Then Micaiah said, “I saw all [the people of] Israel Scattered on the mountains, As sheep that have no shepherd; And the Lord said, ‘These have no master. Let each one return to his house in peace.’”

The Lord, the Psalmist’s Shepherd.

A Psalm of David.

The Lord is my Shepherd [to feed, to guide and to shield me], I shall not want.

Save Your people and bless Your inheritance; Be their shepherd also, and carry them forever.

Like sheep they are appointed for Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead); Death will be their shepherd; And the upright shall rule over them in the morning, And their form and beauty shall be for Sheol to consume, So that they have no dwelling [on earth].

But God led His own people forward like sheep And guided them in the wilderness like [a good shepherd with] a flock.

From tending the ewes with nursing young He brought him To shepherd Jacob His people, And Israel His inheritance.

So David shepherded them according to the integrity of his heart; And guided them with his skillful hands.

God Implored to Rescue His People from Their Calamities.

To the Chief Musician; set to [the tune of] “Lilies, a Testimony.” A Psalm of Asaph.

Hear us O Shepherd of Israel, You who lead Joseph like a flock; You who sit enthroned above the cherubim [of the ark of the covenant], shine forth!

The words of the wise are like [prodding] goads, and these collected sayings are [firmly fixed in the mind] like well-driven nails; they are given by one Shepherd.

But beyond this my son, [about going further than the words given by one Shepherd], be warned: the writing of many books is endless [so do not believe everything you read], and excessive study and devotion to books is wearying to the body.

Solomon, the Lover, Speaks

(The Bridegroom)

“If you do not know [where your lover is], O you fairest among women, Run along, follow the tracks of the flock, And pasture your young goats By the tents of the shepherds.

Babylon will never be inhabited or lived in from generation to generation; Nor will the Arab pitch his tent there, Nor will the shepherds let their sheep lie down there.

For so the Lord says to me, “As the lion or the young lion growls over his prey, And though a large group of shepherds is called out against him He will not be terrified at their voice nor cringe at their noise, So the Lord of hosts will come down to wage war on Mount Zion and on its hill.”

“My dwelling (body) is pulled up and removed from me like a shepherd’s tent; I have rolled up my life as a weaver [rolls up the finished web]. He cuts me free from the warp [of the loom]; From day to night You bring me to an end.

He will protect His flock like a shepherd, He will gather the lambs in His arm, He will carry them in His bosom; He will gently and carefully lead those nursing their young.

“It is I who says of Cyrus, ‘He is My shepherd (ruler), And he will carry out all that I desire—’ Saying of Jerusalem, ‘She shall [again] be built,’ And of the temple, ‘Your foundation shall [again] be laid.’”

And the dogs are greedy; they never have enough. They are shepherds who have no understanding; They have all turned to their own way, Each one to his unlawful gain, without exception.

Then His people remembered the days of old, of Moses [and they said], Where is He who brought our fathers up out of the [Red] Sea, with the shepherds of His flock [Moses and Aaron]? Where is He who put His Holy Spirit in their midst,

“[Even] the priests did not say, ‘Where is the Lord?’ And those who deal with the law [given to Moses] did not know Me. The rulers and shepherds also transgressed against Me, And the prophets prophesied by [the authority and in the name of] Baal And walked after [idolatrous] things that did not benefit [them].

“Then [in the final time] I will give you [spiritual] shepherds after My own heart, who will feed you with knowledge and [true] understanding.

“Shepherds with their flocks will come against her; They will pitch their tents all around her; They will pasture, each one in his place [eating up all her rich grasses].

For the shepherds [of the people] have become [like brutes,] irrational and stupid, And have not searched for the Lord or asked about Him or realized their need for Him; Therefore they have not been wise and have not prospered, And all their flocks are scattered.

“Many shepherds (invaders) have destroyed My vineyard (Judah), They have trampled My field underfoot; They have made My pleasant field A desolate wilderness.

“Lift up your eyes and see Those coming from the north. Where is the flock that was given to you [to shepherd], Your beautiful flock?

But as for me, I have not tried to escape from being a shepherd [walking] after You, Nor have I longed for the woeful day [of judgment]; You know that, whatever I said Was [spoken] in Your presence and was from You.