^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.

⁷ “Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: ^8 (O)As I live, declares the Lord God, surely because ^(P)my sheep have become a prey, and my sheep have become food for all the wild beasts, since there was no shepherd, and because my shepherds have not searched for my sheep, but the shepherds have fed themselves, and have not fed my sheep, ⁹ therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: ¹⁰ Thus says the Lord God, ^(Q)Behold, I am against the shepherds, and ^(R)I will require my sheep at their hand and ^(S)put a stop to their feeding the sheep. ^(T)No longer shall the shepherds feed themselves. ^(U)I will rescue my sheep from their mouths, that they may not be food for them.

The Righteous Branch

23 ^(A)“Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture!” declares the Lord. ² Therefore thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning ^(B)the shepherds who care for my people: “You have scattered my flock and have driven them away, and you have not attended to them. ^(C)Behold, I will attend to you for your evil deeds, declares the Lord.

¹² He who is ^(A)a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and ^(B)leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and ^(C)scatters them. ¹³ He flees because ^(D)he is a hired hand and ^(E)cares nothing for the sheep.

The Shepherd Struck

¹² As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, so will I seek out my sheep, and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on ^(A)a day of clouds and ^(B)thick darkness.

^25 (A)The conspiracy of her prophets in her midst is ^(B)like a roaring lion ^(C)tearing the prey; they have devoured human lives; they have taken treasure and precious things; they have made many widows in her midst. ^26 (D)Her priests ^(E)have done violence to my law and ^(F)have profaned my holy things. ^(G)They have made no distinction between the holy and the common, neither have they taught the difference between the unclean and the clean, and ^(H)they have disregarded my Sabbaths, ^(I)so that I am profaned among them. ^27 (J)Her princes in her midst are like wolves ^(K)tearing the prey, ^(L)shedding blood, destroying lives to get dishonest gain. ²⁸ And ^(M)her prophets have smeared whitewash for them, ^(N)seeing false visions and divining lies for them, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord God,’ when the Lord has not spoken. ²⁹ The people of the land ^(O)have practiced extortion and committed robbery. They have oppressed the poor and needy, and ^(P)have extorted from the sojourner without justice. ^30 (Q)And I sought for a man among them ^(R)who should build up the wall ^(S)and stand in the breach before me for the land, that I should not destroy it, but I found none.