The Shepherd

⁴ This is what the Lord my God says: “Shepherd the flock marked for^[a] slaughter. ⁵ Their buyers slaughter them without being punished, continuing to sell them as they say, ‘Bless the Lord!’ and, ‘I’m rich!’ Meanwhile, their shepherds show them no compassion. ⁶ Therefore I will no longer show compassion upon those who live in the land,” declares the Lord. “Look! I will deliver every single person into the control^[b] of his neighbor and into the control^[c] of the king. Even though they assault the land, I will not deliver it from their control.”^[d]

⁷ So I became shepherd of the flock marked for^[e] slaughter, paying attention to the oppressed of the flock. I took two staffs—naming one “Pleasant” and the other one “Union”—and then I pastured the flock. ⁸ In a single month I got rid of three shepherds because I grew tired of them, and they despised me. ⁹ So I said, “I will no longer be your shepherd. Let those who are about to die perish, and let what is about to be destroyed be destroyed. As for the survivors, let them devour each other.”

¹⁰ Then I took the staff that I had named “Pleasant” and broke it, showing I was breaking my covenant that I had made with all of the people. ¹¹ It was broken at that time^[f] so the oppressed of the flock who were observing me would know that it had been a message from the Lord.

¹² I told them, “If it’s alright with you, pay me what I’ve earned. But if it isn’t, don’t.”

So they paid out what I had earned—30 pieces of silver.^[g]

¹³ Then the Lord told me, “Throw the money^[h] into the treasury^[i]—that magnificent value they placed on me!”

So I took the 30 shekels of^[j] silver and threw them into the treasury^[k] of the Temple of the Lord. ¹⁴ Then I broke my second staff—the one I had named “Union”—breaking the union between the house of Judah and the house of Israel.