Prophecy Against the Shepherds of Israel

34 The word of the Lord came to me: ^2 (A)“Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy, and say to them, even to the shepherds, Thus says the Lord God: ^(B)Ah, shepherds of Israel ^(C)who have been feeding yourselves! ^(D)Should not shepherds feed the sheep? ^3 (E)You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, ^(F)you slaughter the fat ones, but you do not feed the sheep. ^4 (G)The weak you have not strengthened, the sick you have not healed, ^(H)the injured you have not bound up, ^(I)the strayed you have not brought back, ^(J)the lost you have not sought, and with force and ^(K)harshness you have ruled them. ^5 (L)So they were scattered, because there was no shepherd, and ^(M)they became food for all the wild beasts. My sheep were scattered; ⁶ they wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. My sheep were scattered over all the face of the earth, ^(N)with none to search or seek for them.

¹⁰ Thus says the Lord God, ^(A)Behold, I am against the shepherds, and ^(B)I will require my sheep at their hand and ^(C)put a stop to their feeding the sheep. ^(D)No longer shall the shepherds feed themselves. ^(E)I will rescue my sheep from their mouths, that they may not be food for them.

The Lord God Will Seek Them Out

¹¹ “For thus says the Lord God: ^(F)Behold, I, I ^(G)myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out.

^15 (A)I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, ^(B)and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord God. ^16 (C)I will seek the lost, ^(D)and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, and ^(E)the fat and the strong I will destroy.^[a] I will feed them in justice.