The Shepherds and God’s Flock

34 The word of the Lord came to me: ² “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy, and say to them, ‘This is what the Lord God says to the shepherds: Woe to the shepherds of Israel, who have been feeding themselves!^(A) Shouldn’t the shepherds feed their flock? ³ You eat the fat, wear the wool, and butcher the fattened animals, but you do not tend the flock.^{(B) 4} You have not strengthened the weak, healed the sick, bandaged the injured, brought back the strays, or sought the lost.^(C) Instead, you have ruled them with violence and cruelty. ⁵ They were scattered for lack of a shepherd;^(D) they became food for all the wild animals^(E) when they were scattered. ⁶ My flock went astray on all the mountains and every high hill.^(F) My flock was scattered over the whole face of the earth, and there was no one searching or seeking for them.

⁷ “‘Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord. ⁸ As I live—this is the declaration of the Lord God—because my flock, lacking a shepherd, has become prey and food for every wild animal, and because my shepherds do not search for my flock, and because the shepherds feed themselves rather than my flock, ⁹ therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord!

¹⁰ “‘This is what the Lord God says: Look, I am against the shepherds.^(G) I will demand my flock from them^[a] and prevent them from shepherding the flock. The shepherds will no longer feed themselves, for I will rescue my flock from their mouths so that they will not be food for them.

¹¹ “‘For this is what the Lord God says: See, I myself will search for my flock and look for them. ¹² As a shepherd looks for his sheep on the day he is among his scattered flock, so I will look for my flock. I will rescue them from all the places where they have been scattered^(H) on a day of clouds and total darkness. ¹³ I will bring them out from the peoples, gather them from the countries, and bring them to their own soil. I will shepherd them on the mountains of Israel, in the ravines, and in all the inhabited places of the land. ¹⁴ I will tend them in good pasture, and their grazing place will be on Israel’s lofty mountains. There they will lie down in a good grazing place; they will feed in rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. ¹⁵ I will tend my flock and let them lie down.^(I) This is the declaration of the Lord God. ¹⁶ I will seek the lost,^(J) bring back the strays, bandage the injured,^(K) and strengthen the weak, but I will destroy^[b] the fat and the strong. I will shepherd them with justice.

The Lord and His Sheep

23 “Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture!” ^(A) This is the Lord’s declaration. ² “Therefore, this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says about the shepherds who tend my people: You have scattered my flock,^(B) banished them, and have not attended to them.^(C) I am about to attend to you because of your evil acts”—this is the Lord’s declaration. ³ “I will gather the remnant of my flock from all the lands where I have banished them,^(D) and I will return them to their grazing land. They will become fruitful and numerous.^(E)

⁷ Jesus said again, “Truly I tell you, I am^(A) the gate for the sheep.^{(B) 8} All who came before me^[a] are thieves and robbers, but the sheep didn’t listen to them. ⁹ I am the gate. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will come in and go out and find pasture. ¹⁰ A thief comes only to steal^(C) and kill and destroy.^(D) I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance.

¹¹ “I am the good shepherd.^(E) The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.^{(F) 12} The hired hand, since he is not the shepherd and doesn’t own the sheep, leaves them^[b] and runs away when he sees a wolf^(G) coming. The wolf then snatches and scatters them. ¹³ This happens because he is a hired hand and doesn’t care about the sheep.

¹⁴ “I am the good shepherd. I know my own, and my own know me, ¹⁵ just as the Father knows me, and I know the Father.^(H) I lay down my life^(I) for the sheep.