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.

Judgment on Mount Seir

35 Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ² “Son of man, set your face against ^(AV)Mount Seir and ^(AW)prophesy against it, ³ and say to it, ‘Thus says the Lord God:

^5 (AY)“Because you have had an ^[f]ancient hatred, and have shed the blood of the children of Israel by the power of the sword at the time of their calamity, ^(AZ)when their iniquity came to an end, ⁶ therefore, as I live,” says the Lord God, “I will prepare you for ^(BA)blood, and blood shall pursue you; ^(BB)since you have not hated ^[g]blood, therefore blood shall pursue you. ⁷ Thus I will make Mount Seir ^[h]most desolate, and cut off from it the ^(BC)one who leaves and the one who returns. ⁸ And I will fill its mountains with the slain; on your hills and in your valleys and in all your ravines those who are slain by the sword shall fall. ^9 (BD)I will make you ^[i]perpetually desolate, and your cities shall be uninhabited; ^(BE)then you shall know that I am the Lord.

¹⁰ “Because you have said, ‘These two nations and these two countries shall be mine, and we will ^(BF)possess them,’ although ^(BG)the Lord was there, ¹¹ therefore, as I live,” says the Lord God, “I will do ^(BH)according to your anger and according to the envy which you showed in your hatred against them; and I will make Myself known among them when I judge you. ^12 (BI)Then you shall know that I am the Lord. I have ^(BJ)heard all your ^(BK)blasphemies which you have spoken against the mountains of Israel, saying, ‘They are desolate; they are given to us to consume.’ ¹³ Thus ^(BL)with your mouth you have ^[j]boasted against Me and multiplied your ^(BM)words against Me; I have heard them.”

¹⁴ ‘Thus says the Lord God: ^(BN)“The whole earth will rejoice when I make you desolate. ^15 (BO)As you rejoiced because the inheritance of the house of Israel was desolate, ^(BP)so I will do to you; you shall be desolate, O Mount Seir, as well as all of Edom—all of it! Then they shall know that I am the Lord.” ’

Blessing on Israel

36 “And you, son of man, prophesy to the ^(BQ)mountains of Israel, and say, ‘O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord! ² Thus says the Lord God: “Because ^(BR)the enemy has said of you, ‘Aha! ^(BS)The ^[k]ancient heights ^(BT)have become our possession,’ ” ’ ³ therefore prophesy, and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Because they made you desolate and swallowed you up on every side, so that you became the possession of the rest of the nations, ^(BU)and you are taken up by the lips of ^(BV)talkers and slandered by the people”— ⁴ therefore, O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord God! Thus says the Lord God to the mountains, the hills, the ^[l]rivers, the valleys, the desolate wastes, and the cities that have been forsaken, which ^(BW)became plunder and ^(BX)mockery to the rest of the nations all around— ⁵ therefore thus says the Lord God: ^(BY)“Surely I have spoken in My burning jealousy against the rest of the nations and against all Edom, ^(BZ)who gave My land to themselves as a possession, with wholehearted joy and ^[m]spiteful minds, in order to plunder its open country.” ’

⁶ “Therefore prophesy concerning the land of Israel, and say to the mountains, the hills, the rivers, and the valleys, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Behold, I have spoken in My jealousy and My fury, because you have ^(CA)borne the shame of the nations.” ⁷ Therefore thus says the Lord God: “I have ^(CB)raised My hand in an oath that surely the nations that are around you shall ^(CC)bear their own shame. ⁸ But you, O mountains of Israel, you shall shoot forth your branches and yield your fruit to My people Israel, for they are about to come. ⁹ For indeed I am for you, and I will turn to you, and you shall be tilled and sown. ¹⁰ I will multiply men upon you, all the house of Israel, all of it; and the cities shall be inhabited and ^(CD)the ruins rebuilt. ^11 (CE)I will multiply upon you man and beast; and they shall increase and ^[n]bear young; I will make you inhabited as in former times, and do ^(CF)better for you than at your beginnings. ^(CG)Then you shall know that I am the Lord. ¹² Yes, I will cause men to walk on you, My people Israel; ^(CH)they shall take possession of you, and you shall be their inheritance; no more shall you ^(CI)bereave them of children.”

¹³ ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Because they say to you, ^(CJ)‘You devour men and bereave your nation of children,’ ¹⁴ therefore you shall devour men no more, nor bereave your nation anymore,” says the Lord God. ^15 (CK)“Nor will I let you hear the taunts of the nations anymore, nor bear the reproach of the peoples anymore, nor shall you cause your nation to stumble anymore,” says the Lord God.’ ”

The Renewal of Israel

¹⁶ Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying: ¹⁷ “Son of man, when the house of Israel dwelt in their own land, ^(CL)they defiled it by their own ways and deeds; to Me their way was like ^(CM)the uncleanness of a woman in her customary impurity. ¹⁸ Therefore I poured out My fury on them ^(CN)for the blood they had shed on the land, and for their idols with which they had defiled it. ¹⁹ So I ^(CO)scattered them among the nations, and they were dispersed throughout the countries; I judged them ^(CP)according to their ways and their deeds. ²⁰ When they came to the nations, wherever they went, they ^(CQ)profaned My holy name—when they said of them, ‘These are the people of the Lord, and yet they have gone out of His land.’ ²¹ But I had concern ^(CR)for My holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the nations wherever they went.

