The Righteous Branch

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

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.

² “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) 3} You eat the curds, clothe yourselves with the wool and slaughter the choice animals, but you do not take care of the flock.^{(B) 4} 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) 5} So they were scattered because there was no shepherd,^(F) and when they were scattered they became food for all the wild animals.^{(G) 6} 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)

⁷ “‘Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: ⁸ 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) 9} 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)

³ This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Woe to the foolish^[a] prophets^(A) who follow their own spirit and have seen nothing!^(B)

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

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)