Prophecy against the Shepherds of Israel

34 Then the word of the Lord came to me saying, ² “Son of man, prophesy against the ^(A)shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and say to ^[a]those shepherds, ‘Thus says the Lord ^[b]God, “Woe, shepherds of Israel who have been ^[c](B)feeding themselves! Should not the shepherds ^[d](C)feed the flock? ³ You ^(D)eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool, you ^(E)slaughter the fat sheep without ^[e]feeding the flock. ⁴ Those who are sickly you have not strengthened, the ^[f]diseased you have not healed, ^(F)the broken you have not bound up, the scattered you have not brought back, nor have you ^(G)sought for the lost; but with force and with severity you have dominated them. ⁵ They were ^(H)scattered for lack of a shepherd, and they became ^(I)food for every beast of the field and were scattered. ⁶ My flock ^(J)wandered through all the mountains and on every high hill; ^(K)My flock was scattered over all the surface of the earth, and there was ^(L)no one to search or seek for them.”’”

⁷ Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: ⁸ “As I live,” declares the Lord God, “surely because My flock has become a ^(M)prey, My flock has even become food for all the beasts of the field for lack of a shepherd, and My shepherds did not search for My flock, but rather the shepherds fed themselves and did not feed My flock; ⁹ therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: ¹⁰ ‘Thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I am ^(N)against the shepherds, and I will demand My ^[g]sheep ^[h]from them and make them ^(O)cease from feeding ^[i]sheep. So the shepherds will not ^[j]feed themselves anymore, but I will ^(P)deliver My flock from their mouth, so that they will not be food for them.”’”

The Restoration of Israel

¹¹ For thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I Myself will ^(Q)search for My sheep and seek them out. ^12 (R)As a shepherd ^[k]cares for his herd in the day when he is among his scattered ^[l]sheep, so I will ^[m](S)care for My ^[n]sheep and will deliver them from all the places to which they were scattered on a ^(T)cloudy and gloomy day. ¹³ I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries and bring them to their own land; and I will ^(U)feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the ^(V)streams, and in all the inhabited places of the land. ¹⁴ I will feed them in a ^(W)good pasture, and their grazing ground will be on the mountain heights of Israel. There they will lie down on good grazing ground and feed in ^[o](X)rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. ¹⁵ I will ^(Y)feed My flock and I will ^[p]lead them to rest,” declares the Lord God. ¹⁶ “I will seek the lost, bring back the scattered, bind up the broken and strengthen the sick; but the ^(Z)fat and the strong I will destroy. I will ^(AA)feed them with judgment.

¹⁷ “As for you, My flock, thus says the Lord God, ‘Behold, I will ^(AB)judge between one ^[q]sheep and another, between the rams and the male goats. ¹⁸ Is it too ^(AC)slight a thing for you that you should feed in the good pasture, that you must tread down with your feet the rest of your pastures? Or that you should drink of the clear waters, that you must ^[r]foul the rest with your feet? ¹⁹ As for My flock, they must eat what you tread down with your feet and drink what you ^[s]foul with your feet!’”

²⁰ Therefore, thus says the Lord God to them, “Behold, I, even I, will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. ²¹ Because you push with side and with shoulder, and ^(AD)thrust at all the ^[t]weak with your horns until you have scattered them ^[u]abroad, ²² therefore, I will ^(AE)deliver My flock, and they will no longer be a prey; and I will judge between one sheep and another.

²³ “Then I will ^(AF)set over them one ^(AG)shepherd, My servant ^(AH)David, and he will feed them; he will feed them himself and be their shepherd. ²⁴ And I, the Lord, will be their God, and My servant ^(AI)David will be prince among them; I the Lord have spoken.

²⁵ “I will make a ^(AJ)covenant of peace with them and ^(AK)eliminate harmful beasts from the land so that they may ^(AL)live securely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods. ²⁶ I will make them and the places around My hill a ^(AM)blessing. And I will cause ^(AN)showers to come down in their season; they will be showers of ^(AO)blessing. ²⁷ Also the tree of the field will yield its fruit and the earth will yield its increase, and they will be ^(AP)secure on their land. Then they will know that I am the Lord, when I have ^(AQ)broken the bars of their yoke and have delivered them from the hand of those who enslaved them. ²⁸ They will no longer be a prey to the nations, and the beasts of the earth will not devour them; but they will ^(AR)live securely, and no one will make them afraid. ²⁹ I will establish for them a ^(AS)renowned planting place, and they will ^(AT)not again be ^[v]victims of famine in the land, and they will not ^(AU)endure the insults of the nations anymore. ³⁰ Then they will know that ^(AV)I, the Lord their God, am with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are My people,” declares the Lord God. ³¹ “As for you, My ^(AW)sheep, the ^(AX)sheep of My pasture, you are men, and I am your God,” declares the Lord God.

