¹¹ The words of the wise are like cattle prods—painful but helpful. Their collected sayings are like a nail-studded stick with which a shepherd^[a] drives the sheep.

³⁷ Peter’s words pierced their hearts, and they said to him and to the other apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?”

¹⁴ “I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me,

²³ And I will set over them one shepherd, my servant David. He will feed them and be a shepherd to them.

²³ He will bring honor to his family name, for I will drive him firmly in place like a nail in the wall.

Psalm 80

For the choir director: A psalm of Asaph, to be sung to the tune “Lilies of the Covenant.”

⁴ And when the Great Shepherd appears, you will receive a crown of never-ending glory and honor.

¹² For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.