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.

¹⁷ “As for you, my flock, thus says the Lord God: ^(AI)Behold, I judge between sheep and sheep, between rams and ^(AJ)male goats. ¹⁸ Is it not enough for you to feed on the good pasture, that you must tread down with your feet the rest of your pasture; and to drink of ^(AK)clear water, that you must muddy the rest of the water with your feet? ¹⁹ And must my sheep eat what you have trodden with your feet, and drink what you have muddied with your feet?

²⁰ “Therefore, thus says the Lord God to them: Behold, I, I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. ²¹ Because you push with side and shoulder, and ^(AL)thrust at all the ^(AM)weak with your horns, till you have scattered them abroad, ²² I will rescue^[b] my flock; ^(AN)they shall no longer be a prey. And I will judge between sheep and sheep. ²³ And ^(AO)I will set up over them one shepherd, ^(AP)my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd. ²⁴ And ^(AQ)I, the Lord, will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince among them. ^(AR)I am the Lord; I have spoken.

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. ² But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. ³ To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. ⁴ When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. ^5 (A)A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” ⁶ This figure of speech Jesus ^(B)used with them, but they ^(C)did not understand what he was saying to them.

⁷ So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, ^(D)I am the door of the sheep. ⁸ All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. ⁹ 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. ^11 (H)I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd ^(I)lays down his life for the sheep. ¹² He who is ^(J)a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and ^(K)leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and ^(L)scatters them. ¹³ He flees because ^(M)he is a hired hand and ^(N)cares nothing for the sheep. ^14 (O)I am the good shepherd. ^(P)I know my own and ^(Q)my own know me, ^15 (R)just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and ^(S)I lay down my life for the sheep. ¹⁶ And ^(T)I have other sheep that are not of this fold. ^(U)I must bring them also, and ^(V)they will listen to my voice. So there will be ^(W)one flock, ^(X)one shepherd. ^17 (Y)For this reason the Father loves me, ^(Z)because ^(AA)I lay down my life that I may take it up again. ^18 (AB)No one takes it from me, but ^(AC)I lay it down ^(AD)of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and ^(AE)I have authority to take it up again. ^(AF)This charge I have received from my Father.”

^19 (AG)There was again a division among the Jews because of these words. ²⁰ Many of them said, ^(AH)“He has a demon, and ^(AI)is insane; why listen to him?” ²¹ Others said, “These are not the words of one who is oppressed by a demon. ^(AJ)Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”