Prophecy against Mount Seir

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

⁵ Because you have had everlasting ^(BC)enmity and have ^[x]delivered the sons of Israel to the power of the sword at the time of their calamity, at the time of the ^[y](BD)punishment of the end, ⁶ therefore as I live,” declares the Lord God, “I will ^[z]give you over to ^(BE)bloodshed, and bloodshed will pursue you; since you have not hated bloodshed, therefore bloodshed will pursue you. ⁷ I will make Mount Seir a waste and a desolation and I will cut off from it the one who passes through and returns. ⁸ I will ^(BF)fill its mountains with its slain; on your hills and in your valleys and in all your ravines those slain by the sword will ^[aa]fall. ⁹ I will make you an everlasting ^(BG)desolation and your cities will not be inhabited. Then you will know that I am the Lord.

¹⁰ “Because you have ^(BH)said, ‘These two nations and these two lands will be mine, and we will possess ^[ab]them,’ although the ^(BI)Lord was there, ¹¹ therefore as I live,” declares the Lord God, “I will deal with you ^(BJ)according to your anger and according to your envy which you showed because of your hatred against them; so I will ^(BK)make Myself known among them when I judge you. ¹² Then you will know ^[ac]that I, the Lord, have heard all your revilings which you have spoken against the mountains of Israel saying, ‘They are laid desolate; they are ^(BL)given to us for food.’ ¹³ And you have ^[ad](BM)spoken arrogantly against Me and have multiplied your words against Me; ^(BN)I have heard it.” ¹⁴ Thus says the Lord God, “As all the ^(BO)earth rejoices, I will make you a desolation. ¹⁵ As you ^(BP)rejoiced over the inheritance of the house of Israel because it was desolate, ^(BQ)so I will do to you. You will be a ^(BR)desolation, O Mount Seir, and all Edom, all of it. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”’

The Mountains of Israel to Be Blessed

36 “And you, son of man, prophesy to the mountains of Israel and say, ‘O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord. ² Thus says the Lord ^[ae]God, “Because the enemy has spoken against you, ‘Aha!’ and, ‘The everlasting ^[af](BS)heights have become our possession,’ ³ therefore prophesy and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “^[ag]For good reason they have made you ^(BT)desolate and crushed you from every side, that you would become a possession of the rest of the nations and you have been taken up in the ^[ah](BU)talk and the whispering of the people.”’” ⁴ Therefore, O ^(BV)mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord God. Thus says the Lord God to the mountains and to the hills, to the ravines and to the valleys, to the desolate wastes and to the forsaken cities which have become a ^(BW)prey and a derision to the rest of the nations which are round about, ⁵ therefore thus says the Lord God, “Surely in the fire of My ^(BX)jealousy I have spoken against the ^(BY)rest of the nations, and against all Edom, who ^[ai]appropriated My land for themselves as a possession with wholehearted ^(BZ)joy and with scorn of soul, to drive it out for a prey.” ⁶ Therefore prophesy concerning the land of Israel and say to the mountains and to the hills, to the ravines and to the valleys, “Thus says the Lord God, ‘Behold, I have spoken in My jealousy and in My wrath because you have ^(CA)endured the insults of the nations.’ ⁷ Therefore thus says the Lord God, ‘I have ^[aj]sworn that surely the nations which are around you will themselves endure their insults. ⁸ But you, O mountains of Israel, you will ^(CB)put forth your branches and bear your fruit for My people Israel; for they will soon come. ⁹ For, behold, I am for you, and I will ^(CC)turn to you, and you will be ^(CD)cultivated and sown. ¹⁰ I will multiply men on you, ^(CE)all the house of Israel, all of it; and the ^(CF)cities will be inhabited and the waste places will be rebuilt. ¹¹ I will multiply on you man and beast; and they will increase and be fruitful; and I will cause you to be inhabited as you were ^(CG)formerly and will ^[ak]treat you ^(CH)better than at the first. Thus you will know that I am the Lord. ¹² Yes, I will cause ^(CI)men—My people Israel—to walk on you and possess you, so that you will become their ^(CJ)inheritance and never again ^(CK)bereave them of children.’

¹³ “Thus says the Lord God, ‘Because they say to you, “You are a ^(CL)devourer of men and have bereaved your ^[al]nation of children,” ¹⁴ therefore you will no longer devour men and no longer bereave your nation of children,’ declares the Lord God. ¹⁵ “I will not let you hear ^(CM)insults from the nations anymore, nor will you bear ^(CN)disgrace from the peoples any longer, nor will you cause your nation to ^(CO)stumble any longer,” declares the Lord God.’”

