I Am the Good Shepherd

10 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. (A)A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” This figure of speech Jesus (B)used with them, but they (C)did not understand what he was saying to them.

So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, (D)I am the door of the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the door. If anyone enters by me, (E)he will be saved and will go in and out and (F)find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and (G)kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.

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The Lord Is My Shepherd

A Psalm of David.

23 The Lord is my (A)shepherd; I shall not (B)want.
    He makes me lie down in green (C)pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.[a]
    He (D)restores my soul.
He (E)leads me in (F)paths of righteousness[b]
    for his (G)name's sake.

Even though I (H)walk through the valley of (I)the shadow of death,[c]
    I will (J)fear no evil,
for (K)you are with me;
    your (L)rod and your staff,
    they comfort me.

You (M)prepare a table before me
    in (N)the presence of my enemies;
you (O)anoint my head with oil;
    my (P)cup overflows.
Surely[d] goodness and mercy[e] shall follow me
    all the days of my life,
and I shall (Q)dwell[f] in the house of the Lord
    (R)forever.[g]

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 23:2 Hebrew beside waters of rest
  2. Psalm 23:3 Or in right paths
  3. Psalm 23:4 Or the valley of deep darkness
  4. Psalm 23:6 Or Only
  5. Psalm 23:6 Or steadfast love
  6. Psalm 23:6 Or shall return to dwell
  7. Psalm 23:6 Hebrew for length of days

20 You (A)led your people like a flock
    by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

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13 But we your people, the (A)sheep of your pasture,
    will (B)give thanks to you forever;
    from generation to generation we will recount your praise.

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For he is our (A)God,
    and we are the people of his (B)pasture,
    and the sheep of his hand.
(C)Today, if you (D)hear his voice,

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Prophecy Against the Shepherds of Israel

34 The word of the Lord came to me: (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? (E)You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, (F)you slaughter the fat ones, but you do not feed the sheep. (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. (L)So they were scattered, because there was no shepherd, and (M)they became food for all the wild beasts. My sheep were scattered; 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.

“Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: (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, 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.

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Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 34:16 Septuagint, Syriac, Vulgate I will watch over

24 And (A)I, the Lord, will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince among them. (B)I am the Lord; I have spoken.

The Lord's Covenant of Peace

25 (C)“I will make with them a covenant of peace and (D)banish wild beasts from the land, (E)so that they may dwell securely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods.

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15 Then the Lord said to me, “Take once more the equipment of (A)a foolish shepherd. 16 For behold, I am raising up in the land a shepherd (B)who does not care for those being destroyed, or seek the young or heal the maimed or nourish the healthy, but (C)devours the flesh of the fat ones, tearing off even their hoofs.

17 (D)“Woe to my worthless shepherd,
    (E)who deserts the flock!
May the sword strike his arm
    and (F)his right eye!
Let his arm be wholly withered,
    his right eye utterly blinded!”

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