²² “Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “I do not do this for your sake, O house of Israel, ^(CS)but for My holy name’s sake, which you have profaned among the nations wherever you went. ²³ And I will sanctify My great name, which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst; and the nations shall know that I am the Lord,” says the Lord God, “when I am ^(CT)hallowed in you before their eyes. ²⁴ For ^(CU)I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land. ^25 (CV)Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you ^(CW)from all your filthiness and from all your idols. ²⁶ I will give you a ^(CX)new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. ²⁷ I will put My ^(CY)Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them. ^28 (CZ)Then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; ^(DA)you shall be My people, and I will be your God. ²⁹ I will ^(DB)deliver you from all your uncleannesses. ^(DC)I will call for the grain and multiply it, and ^(DD)bring no famine upon you. ^30 (DE)And I will multiply the fruit of your trees and the increase of your fields, so that you need never again bear the reproach of famine among the nations. ³¹ Then ^(DF)you will remember your evil ways and your deeds that were not good; and you ^(DG)will ^[o]loathe yourselves in your own sight, for your iniquities and your abominations. ^32 (DH)Not for your sake do I do this,” says the Lord God, “let it be known to you. Be ashamed and confounded for your own ways, O house of Israel!”

³³ ‘Thus says the Lord God: “On the day that I cleanse you from all your iniquities, I will also enable you to dwell in the cities, ^(DI)and the ruins shall be rebuilt. ³⁴ The desolate land shall be tilled instead of lying desolate in the sight of all who pass by. ³⁵ So they will say, ‘This land that was desolate has become like the garden of ^(DJ)Eden; and the wasted, desolate, and ruined cities are now fortified and inhabited.’ ³⁶ Then the nations which are left all around you shall know that I, the Lord, have rebuilt the ruined places and planted what was desolate. ^(DK)I, the Lord, have spoken it, and I will do it.”

³⁷ ‘Thus says the Lord God: ^(DL)“I will also let the house of Israel inquire of Me to do this for them: I will ^(DM)increase their men like a flock. ³⁸ Like a ^[p]flock offered as holy sacrifices, like the flock at Jerusalem on its ^[q]feast days, so shall the ruined cities be filled with flocks of men. Then they shall know that I am the Lord.” ’ ”

Prayer for Mercy, with Meditation on the Excellencies of the Lord

A Prayer of David.

The King of Righteousness^(A)

7 For this ^(B)Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, ² to whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all, first being translated “king of righteousness,” and then also king of Salem, meaning “king of peace,” ³ without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God, remains a priest continually.

⁴ Now consider how great this man was, to whom even the patriarch Abraham gave a tenth of the ^[a]spoils. ⁵ And indeed ^(C)those who are of the sons of Levi, who receive the priesthood, have a commandment to receive tithes from the people according to the law, that is, from their brethren, though they have come from the loins of Abraham; ⁶ but he whose genealogy is not derived from them received tithes from Abraham ^(D)and blessed ^(E)him who had the promises. ⁷ Now beyond all contradiction the lesser is blessed by the better. ⁸ Here mortal men receive tithes, but there he receives them, ^(F)of whom it is witnessed that he lives. ⁹ Even Levi, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham, so to speak, ¹⁰ for he was still in the loins of his father when Melchizedek met him.

Need for a New Priesthood^(G)

^11 (H)Therefore, if perfection were through the Levitical priesthood (for under it the people received the law), what further need was there that another priest should rise according to the order of Melchizedek, and not be called according to the order of Aaron? ¹² For the priesthood being changed, of necessity there is also a change of the law. ¹³ For He of whom these things are spoken belongs to another tribe, from which no man has ^[b]officiated at the altar.

¹⁴ For it is evident that ^(I)our Lord arose from ^(J)Judah, of which tribe Moses spoke nothing concerning ^[c]priesthood. ¹⁵ And it is yet far more evident if, in the likeness of Melchizedek, there arises another priest ¹⁶ who has come, not according to the law of a fleshly commandment, but according to the power of an endless life. ¹⁷ For ^[d]He testifies:

¹⁸ For on the one hand there is an annulling of the former commandment because of ^(L)its weakness and unprofitableness, ¹⁹ for ^(M)the law made nothing ^[e]perfect; on the other hand, there is the bringing in of ^(N)a better hope, through which ^(O)we draw near to God.

Greatness of the New Priest

²⁰ And inasmuch as He was not made priest without an oath ²¹ (for they have become priests without an oath, but He with an oath by Him who said to Him:

²² by so much more Jesus has become a ^[g]surety of a ^(Q)better covenant.

²³ Also there were many priests, because they were prevented by death from continuing. ²⁴ But He, because He continues forever, has an unchangeable priesthood. ²⁵ Therefore He is also ^(R)able to save ^[h]to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives ^(S)to make intercession for them.

²⁶ For such a High Priest was fitting for us, ^(T)who is holy, ^[i]harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, ^(U)and has become higher than the heavens; ²⁷ who does not need daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His ^(V)own sins and then for the people’s, for this He did once for all when He offered up Himself. ²⁸ For the law appoints as high priests men who have weakness, but the word of the oath, which came after the law, appoints the Son who has been perfected forever.