name written that no one knows except himself.^{(AA) 13} He wore a robe dipped in blood,^(AB) and his name is called the Word of God.^{(AC) 14} The armies that were in heaven followed him on white horses, wearing pure white linen. ¹⁵ A sharp^[e] sword^(AD) came from his mouth, so that he might strike the nations with it.^(AE) He will rule^[f] them with an iron rod.^(AF) He will also trample the winepress of the fierce anger of God,^(AG) the Almighty. ¹⁶ And he has a name written on his robe and on his thigh: King of Kings and Lord of Lords.^(AH)

The Beast and Its Armies Defeated

¹⁷ Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he called out in a loud voice, saying to all the birds flying high overhead, “Come, gather together for the great supper of God, ¹⁸ so that you may eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of military commanders, the flesh of the mighty, the flesh of horses and of their riders, and the flesh of everyone, both free and slave, small and great.”^(AI)

¹⁹ Then I saw the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies^(AJ) gathered together to wage war^(AK) against the rider on the horse and against his army. ²⁰ But the beast was taken prisoner, and along with it the false prophet, who had performed the signs in its presence. He deceived those who accepted the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image with these signs.^(AL) Both of them were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur.^{(AM) 21} The rest were killed with the sword that came from the mouth of the rider on the horse, and all the birds ate their fill of their flesh.

Psalm 148

Creation’s Praise of the Lord