Old/New Testament
33 Again, the Word of the LORD came to me, saying:
2 “Son of man, speak to the children of your people, and say to them, ‘When I bring the sword upon a land, if the people of the land take a man from among them and make him their watchman —
3 ‘if, when he sees the sword come upon the land, he blows the trumpet and warns the people —
4 ‘then he who hears the sound of the trumpet and will not be warned, if the sword comes and takes him away, his blood shall be upon his own head.
5 ‘For he heard the sound of the trumpet and would not be admonished. His blood shall be upon him. But he who receives warning, shall save his life.
6 ‘But if the watchman sees the sword come and does not blow the trumpet and the people are not warned — if the sword comes and takes any person from among them — he is taken away for his iniquity, but I will require his blood from the watchman’s hand.’
7 “So, you, O son of man. I have made you a watchman to the House of Israel. Therefore, you shall hear the Word from My Mouth, and admonish them from Me.
8 “When I shall say to the wicked, ‘O wicked man, you shall die the death,’ if you do not speak and admonish the wicked of his ways, that wicked man shall die for his iniquity, but I will require his blood from your hand.
9 “But, if you warn the wicked of his ways, to turn from them, if he does not turn from his ways, he shall die for his iniquity, but you have delivered your soul.
10 “Therefore, O you son of man, speak to the House of Israel. Speak like this and say, ‘If our transgressions and our sins are upon us, and we are consumed because of them, how should we then live?’
11 “Say to them, ‘As I live,’ says the Lord GOD, ‘I do not desire the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turns from his way and lives. Turn! Turn from your evil ways! For why would you die, O you House of Israel?’
12 “Therefore you, son of man, say to the children of your people, ‘The righteousness of the righteous shall not deliver him on the day of his transgression. Nor shall the wickedness of the wicked cause him to fall in it on the day that he repents from his wickedness; nor shall the righteous live because of his righteousness on the day that he sins.’
13 “When I shall say to the righteous that he shall surely live, if he trusts in his own righteousness and commits iniquity, none of his righteousness shall be remembered. But he shall die for his iniquity that he has committed.
14 “Again, when I shall say to the wicked, ‘You shall die the death,’ if he turns from his sin and does that which is lawful and right,
15 —if the wicked restores the pledge, gives back what he has robbed, walks in the Statutes of life without committing iniquity—he shall surely live, not die.
16 “None of his sins that he has committed shall be mentioned to him. He has done that which is lawful and right. He shall surely live.
17 “Yet the children of your people say, ‘The way of the LORD is not equal!’ But their own way is unequal.
18 “When the righteous turns from his righteousness, and commits iniquity, he shall die by it.
19 “But if the wicked returns from his wickedness, and does that which is lawful and right, he shall live by it.
20 “Yet you say, ‘The way of the LORD is not equal!’ O you House of Israel, I will judge you, each one after his ways.”
21 Also, in the twelfth year of our captivity, in the tenth month, on the fifth day of the month, one that had escaped out of Jerusalem came to me, and said, “The city is stricken!”
22 Now the hand of the LORD had been upon me in the evening, before he who had escaped came. And He opened my mouth. So, when he came to me in the morning, my mouth had been opened. I was no longer mute.
23 Again, the Word of the LORD came to me, and said:
24 “Son of man, those who dwell in the desolate places of the land of Israel, talk and say, ‘Abraham was but one, and he possessed the land. But we are many. Therefore, the land shall be given to us in possession.’
25 “Therefore say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “You eat meat with the blood, and lift up your eyes toward your idols, and shed blood. Should you then possess the land?
26 “You lean upon your swords. You work abomination and every one of you defiles his neighbor’s wife. Should you then possess the land?”’
27 “Say this to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “As I live, surely those who are in the desolate places shall fall by the sword. And he who is in the open field I will give to the beasts, to be devoured. And those who are in the forts and in the caves shall die of pestilence.
28 “For I will lay the land desolate and waste, and the pride of her strength shall cease. And the mountains of Israel shall be desolate and no one shall pass through.
29 “Then they shall know that I am the LORD, when I have laid the land desolate and waste because of all their abominations that they have committed.”’
30 “Also you, son of man, the children of your people who talk about you by the walls and in the doors of houses and speak to each another, each one to his brother, saying, ‘Please come and hear what the Word is that comes from the LORD.’
31 “For they come to you as the people come, and my people sit before you and hear your Words, but they will not do them. For with their mouths they make jests. Their hearts go after their covetousness.
32 “And lo, you are to them as a jesting song of one who has a pleasant voice and can sing well. For they hear your Words, but they do not do them.
