The Shepherd Struck

“Awake, O sword, against (A)my shepherd,
    against the man who stands next to me,”
declares the Lord of hosts.

(B)“Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered;
    I will turn my hand against the little ones.
In the whole land, declares the Lord,
    two thirds shall be cut off and perish,
    (C)and one third shall be left alive.
And (D)I will put this third into the fire,
    and refine them as one refines silver,
    and test them as gold is tested.
(E)They will call upon my name,
    and (F)I will answer them.
(G)I will say, ‘They are my people’;
    and they will say, ‘The Lord is my God.’”

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The Scattering of the Sheep

“Awake, O sword, against my shepherd,
    the man who is my partner,”
    says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
“Strike down the shepherd,
    and the sheep will be scattered,
    and I will turn against the lambs.
Two-thirds of the people in the land
    will be cut off and die,” says the Lord.
    “But one-third will be left in the land.
I will bring that group through the fire
    and make them pure.
I will refine them like silver
    and purify them like gold.
They will call on my name,
    and I will answer them.
I will say, ‘These are my people,’
    and they will say, ‘The Lord is our God.’”

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