¹² Now David was ^(A)the son of an ^(B)Ephrathite of Bethlehem in Judah, ^(C)named Jesse, ^(D)who had eight sons. In the days of Saul the man was already old and advanced in years.^{[a] 13} The three oldest sons of Jesse had followed Saul to the battle. And ^(E)the names of his three sons who went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, and next to him Abinadab, and the third Shammah. ^14 (F)David was the youngest. The three eldest followed Saul, ¹⁵ but David went back and forth from Saul ^(G)to feed his father's sheep at Bethlehem. ¹⁶ For forty days the Philistine came forward and took his stand, morning and evening.

¹⁷ And Jesse said to David his son, “Take for your brothers an ephah^[b] of this parched grain, and these ten loaves, and carry them quickly to the camp to your brothers. ^18 (H)Also take these ten cheeses to the commander of their thousand. ^(I)See if your brothers are well, and bring some token from them.”

¹⁹ Now Saul and they and all the men of Israel were in the Valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines. ²⁰ And David rose early in the morning and left the sheep with a keeper and took the provisions and went, as Jesse had commanded him. And he came to ^(J)the encampment as the host was going out to the battle line, shouting the war cry. ²¹ And Israel and the Philistines drew up for battle, army against army. ²² And David left the ^(K)things in charge of the keeper of the ^(L)baggage and ran to the ranks and went and greeted his brothers. ²³ As he talked with them, behold, ^(M)the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, came up out of the ranks of the Philistines and spoke ^(N)the same words as before. And David heard him.

²⁴ All the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him and were much afraid. ²⁵ And the men of Israel said, “Have you seen this man who has come up? Surely he has come up to ^(O)defy Israel. And the king will enrich the man who kills him with great riches ^(P)and will give him his daughter and make his father's house free in Israel.” ²⁶ And David said to the men who stood by him, “What shall be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away ^(Q)the reproach from Israel? For who is this ^(R)uncircumcised Philistine, that he should ^(S)defy the armies of ^(T)the living God?” ²⁷ And the people answered him in the same way, ^(U)“So shall it be done to the man who kills him.”

²⁸ Now Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spoke to the men. And Eliab's anger was kindled against David, and he said, “Why have you come down? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your presumption and the evil of your heart, for you have come down to see the battle.” ²⁹ And David said, “What have I done now? Was it not but a word?” ³⁰ And he turned away from him toward another, and spoke ^(V)in the same way, and the people answered him again as before.

³¹ When the words that David spoke were heard, they repeated them before Saul, and he sent for him. ³² And David said to Saul, ^(W)“Let no man's heart fail because of him. ^(X)Your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.” ³³ And Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him, for you are but a youth, and he has been a man of war from his youth.” ³⁴ But David said to Saul, “Your servant used to keep sheep for his father. And when there came a lion, or a bear, and took a lamb from the flock, ³⁵ I went after him and struck him and delivered it out of his mouth. And if he arose against me, I caught him by his beard and struck him and killed him. ³⁶ Your servant has struck down both lions and bears, and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, ^(Y)for he has defied the armies of the living God.” ³⁷ And David said, ^(Z)“The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” And Saul said to David, “Go, ^(AA)and the Lord be with you!”

Prophecy Against the Shepherds of Israel

34 The word of the Lord came to me: ^2 (A)“Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy, and say to them, even to the shepherds, Thus says the Lord God: ^(B)Ah, shepherds of Israel ^(C)who have been feeding yourselves! ^(D)Should not shepherds feed the sheep? ^3 (E)You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, ^(F)you slaughter the fat ones, but you do not feed the sheep. ^4 (G)The weak you have not strengthened, the sick you have not healed, ^(H)the injured you have not bound up, ^(I)the strayed you have not brought back, ^(J)the lost you have not sought, and with force and ^(K)harshness you have ruled them. ^5 (L)So they were scattered, because there was no shepherd, and ^(M)they became food for all the wild beasts. My sheep were scattered; ⁶ they wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. My sheep were scattered over all the face of the earth, ^(N)with none to search or seek for them.

⁷ “Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: ^8 (O)As I live, declares the Lord God, surely because ^(P)my sheep have become a prey, and my sheep have become food for all the wild beasts, since there was no shepherd, and because my shepherds have not searched for my sheep, but the shepherds have fed themselves, and have not fed my sheep, ⁹ therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: ¹⁰ Thus says the Lord God, ^(Q)Behold, I am against the shepherds, and ^(R)I will require my sheep at their hand and ^(S)put a stop to their feeding the sheep. ^(T)No longer shall the shepherds feed themselves. ^(U)I will rescue my sheep from their mouths, that they may not be food for them.

The Lord God Will Seek Them Out

¹¹ “For thus says the Lord God: ^(V)Behold, I, I ^(W)myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out. ¹² As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, so will I seek out my sheep, and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on ^(X)a day of clouds and ^(Y)thick darkness. ¹³ And I will bring them out from the peoples ^(Z)and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land. And I will feed them on ^(AA)the mountains of Israel, by the ravines, and in all the inhabited places of the country. ^14 (AB)I will feed them with good pasture, and on the mountain heights of Israel shall be their grazing land. ^(AC)There they shall lie down in good grazing land, and on rich pasture they shall feed on the mountains of Israel. ^15 (AD)I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, ^(AE)and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord God. ^16 (AF)I will seek the lost, ^(AG)and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, and ^(AH)the fat and the strong I will destroy.^[a] I will feed them in justice.

¹⁷ “As for you, my flock, thus says the Lord God: ^(AI)Behold, I judge between sheep and sheep, between rams and ^(AJ)male goats. ¹⁸ Is it not enough for you to feed on the good pasture, that you must tread down with your feet the rest of your pasture; and to drink of ^(AK)clear water, that you must muddy the rest of the water with your feet? ¹⁹ And must my sheep eat what you have trodden with your feet, and drink what you have muddied with your feet?

²⁰ “Therefore, thus says the Lord God to them: Behold, I, I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. ²¹ Because you push with side and shoulder, and ^(AL)thrust at all the ^(AM)weak with your horns, till you have scattered them abroad, ²² I will rescue^[b] my flock; ^(AN)they shall no longer be a prey. And I will judge between sheep and sheep. ²³ And ^(AO)I will set up over them one shepherd, ^(AP)my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd. ²⁴ And ^(AQ)I, the Lord, will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince among them. ^(AR)I am the Lord; I have spoken.

The Lord's Covenant of Peace

^25 (AS)“I will make with them a covenant of peace and ^(AT)banish wild beasts from the land, ^(AU)so that they may dwell securely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods. ²⁶ And I will make them and the places all around my hill ^(AV)a blessing, and ^(AW)I will send down the showers in their season; they shall be ^(AX)showers of blessing. ^27 (AY)And the trees of the field shall yield their fruit, and the earth shall yield its increase, ^(AZ)and they shall be secure in their land. And ^(BA)they shall know that I am the Lord, when ^(BB)I break the bars of their yoke, and ^(BC)deliver them from the hand of those who enslaved them. ^28 (BD)They shall no more be a prey to the nations, ^(BE)nor shall the beasts of the land devour them. ^(BF)They shall dwell securely, and none shall make them afraid. ²⁹ And I will provide for them ^(BG)a renowned place for planting so that ^(BH)they shall no more be consumed with hunger in the land, and no longer ^(BI)suffer the reproach of the nations.