¹⁶ Then the word of the Lord came to me saying, ¹⁷ “Son of man, when the house of Israel was living in their own land, they ^(CP)defiled it by their ways and their deeds; their way before Me was like ^(CQ)the uncleanness of a woman in her impurity. ¹⁸ Therefore I ^(CR)poured out My wrath on them for the blood which they had shed on the land, because they had defiled it with their idols. ¹⁹ Also I ^(CS)scattered them among the nations and they were dispersed throughout the lands. ^(CT)According to their ways and their deeds I judged them. ²⁰ When they came to the nations where they went, they ^(CU)profaned My holy name, because it was said of them, ‘These are the ^(CV)people of the Lord; yet they have come out of His land.’ ²¹ But I had ^[am]concern for My ^(CW)holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the nations where they went.

Israel to Be Renewed for His Name’s Sake

²² “Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “It is ^(CX)not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for My holy name, which you have profaned among the nations where you went. ²³ I will ^(CY)vindicate the holiness of My great name which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst. Then the ^(CZ)nations will know that I am the Lord,” declares the Lord God, “when I prove Myself holy among you in their sight. ²⁴ For I will ^(DA)take you from the nations, gather you from all the lands and bring you into your own land. ²⁵ Then I will ^(DB)sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your ^(DC)filthiness and from all your ^(DD)idols. ²⁶ Moreover, I will give you a ^(DE)new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the ^(DF)heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. ²⁷ I will ^(DG)put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances. ²⁸ You will live in the land that I gave to your forefathers; so you will be ^(DH)My people, and I will be your God. ²⁹ Moreover, I will save you from all your uncleanness; and I will call for the grain and multiply it, and I ^(DI)will not ^[an]bring a famine on you. ³⁰ I will ^(DJ)multiply the fruit of the tree and the produce of the field, so that you will not receive again the disgrace of famine among the nations. ³¹ Then you will ^(DK)remember your evil ways and your deeds that were not good, and you will loathe yourselves in your own sight for your iniquities and your abominations. ³² I am not doing this ^(DL)for your sake,” declares the Lord God, “let it be known to you. Be ashamed and confounded for your ways, O house of Israel!”

³³ ‘Thus says the Lord God, “On the day that I cleanse you from all your iniquities, I will cause the ^(DM)cities to be inhabited, and the ^(DN)waste places will be rebuilt. ³⁴ The desolate land will be cultivated instead of being a desolation in the sight of everyone who passes by. ³⁵ They will say, ‘This desolate land has become like the ^(DO)garden of Eden; and the waste, desolate and ruined cities are fortified and inhabited.’ ³⁶ Then the nations that are left round about you will know that I, the Lord, have rebuilt the ruined places and planted that which was desolate; I, the Lord, have spoken and ^(DP)will do it.”

³⁷ ‘Thus says the Lord God, “This also I will let the house of Israel ask Me to do for them: I will increase their men like a flock. ³⁸ Like the ^(DQ)flock ^[ao]for sacrifices, like the flock at Jerusalem during her appointed feasts, so will the waste cities be filled with ^(DR)flocks of men. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”’”

A Psalm of Supplication and Trust.

A Prayer of David.

Mary Anoints Jesus

12 ^(A)Jesus, therefore, six days before ^(B)the Passover, came to ^(C)Bethany where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. ² So they made Him a supper there, and ^(D)Martha was serving; but Lazarus was one of those reclining at the table with Him. ^3 (E)Mary then took a ^[a]pound of very costly ^(F)perfume of pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped His feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. ⁴ But ^(G)Judas Iscariot, one of His disciples, who was intending to ^[b]betray Him, *said, ⁵ “Why was this perfume not sold for ^[c]three hundred denarii and given to poor people?” ⁶ Now he said this, not because he was concerned about the poor, but because he was a thief, and as he ^(H)had the money box, he used to pilfer ^(I)what was put into it. ⁷ Therefore Jesus said, “Let her alone, so that she may keep ^[d]it for ^(J)the day of My burial. ^8 (K)For you always have the poor with you, but you do not always have Me.”

⁹ The ^(L)large crowd of the Jews then learned that He was there; and they came, not for Jesus’ sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, ^(M)whom He raised from the dead. ¹⁰ But the chief priests planned to put Lazarus to death also; ¹¹ because ^(N)on account of him ^(O)many of the Jews were going away and were believing in Jesus.

