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.”

The Branch of Righteousness

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

¹² But a ^[a]hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and ^(A)leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them. ¹³ The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep.

The Shepherd Savior

¹² As a ^(A)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 ^(B)a cloudy and dark day.

^25 (A)The conspiracy of her ^[a]prophets in her midst is like a roaring lion tearing the prey; they ^(B)have devoured ^[b]people; ^(C)they have taken treasure and precious things; they have made many widows in her midst. ^26 (D)Her priests have ^[c]violated My law and ^(E)profaned My holy things; they have not ^(F)distinguished between the holy and unholy, nor have they made known the difference between the unclean and the clean; and they have hidden their eyes from My Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them. ²⁷ Her ^(G)princes in her midst are like wolves tearing the prey, to shed blood, to destroy ^[d]people, and to get dishonest gain. ^28 (H)Her prophets plastered them with untempered mortar, ^(I)seeing false visions, and divining ^(J)lies for them, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord God,’ when the Lord had not spoken. ²⁹ The people of the land have used oppressions, committed robbery, and mistreated the poor and needy; and they wrongfully ^(K)oppress the stranger. ^30 (L)So I sought for a man among them who would ^(M)make a wall, and ^(N)stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one.