The Two Shepherds

⁴ Thus says Yahweh my God: “Shepherd the flock^[a] doomed to slaughter. ⁵ The ones buying them kill them and go unpunished, and the ones selling them say, ‘Blessed be Yahweh, for I have become rich.’ Their own shepherds have no compassion for them. ⁶ For I will no longer have compassion on the inhabitants of the land,” declares^[b] Yahweh. “Look, I am going to cause humankind to fall, each into the hand of his neighbor, and into the hand of his king; and they will devastate the land, and I will not deliver anyone from their hand.”

⁷ And I shepherded the flock^[c] doomed to slaughter, even^[d] the afflicted^[e] of the flock.^[f] I took two staffs, one I called Kindness, and the other I called Unity, and I shepherded the flock.^{[g] 8} And I got rid of three shepherds in one month, for I grew impatient^[h] with them, and they also became tired of me.^{[i] 9} So I said, “I will not shepherd you! The one dying will die, and the one to be destroyed will be destroyed. And the ones remaining, let them devour the flesh of each other.”^{[j] 10} And I took my staff Kindness and broke it, to break my covenant that I had made^[k] with all the peoples. ¹¹ And it was broken on that day. Then the afflicted^[l] of the flock,^[m] the ones who were watching me, knew that it was the word of Yahweh. ¹² And I said to them, “If it seems right to you,^[n] give me my wages, but if not, keep them.”^[o] And they weighed out my wages, thirty silver shekels. ¹³ And Yahweh said to me, “Throw it to the potter,”^[p] this noble price^[q] at which I was valued by them!” So I took the thirty silver shekels and I threw them to the potter^[r] in the house of Yahweh. ¹⁴ Then I broke my second staff Unity to break the family ties between Judah and Israel.