Jesus Enters Jerusalem

¹² On the next day ^(P)the large crowd who had come to ^(Q)the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, ¹³ took the branches of the palm trees and went out to meet Him, and began to shout, “^(R)Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord, even the ^(S)King of Israel.” ¹⁴ Jesus, finding a young donkey, sat on it; as it is written, ¹⁵ “^(T)Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your King is coming, seated on a donkey’s colt.” ^16 (U)These things His disciples did not understand at the first; but when Jesus ^(V)was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written of Him, and that they had done these things to Him. ¹⁷ So ^(W)the ^[e]people, who were with Him when He called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead, continued to testify about Him. ^18 (X)For this reason also the ^[f]people went and met Him, ^(Y)because they heard that He had performed this ^[g]sign. ¹⁹ So the Pharisees said to one another, “You see that you are not doing any good; look, the world has gone after Him.”

Greeks Seek Jesus

²⁰ Now there were some ^(Z)Greeks among those who were going up to worship at ^(AA)the feast; ²¹ these then came to ^(AB)Philip, who was from ^(AC)Bethsaida of Galilee, and began to ask him, saying, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” ²² Philip *came and *told ^(AD)Andrew; Andrew and Philip *came and *told Jesus. ²³ And Jesus *answered them, saying, “^(AE)The hour has come for the Son of Man to ^(AF)be glorified. ²⁴ Truly, truly, I say to you, ^(AG)unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. ^25 (AH)He who loves his ^[h]life loses it, and he who ^(AI)hates his ^[i]life in this world will keep it to life eternal. ²⁶ If anyone ^[j]serves Me, he must follow Me; and ^(AJ)where I am, there My servant will be also; if anyone ^[k]serves Me, the Father will ^(AK)honor him.

Jesus Foretells His Death

²⁷ “^(AL)Now My soul has become troubled; and what shall I say, ‘^(AM)Father, save Me from ^(AN)this hour’? But for this purpose I came to this hour. ^28 (AO)Father, glorify Your name.” Then a ^(AP)voice came out of heaven: “I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.” ²⁹ So the crowd of people who stood by and heard it were saying that it had thundered; others were saying, “^(AQ)An angel has spoken to Him.” ³⁰ Jesus answered and said, “^(AR)This voice has not come for My sake, but for your sakes. ^31 (AS)Now judgment is upon this world; now ^(AT)the ruler of this world will be cast out. ³² And I, if I ^(AU)am lifted up from the earth, will ^(AV)draw all men to Myself.” ³³ But He was saying this ^(AW)to indicate the kind of death by which He was to die. ³⁴ The crowd then answered Him, “We have heard out of ^(AX)the Law that ^[l](AY)the Christ is to remain forever; and how can You say, ‘The ^(AZ)Son of Man must be ^(BA)lifted up’? Who is this ^(BB)Son of Man?” ³⁵ So Jesus said to them, “^(BC)For a little while longer ^(BD)the Light is among you. ^(BE)Walk while you have the Light, so that darkness will not overtake you; he who ^(BF)walks in the darkness does not know where he goes. ³⁶ While you have the Light, ^(BG)believe in the Light, so that you may become ^(BH)sons of Light.”

These things Jesus spoke, and He went away and ^[m](BI)hid Himself from them. ³⁷ But though He had performed so many ^[n]signs before them, yet they were not believing in Him. ³⁸ This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet which he spoke: “^(BJ)Lord, who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?” ³⁹ For this reason they could not believe, for Isaiah said again, ⁴⁰ “^(BK)He has blinded their eyes and He ^(BL)hardened their heart, so that they would not see with their eyes and perceive with their heart, and ^[o]be converted and I heal them.” ⁴¹ These things Isaiah said because ^(BM)he saw His glory, and ^(BN)he spoke of Him. ⁴² Nevertheless ^(BO)many even of ^(BP)the rulers believed in Him, but ^(BQ)because of the Pharisees they were not confessing Him, for fear that they would be ^[p](BR)put out of the synagogue; ^43 (BS)for they loved the ^[q]approval of men rather than the ^[r]approval of God.

⁴⁴ And Jesus cried out and said, “^(BT)He who believes in Me, does not believe in Me but in Him who sent Me. ^45 (BU)He who sees Me sees the One who sent Me. ^46 (BV)I have come as Light into the world, so that everyone who believes in Me will not remain in darkness. ⁴⁷ If anyone hears My sayings and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for ^(BW)I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. ^48 (BX)He who rejects Me and does not receive My sayings, has one who judges him; ^(BY)the word I spoke is what will judge him at ^(BZ)the last day. ^49 (CA)For I did not speak ^[s]on My own initiative, but the Father Himself who sent Me ^(CB)has given Me a commandment as to what to say and what to speak. ⁵⁰ I know that ^(CC)His commandment is eternal life; therefore the things I speak, I speak ^(CD)just as the Father has told Me.”