23 Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! saith the Lord.

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The Righteous Branch

23 “Woe to the shepherds(A) who are destroying and scattering(B) the sheep of my pasture!”(C) declares the Lord.

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21 For the pastors are become brutish, and have not sought the Lord: therefore they shall not prosper, and all their flocks shall be scattered.

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21 The shepherds(A) are senseless(B)
    and do not inquire of the Lord;(C)
so they do not prosper(D)
    and all their flock is scattered.(E)

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15 And the Lord said unto me, Take unto thee yet the instruments of a foolish shepherd.

16 For, lo, I will raise up a shepherd in the land, which shall not visit those that be cut off, neither shall seek the young one, nor heal that that is broken, nor feed that that standeth still: but he shall eat the flesh of the fat, and tear their claws in pieces.

17 Woe to the idol shepherd that leaveth the flock! the sword shall be upon his arm, and upon his right eye: his arm shall be clean dried up, and his right eye shall be utterly darkened.

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15 Then the Lord said to me, “Take again the equipment of a foolish shepherd. 16 For I am going to raise up a shepherd over the land who will not care for the lost, or seek the young, or heal the injured, or feed the healthy, but will eat the meat of the choice sheep, tearing off their hooves.

17 “Woe to the worthless shepherd,(A)
    who deserts the flock!
May the sword strike his arm(B) and his right eye!
    May his arm be completely withered,
    his right eye totally blinded!”(C)

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Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God unto the shepherds; Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the flocks?

Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed: but ye feed not the flock.

The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost; but with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them.

And they were scattered, because there is no shepherd: and they became meat to all the beasts of the field, when they were scattered.

My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and upon every high hill: yea, my flock was scattered upon all the face of the earth, and none did search or seek after them.

Therefore, ye shepherds, hear the word of the Lord;

As I live, saith the Lord God, surely because my flock became a prey, and my flock became meat to every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd, neither did my shepherds search for my flock, but the shepherds fed themselves, and fed not my flock;

Therefore, O ye shepherds, hear the word of the Lord;

10 Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against the shepherds; and I will require my flock at their hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the flock; neither shall the shepherds feed themselves any more; for I will deliver my flock from their mouth, that they may not be meat for them.

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“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) You eat the curds, clothe yourselves with the wool and slaughter the choice animals, but you do not take care of the flock.(B) You 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) So they were scattered because there was no shepherd,(F) and when they were scattered they became food for all the wild animals.(G) My 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)

“‘Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: As 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) therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: 10 This 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)

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36 But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.

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36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them,(A) because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.(B)

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Thus saith the Lord God; Woe unto the foolish prophets, that follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing!

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This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Woe to the foolish[a] prophets(A) who follow their own spirit and have seen nothing!(B)

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Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 13:3 Or wicked

22 The wind shall eat up all thy pastors, and thy lovers shall go into captivity: surely then shalt thou be ashamed and confounded for all thy wickedness.

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22 The wind(A) will drive all your shepherds(B) away,
    and your allies(C) will go into exile.
Then you will be ashamed and disgraced(D)
    because of all your wickedness.

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10 Many pastors have destroyed my vineyard, they have trodden my portion under foot, they have made my pleasant portion a desolate wilderness.

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10 Many shepherds(A) will ruin my vineyard
    and trample down my field;
they will turn my pleasant field
    into a desolate wasteland.(B)

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42 But woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass over judgment and the love of God: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.

43 Woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye love the uppermost seats in the synagogues, and greetings in the markets.

44 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are as graves which appear not, and the men that walk over them are not aware of them.

45 Then answered one of the lawyers, and said unto him, Master, thus saying thou reproachest us also.

46 And he said, Woe unto you also, ye lawyers! for ye lade men with burdens grievous to be borne, and ye yourselves touch not the burdens with one of your fingers.

47 Woe unto you! for ye build the sepulchres of the prophets, and your fathers killed them.

48 Truly ye bear witness that ye allow the deeds of your fathers: for they indeed killed them, and ye build their sepulchres.

49 Therefore also said the wisdom of God, I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they shall slay and persecute:

50 That the blood of all the prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation;

51 From the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zacharias which perished between the altar and the temple: verily I say unto you, It shall be required of this generation.

52 Woe unto you, lawyers! for ye have taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered.

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42 “Woe to you Pharisees, because you give God a tenth(A) of your mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God.(B) You should have practiced the latter without leaving the former undone.(C)

43 “Woe to you Pharisees, because you love the most important seats in the synagogues and respectful greetings in the marketplaces.(D)

44 “Woe to you, because you are like unmarked graves,(E) which people walk over without knowing it.”

45 One of the experts in the law(F) answered him, “Teacher, when you say these things, you insult us also.”

46 Jesus replied, “And you experts in the law, woe to you, because you load people down with burdens they can hardly carry, and you yourselves will not lift one finger to help them.(G)

47 “Woe to you, because you build tombs for the prophets, and it was your ancestors who killed them. 48 So you testify that you approve of what your ancestors did; they killed the prophets, and you build their tombs.(H) 49 Because of this, God in his wisdom(I) said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and others they will persecute.’(J) 50 Therefore this generation will be held responsible for the blood of all the prophets that has been shed since the beginning of the world, 51 from the blood of Abel(K) to the blood of Zechariah,(L) who was killed between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, this generation will be held responsible for it all.(M)

52 “Woe to you experts in the law, because you have taken away the key to knowledge. You yourselves have not entered, and you have hindered those who were entering.”(N)

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The priests said not, Where is the Lord? and they that handle the law knew me not: the pastors also transgressed against me, and the prophets prophesied by Baal, and walked after things that do not profit.

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The priests did not ask,
    ‘Where is the Lord?’
Those who deal with the law did not know me;(A)
    the leaders(B) rebelled against me.
The prophets prophesied by Baal,(C)
    following worthless idols.(D)

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All ye beasts of the field, come to devour, yea, all ye beasts in the forest.

10 His watchmen are blind: they are all ignorant, they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark; sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber.

11 Yea, they are greedy dogs which can never have enough, and they are shepherds that cannot understand: they all look to their own way, every one for his gain, from his quarter.

12 Come ye, say they, I will fetch wine, and we will fill ourselves with strong drink; and to morrow shall be as this day, and much more abundant.

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God’s Accusation Against the Wicked

Come, all you beasts of the field,(A)
    come and devour, all you beasts of the forest!
10 Israel’s watchmen(B) are blind,
    they all lack knowledge;(C)
they are all mute dogs,
    they cannot bark;
they lie around and dream,
    they love to sleep.(D)
11 They are dogs with mighty appetites;
    they never have enough.
They are shepherds(E) who lack understanding;(F)
    they all turn to their own way,(G)
    they seek their own gain.(H)
12 “Come,” each one cries, “let me get wine!(I)
    Let us drink our fill of beer!
And tomorrow will be like today,
    or even far better.”(J)

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Her princes within her are roaring lions; her judges are evening wolves; they gnaw not the bones till the morrow.

Her prophets are light and treacherous persons: her priests have polluted the sanctuary, they have done violence to the law.

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Her officials within her
    are roaring lions;(A)
her rulers are evening wolves,(B)
    who leave nothing for the morning.(C)
Her prophets are unprincipled;
    they are treacherous people.(D)
Her priests profane the sanctuary
    and do violence to the law.(E)

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12 But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep.

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12 The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away.(A) Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it.

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