The Fall of Jerusalem

²¹ And it came to pass in the twelfth year ^(A)of our captivity, in the tenth month, on the fifth day of the month, ^(B)that one who had escaped from Jerusalem came to me and said, ^(C)“The city has been ^[a]captured!”

²² Now ^(D)the hand of the Lord had been upon me the evening before the man came who had escaped. And He had ^(E)opened my mouth; so when he came to me in the morning, my mouth was opened, and I was no longer mute.

The Cause of Judah’s Ruin

²³ Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying: ²⁴ “Son of man, ^(F)they who inhabit those ^(G)ruins in the land of Israel are saying, ^(H)‘Abraham was only one, and he inherited the land. ^(I)But we are many; the land has been given to us as a ^(J)possession.’

²⁵ “Therefore say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God: ^(K)“You eat meat with blood, you ^(L)lift up your eyes toward your idols, and ^(M)shed blood. Should you then possess the ^(N)land? ²⁶ You rely on your sword, you commit abominations, and you ^(O)defile one another’s wives. Should you then possess the land?” ’

²⁷ “Say thus to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “As I live, surely ^(P)those who are in the ruins shall fall by the sword, and the one who is in the open field ^(Q)I will give to the beasts to be devoured, and those who are in the strongholds and ^(R)caves shall die of the pestilence. ^28 (S)For I will make the land most desolate, ^[b]her ^(T)arrogant strength shall cease, and ^(U)the mountains of Israel shall be so desolate that no one will pass through. ²⁹ Then they shall know that I am the Lord, when I have made the land most desolate because of all their abominations which they have committed.” ’

Hearing and Not Doing

³⁰ “As for you, son of man, the children of your people are talking about you beside the walls and in the doors of the houses; and they ^(V)speak to one another, everyone saying to his brother, ‘Please come and hear what the word is that comes from the Lord.’ ³¹ So ^(W)they come to you as people do, they ^(X)sit before you as My people, and they ^(Y)hear your words, but they do not do them; ^(Z)for with their mouth they show much love, but ^(AA)their hearts pursue their own gain. ³² Indeed you are to them as a very lovely song of one who has a pleasant voice and can play well on an instrument; for they hear your words, but they do ^(AB)not do them. ^33 (AC)And when this comes to pass—surely it will come—then ^(AD)they will know that a prophet has been among them.”

Irresponsible Shepherds

34 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ² “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God to the shepherds: ^(A)“Woe to the shepherds of Israel who feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flocks? ^3 (B)You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool; you ^(C)slaughter the fatlings, but you do not feed the flock. ^4 (D)The weak you have not strengthened, nor have you healed those who were sick, nor bound up the broken, nor brought back what was driven away, nor ^(E)sought what was lost; but with ^(F)force and ^[a]cruelty you have ruled them. ^5 (G)So they were ^(H)scattered because there was no shepherd; ^(I)and they became food for all the beasts of the field when they were scattered. ⁶ My sheep ^(J)wandered through all the mountains, and on every high hill; yes, My flock was scattered over the whole face of the earth, and no one was seeking or searching for them.”

⁷ ‘Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: ⁸ “As I live,” says the Lord God, “surely because My flock became a prey, and My flock ^(K)became food for every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd, nor did My shepherds search for My flock, ^(L)but the shepherds fed themselves and did not feed My flock”— ⁹ therefore, O shepherds, hear the word of the Lord! ¹⁰ Thus says the Lord God: “Behold, I am ^(M)against the shepherds, and ^(N)I will require My flock at their hand; I will cause them to cease feeding the sheep, and the shepherds shall ^(O)feed themselves no more; for I will ^(P)deliver My flock from their mouths, that they may no longer be food for them.”

God, the True Shepherd

¹¹ ‘For thus says the Lord God: “Indeed I Myself will search for My sheep and seek them out. ¹² As a ^(Q)shepherd seeks out his flock on the day he is among his scattered sheep, so will I seek out My sheep and deliver them from all the places where they were scattered on ^(R)a cloudy and dark day. ¹³ And ^(S)I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land; I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, ^[b]in the valleys and in all the inhabited places of the country. ^14 (T)I will feed them in good pasture, and their fold shall be on the high mountains of Israel. ^(U)There they shall lie down in a good fold and feed in rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. ¹⁵ I will feed My flock, and I will make them lie down,” says the Lord God. ^16 (V)“I will seek what was lost and bring back what was driven away, bind up the broken and strengthen what was sick; but I will destroy ^(W)the fat and the strong, and feed them ^(X)in judgment.”

¹⁷ ‘And as for you, O My flock, thus says the Lord God: ^(Y)“Behold, I shall judge between sheep and sheep, between rams and goats. ¹⁸ Is it too little for you to have eaten up the good pasture, that you must tread down with your feet the ^[c]residue of your pasture—and to have drunk of the clear waters, that you must foul the residue with your feet? ¹⁹ And as for My flock, they eat what you have trampled with your feet, and they drink what you have fouled with your feet.”

²⁰ ‘Therefore thus says the Lord God to them: ^(Z)“Behold, I Myself will judge between the fat and the lean sheep. ²¹ Because you have pushed with side and shoulder, butted all the weak ones with your horns, and scattered them abroad, ²² therefore I will save My flock, and they shall no longer be a prey; and I will judge between sheep and sheep. ²³ I will establish one ^(AA)shepherd over them, and he shall feed them—^(AB)My servant David. He shall feed them and be their shepherd. ²⁴ And ^(AC)I, the Lord, will be their God, and My servant David ^(AD)a prince among them; I, the Lord, have spoken.

^25 (AE)“I will make a covenant of peace with them, and ^(AF)cause wild beasts to cease from the land; and they ^(AG)will dwell safely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods. ²⁶ I will make them and the places all around ^(AH)My hill ^(AI)a blessing; and I will ^(AJ)cause showers to come down in their season; there shall be ^(AK)showers of blessing. ²⁷ Then ^(AL)the trees of the field shall yield their fruit, and the earth shall yield her increase. They shall be safe in their land; and they shall know that I am the Lord, when I have ^(AM)broken the bands of their yoke and delivered them from the hand of those who ^(AN)enslaved them. ²⁸ And they shall no longer be a prey for the nations, nor shall beasts of the land devour them; but ^(AO)they shall dwell safely, and no one shall make them afraid. ²⁹ I will raise up for them a ^(AP)garden^[d] of renown, and they shall ^(AQ)no longer be consumed with hunger in the land, ^(AR)nor bear the shame of the Gentiles anymore. ³⁰ Thus they shall know that ^(AS)I, the Lord their God, am with them, and they, the house of Israel, are ^(AT)My people,” says the Lord God.’

³¹ “You are My ^(AU)flock, the flock of My pasture; you are men, and I am your God,” says the Lord God.