Ezekiel 34

New International Version

The Lord Will Be Israel’s Shepherd

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 Sovereign Lord says: Woe to you shepherds of Israel who only take care of yourselves! Should not shepherds take care of the flock?^(A) ³You eat the curds, clothe yourselves with the wool and slaughter the choice animals, but you do not take care of the flock.^(B) ⁴You have not strengthened the weak or healed^(C) the sick or bound up^(D) the injured. You have not brought back the strays or searched for the lost. You have ruled them harshly and brutally.^(E) ⁵So they were scattered because there was no shepherd,^(F) and when they were scattered they became food for all the wild animals.^(G) ⁶My sheep wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill.^(H) They were scattered^(I) over the whole earth, and no one searched or looked for them.^(J)

⁷“‘Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: ⁸As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, because my flock lacks a shepherd and so has been plundered^(K) and has become food for all the wild animals,^(L) and because my shepherds did not search for my flock but cared for themselves rather than for my flock,^(M) ⁹therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: ¹⁰This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am against^(N) the shepherds and will hold them accountable for my flock. I will remove them from tending the flock so that the shepherds can no longer feed themselves. I will rescue^(O) my flock from their mouths, and it will no longer be food for them.^(P)

¹¹“‘For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I myself will search for my sheep^(Q) and look after them. ¹²As a shepherd^(R) looks after his scattered flock when he is with them, so will I look after my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness.^(S) ¹³I will bring them out from the nations and gather^(T) them from the countries, and I will bring them into their own land.^(U) I will pasture them on the mountains of Israel, in the ravines and in all the settlements in the land.^(V) ¹⁴I will tend them in a good pasture, and the mountain heights of Israel^(W) will be their grazing land. There they will lie down in good grazing land, and there they will feed in a rich pasture^(X) on the mountains of Israel.^(Y) ¹⁵I myself will tend my sheep and have them lie down,^(Z) declares the Sovereign Lord.^(AA) ¹⁶I will search for the lost and bring back the strays. I will bind up^(AB) the injured and strengthen the weak,^(AC) but the sleek and the strong I will destroy.^(AD) I will shepherd the flock with justice.^(AE)

¹⁷“‘As for you, my flock, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will judge between one sheep and another, and between rams and goats.^(AF) ¹⁸Is it not enough^(AG) for you to feed on the good pasture? Must you also trample the rest of your pasture with your feet?^(AH) Is it not enough for you to drink clear water? Must you also muddy the rest with your feet? ¹⁹Must my flock feed on what you have trampled and drink what you have muddied with your feet?

²⁰“‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says to them: See, I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep.^(AI) ²¹Because you shove with flank and shoulder, butting all the weak sheep with your horns^(AJ) until you have driven them away, ²²I will save my flock, and they will no longer be plundered. I will judge between one sheep and another.^(AK) ²³I will place over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he will tend^(AL) them; he will tend them and be their shepherd.^(AM) ²⁴I the Lord will be their God,^(AN) and my servant David^(AO) will be prince among them.^(AP) I the Lord have spoken.^(AQ)

²⁵“‘I will make a covenant^(AR) of peace^(AS) with them and rid the land of savage beasts^(AT) so that they may live in the wilderness and sleep in the forests in safety.^(AU) ²⁶I will make them and the places surrounding my hill a blessing.^[a]^(AV) I will send down showers in season;^(AW) there will be showers of blessing.^(AX) ²⁷The trees will yield their fruit^(AY) and the ground will yield its crops;^(AZ) the people will be secure^(BA) in their land. They will know that I am the Lord, when I break the bars of their yoke^(BB) and rescue them from the hands of those who enslaved them.^(BC) ²⁸They will no longer be plundered by the nations, nor will wild animals devour them. They will live in safety,^(BD) and no one will make them afraid.^(BE) ²⁹I will provide for them a land renowned^(BF) for its crops, and they will no longer be victims of famine^(BG) in the land or bear the scorn^(BH) of the nations.^(BI) ³⁰Then they will know that I, the Lord their God, am with them and that they, the Israelites, are my people, declares the Sovereign Lord.^(BJ) ³¹You are my sheep,^(BK) the sheep of my pasture,^(BL) and I am your God, declares the Sovereign Lord.’”

