Prophecy Concerning Israel’s Shepherds and Sheep

34 And the word of Yahweh came^[a] to me, saying, ² “Son of man,^[b] prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and you must say to them, to the shepherds, ‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh: “Woe to the shepherds of Israel who were feeding themselves! Must not the shepherds feed the flock? ³ The fat you eat, and you clothe yourself with the wool; the well-nourished animals you slaughter, but you do not feed the flock. ⁴ The weak you have not strengthened, and the sick you have not healed, and with respect to^[c] the hurt^[d] you have not bound them up, and you have not brought back the scattered, and you have not sought the lost, but rather you ruled over them with force^[e] and with ruthlessness. ⁵ And they were scattered without^[f] a shepherd, and they were^[g] as food for all the animals^[h] of the field when they were scattered. ⁶ My flock went astray upon all of the mountains and on every high hill, and so upon all the surface of the world^[i] my flock were scattered, and there was no one seeking them,^[j] and there was no one searching for them.”^{[k] 7} Therefore, hear, O shepherds, the word of Yahweh: ⁸ “As I live,”^[l] declares^[m] the Lord Yahweh, “Surely^[n] because my flock have become as plunder, and my flock became as food to^[o] all the animals^[p] of the field, since there was not a shepherd, since my shepherds have not sought my flock, but the shepherds fed themselves, and they fed not my flock,’” ⁹ therefore, O shepherds, hear the word of Yahweh, ¹⁰ ‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh: “Look! I am against the shepherds, and I will seek my flock from their hand, and I will put an end to them from shepherding flocks, and the shepherds will no longer^[q] feed themselves, and I will deliver my flocks from their mouth, so that they will not be as food for them.”

¹¹ “‘For thus says the Lord Yahweh: “Look! I, even I, will seek my flock, and I will look after them, ¹² just like the caring of a shepherd for his herd on^[r] the day when he is in the midst of his scattered flock. Thus I will look after my flock, and I will deliver them from all the places to which they were scattered^[s] on the day of storm and stress.^{[t] 13} And I will bring them out from the peoples, and I will gather them from the countries, and I will bring them to their soil, and I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, in the valleys, and in all of the settlements of the land. ¹⁴ I will feed them in good pasture, and their pasture will be on the mountains of the heights of Israel; there they will lie down in good pasture, and on lush pasture they will feed on the mountains of Israel. ¹⁵ I myself^[u] will feed my flock and I myself^[v] will allow them to lie down,” declares^[w] the Lord Yahweh. ¹⁶ “I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the scattered, and I will bind up the one hurt, and I will strengthen the sick; and the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed her with justice.”

¹⁷ “‘And you, my flock, thus says the Lord Yahweh: “Look! I am judging between one sheep and another,^[x] between the rams and between the he-goats. ¹⁸ Is it not enough for you^[y] that you feed on the good pasture? And still you must trample the remainder of your pasture with your feet, and clear water^[z] you drink, and the leftover water^[aa] you must make muddy with your feet. ¹⁹ And my flock must graze the pasture treaded upon by^[ab] your feet, and must drink the mud puddle stirred up by^[ac] your feet.”

²⁰ “‘Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh to them: “Look! I, even I will judge between fat sheep and between lean sheep, ²¹ because with your flank and with your shoulder you shoved, and with your horns you pushed all of the sick animals until^[ad] you scattered it^[ae] to the outside. ²² And so I will save my flock, and they will no longer be^[af] for plunder, and I will judge between one sheep and another.^{[ag] 23} And I will set up over them one shepherd, and he will feed them; that is, my servant David. He will feed them, and he will be for them as^[ah] a shepherd. ²⁴ And I, Yahweh, I will be for them as God,^[ai] and my servant David will be a leader in the midst of them. I, Yahweh, I have spoken. ²⁵ And I will make them a covenant of peace, and I will put an end to wild animals^[aj] from the land, and they will dwell in the desert safely,^[ak] and they will sleep in the forest. ²⁶ And I will make them and the area all around my hill a blessing, and I will let the rain go down at its appointed time;^[al] they will be rains of blessing. ²⁷ And the tree^[am] of the field will give its fruit, and the land will give its produce, and they will be on their land safely,^[an] and they will know that I am Yahweh when I break their yoke, and I will deliver them from the hand of the ones enslaving them. ²⁸ And they will not be any longer plunder to the nations, and the animals of the land will not eat them, and they will dwell in safety,^[ao] and there will not be anyone frightening them. ²⁹ And I will raise for them a garden plot^[ap] of renown, and they will no longer^[aq] be victims of famine in the land, and they will not bear any more the insult of the nations. ³⁰ And they will know that I, Yahweh their God, am with them and they are my people, the house of Israel,” declares^[ar] the Lord Yahweh, ³¹ “and you are my flock, the flock of my pasture. You are my people;^[as] I am your God,” declares^[at] the Lord Yahweh.’”