Eliphaz Speaks: The Innocent Prosper

4 Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said:

Prophecy Against the Shepherds of Israel

34 The word of the Lord came to me: ^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 Lord God Will Seek Them Out

¹¹ “For thus says the Lord God: ^(V)Behold, I, I ^(W)myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out. 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 ^(X)a day of clouds and ^(Y)thick darkness. ¹³ And I will bring them out from the peoples ^(Z)and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land. And I will feed them on ^(AA)the mountains of Israel, by the ravines, and in all the inhabited places of the country. ^14 (AB)I will feed them with good pasture, and on the mountain heights of Israel shall be their grazing land. ^(AC)There they shall lie down in good grazing land, and on rich pasture they shall feed on the mountains of Israel. ^15 (AD)I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, ^(AE)and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord God. ^16 (AF)I will seek the lost, ^(AG)and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, and ^(AH)the fat and the strong I will destroy.^[a] I will feed them in justice.

Shepherd the Flock of God

5 So I exhort the elders among you, ^(A)as a fellow elder and ^(B)a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: ^2 (C)shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight,^{[a] (D)}not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you;^{[b] (E)}not for shameful gain, but eagerly; ³ not ^(F)domineering over those in your charge, but ^(G)being examples to the flock. ⁴ And when ^(H)the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the ^(I)unfading ^(J)crown of glory. ⁵ Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. ^(K)Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for ^(L)“God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

^6 (M)Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, ^7 (N)casting all your anxieties on him, because ^(O)he cares for you. ^8 (P)Be sober-minded; ^(Q)be watchful. Your ^(R)adversary the devil ^(S)prowls around ^(T)like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. ^9 (U)Resist him, ^(V)firm in your faith, knowing that ^(W)the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. ¹⁰ And ^(X)after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, ^(Y)who has called you to his ^(Z)eternal glory in Christ, will himself ^(AA)restore, ^(AB)confirm, strengthen, and establish you. ^11 (AC)To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Woes to the Pharisees and Lawyers

³⁷ While Jesus^[a] was speaking, ^(A)a Pharisee asked him to dine with him, so he went in and reclined at table. ³⁸ The Pharisee was astonished to see ^(B)that he did not first wash before dinner. ³⁹ And the Lord said to him, ^(C)“Now you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you are full of ^(D)greed and wickedness. ^40 (E)You fools! ^(F)Did not he who made the outside make the inside also? ⁴¹ But ^(G)give as alms those things that are within, and behold, ^(H)everything is clean for you.

^42 (I)“But woe to you Pharisees! For ^(J)you tithe mint and rue and every herb, and neglect ^(K)justice and ^(L)the love of God. ^(M)These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. ⁴³ Woe to you Pharisees! For ^(N)you love the best seat in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces. ⁴⁴ Woe to you! ^(O)For you are like unmarked graves, and people walk over them without knowing it.”

⁴⁵ One of ^(P)the lawyers answered him, “Teacher, in saying these things you insult us also.” ⁴⁶ And he said, “Woe to you ^(Q)lawyers also! For ^(R)you load people with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers. ^47 (S)Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets whom your fathers killed. ^48 (T)So you are witnesses and you ^(U)consent to the deeds of ^(V)your fathers, for they killed them, and you build their tombs. ⁴⁹ Therefore also ^(W)the Wisdom of God said, ^(X)‘I will send them ^(Y)prophets and apostles, ^(Z)some of whom they will ^(AA)kill and persecute,’ ⁵⁰ so that ^(AB)the blood of all the prophets, shed ^(AC)from the foundation of the world, may be ^(AD)charged against this generation, ⁵¹ from the blood of ^(AE)Abel to the blood of ^(AF)Zechariah, who perished between ^(AG)the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, it will be ^(AH)required of this generation. ⁵² Woe to you ^(AI)lawyers! ^(AJ)For you have taken away the key of ^(AK)knowledge. You ^(AL)did not enter yourselves, and you hindered those who were entering.”

⁵³ As he went away from there, the scribes and the Pharisees began to press him hard and to provoke him to speak about many things, ^54 (AM)lying in wait for him, ^(AN)to catch him in something he might say.