Footnotes

Ezekiel 34:26 Or I will cause them and the places surrounding my hill to be named in blessings (see Gen. 48:20); or I will cause them and the places surrounding my hill to be seen as blessed

Psalm 119:1-8

New International Version

Psalm 119^[a]

א Aleph

¹Blessed are those whose ways are blameless,^(A)
    who walk^(B) according to the law of the Lord.^(C)
²Blessed^(D) are those who keep his statutes^(E)
    and seek him^(F) with all their heart—^(G)
³they do no wrong^(H)
    but follow his ways.^(I)
⁴You have laid down precepts^(J)
    that are to be fully obeyed.^(K)
⁵Oh, that my ways were steadfast
    in obeying your decrees!^(L)
⁶Then I would not be put to shame^(M)
    when I consider all your commands.^(N)
⁷I will praise you with an upright heart
    as I learn your righteous laws.^(O)
⁸I will obey your decrees;
    do not utterly forsake me.^(P)

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Footnotes

Psalm 119:1 This psalm is an acrostic poem, the stanzas of which begin with successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet; moreover, the verses of each stanza begin with the same letter of the Hebrew alphabet.

Romans 16

New International Version

Personal Greetings

16 I commend^(A) to you our sister Phoebe, a deacon^[a]^[b] of the church in Cenchreae.^(B) ²I ask you to receive her in the Lord^(C) in a way worthy of his people^(D) and to give her any help she may need from you, for she has been the benefactor of many people, including me.

³Greet Priscilla^[c] and Aquila,^(E) my co-workers^(F) in Christ Jesus.^(G) ⁴They risked their lives for me. Not only I but all the churches of the Gentiles are grateful to them.

⁵Greet also the church that meets at their house.^(H)

Greet my dear friend Epenetus, who was the first convert^(I) to Christ in the province of Asia.^(J)

⁶Greet Mary, who worked very hard for you.

⁷Greet Andronicus and Junia, my fellow Jews^(K) who have been in prison with me.^(L) They are outstanding among^[d] the apostles, and they were in Christ^(M) before I was.

⁸Greet Ampliatus, my dear friend in the Lord.

⁹Greet Urbanus, our co-worker in Christ,^(N) and my dear friend Stachys.

¹⁰Greet Apelles, whose fidelity to Christ has stood the test.^(O)

Greet those who belong to the household^(P) of Aristobulus.

¹¹Greet Herodion, my fellow Jew.^(Q)

Greet those in the household^(R) of Narcissus who are in the Lord.

¹²Greet Tryphena and Tryphosa, those women who work hard in the Lord.

Greet my dear friend Persis, another woman who has worked very hard in the Lord.

¹³Greet Rufus,^(S) chosen^(T) in the Lord, and his mother, who has been a mother to me, too.

¹⁴Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas and the other brothers and sisters with them.

¹⁵Greet Philologus, Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas and all the Lord’s people^(U) who are with them.^(V)

¹⁶Greet one another with a holy kiss.^(W)

All the churches of Christ send greetings.

¹⁷I urge you, brothers and sisters, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned.^(X) Keep away from them.^(Y) ¹⁸For such people are not serving our Lord Christ,^(Z) but their own appetites.^(AA) By smooth talk and flattery they deceive^(AB) the minds of naive people. ¹⁹Everyone has heard^(AC) about your obedience, so I rejoice because of you; but I want you to be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil.^(AD)

²⁰The God of peace^(AE) will soon crush^(AF) Satan^(AG) under your feet.

The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.^(AH)

²¹Timothy,^(AI) my co-worker, sends his greetings to you, as do Lucius,^(AJ) Jason^(AK) and Sosipater, my fellow Jews.^(AL)

²²I, Tertius, who wrote down this letter, greet you in the Lord.

²³Gaius,^(AM) whose hospitality I and the whole church here enjoy, sends you his greetings.

Erastus,^(AN) who is the city’s director of public works, and our brother Quartus send you their greetings. ^[24]^[e]

²⁵Now to him who is able^(AO) to establish you in accordance with my gospel,^(AP) the message I proclaim about Jesus Christ, in keeping with the revelation of the mystery^(AQ) hidden for long ages past, ²⁶but now revealed and made known through the prophetic writings^(AR) by the command of the eternal God, so that all the Gentiles might come to the obedience that comes from^[f] faith^(AS)— ²⁷to the only wise God be glory forever through Jesus Christ! Amen.^(AT)

Footnotes

Romans 16:1 Or servant
Romans 16:1 The word deacon refers here to a Christian designated to serve with the overseers/elders of the church in a variety of ways; similarly in Phil. 1:1 and 1 Tim. 3:8,12.
Romans 16:3 Greek Prisca, a variant of Priscilla
Romans 16:7 Or are esteemed by
Romans 16:24 Some manuscripts include here May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with all of you. Amen.
Romans 16:26 Or that is