² Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and say to those shepherds that this is what the Lord God says.

Woe to you, shepherds of Israel, who have been shepherding for themselves. Aren’t shepherds supposed to shepherd for the benefit of the sheep? ³ You eat the fat.^[a] You wear the wool. You slaughter the fattened ones—but you do not shepherd the flock. ⁴ You have not strengthened the weak. You have not healed the sick. You have not bound up the injured. You have not brought back the strays, and you have not searched for the lost. Instead you have abused them with force and with violence. ⁵ So they scattered, because there was no shepherd, and they became food for all the wild animals. My sheep scattered and ⁶ wandered all over the mountains and on every high hill. Over the face of the whole earth, my flock was scattered, with no one looking for them and no one searching for them.

⁷ Therefore, shepherds, hear the word of the Lord. ⁸ As surely as I live, declares the Lord God, because my flock has become plunder, and because my flock has become food for all the wild animals, because they have no shepherd and my shepherds did not concern themselves about my flock, but the shepherds took care of themselves instead of taking care of my flock, ⁹ therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord.

¹⁰ This is what the Lord God says. I am against the shepherds. Watch! I will remove my flock from their hand. I will remove them from taking care of the sheep, and no longer will those shepherds take care of themselves. I will rescue my flock from their mouths, so that they will no longer be food for them.