33 “And when this comes to pass (for lo, it will come) then they shall know that a Prophet has been among them.”
34 And the Word of the LORD came to me, saying:
2 “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD to the shepherds: “Woe to the shepherds of Israel who feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flocks?
3 “You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool. You kill those that are fat, but you do not feed the sheep.
4 “You have not strengthened the weak. You have neither healed the sick nor bound up the broken nor brought back that which was driven away. Nor have you sought that which was lost. But you have ruled them with cruelty and with violence.
5 “And they were scattered, without a shepherd. And when they were dispersed, they were devoured by all the beasts of the field.
6 “My sheep wandered through all the mountains and upon every high hill. Yea, My flock was scattered throughout all the Earth and no one sought or searched.”
7 ‘Therefore, you shepherds, hear the Word of the LORD:
8 “As I live,” says the Lord GOD, “surely because My flock was plundered and My sheep were devoured by all the beasts of the field, having no shepherd— nor did My shepherds seek My sheep, but the shepherds fed themselves and did not feed My sheep—
9 “therefore, hear the Word of the LORD, O you shepherds.”
10 ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “Behold, I come against the shepherds and will require My sheep at their hands and cause them to cease from feeding the sheep. Nor shall the shepherds feed themselves anymore. For I will deliver your sheep from their mouths; and they shall no longer devour them.”
11 ‘For thus says the Lord GOD: “Behold, I will search My sheep and seek them out.
12 “As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his scattered sheep, so will I seek out My sheep and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered on the cloudy and dark day.
13 “And I will bring them out from the people and gather them from the countries and will bring them to their own land and feed them upon the mountains of Israel, by the rivers, and in all the inhabited places of the country.
14 “I will feed them in a good pasture; and upon the high mountains of Israel shall their fold be. There shall they lie in a good fold; and in fat pasture shall they feed upon the mountains of Israel.
15 “I will feed My sheep and bring them to their rest,” says the Lord GOD.
16 “I will seek that which was lost and bring back that which was driven away and will bind up that which was broken and will strengthen the weak. But I will destroy the fat and the strong. I will feed them with judgment.
17 “Also, you, My sheep,” thus says the Lord GOD: “Behold, I judge between sheep and sheep, the rams and the goats.
18 “Does it seem a small thing to you to have eaten up the good pasture, but you must tread down the rest of your pasture with your feet; and to have drunk of the deep waters, but you must foul the rest with your feet?
19 “And My sheep eat that which you have trodden with your feet and drink that which you have fouled with your feet.”
20 ‘Therefore thus says the Lord GOD to them: “Behold, I, even I, will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep.
21 “Because you have thrust with side and with shoulder, and pushed all the weak with your horns, till you have scattered them abroad,
22 “I will therefore help My sheep; and they shall no longer be plundered. And I will judge between sheep and sheep.
23 “And I will set up a shepherd over them. And he shall feed them. My servant, David. He shall feed them; and he shall be their shepherd.
24 “And I, the LORD, will be their God. And my servant, David, shall be the prince among them. I, the LORD, have spoken it.
25 “And I will make a covenant of peace with them and will cause the evil beasts to cease from the land. And they shall dwell safely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods.
26 “And I will set them as a blessing all around My mountains. And I will cause rain to come down in due season. And there shall be rain of blessing.
27 “And the tree of the field shall yield her fruit; and the earth shall give her fruit; and they shall be safe in their land and shall know that I am the LORD, when I have broken the cords of their yoke and delivered them out of the hands of those who served themselves with them.
28 “And they shall no longer be plundered by the heathen. Nor shall the beasts of the land devour them. But they shall dwell safely; and no one shall make them afraid.
29 “And I will raise up a plant of renown for them. And they shall no longer be consumed with hunger in the land or bear the reproach of the heathen anymore.
30 “Thus shall they understand that I, the LORD their God, am with them. And that they, the House of Israel, are My people,” says the Lord GOD.
31 “And you, My sheep, the sheep of My pasture, are man. And I am your God,” says the Lord GOD.’”
5 I encourage the elders among you. I am also an elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ and also a partaker of the Glory that shall be revealed.
2 Feed the flock of God which depends on you. Care for it - not by compulsion, but voluntarily; not greedily, but eagerly;
3 not as though you were Lords over God’s estate, but that you may be examples to the flock.
4 And when that chief Shepherd shall appear, you shall receive an incorruptible crown of Glory.
5 Likewise, you younger people, submit yourselves to the elders. And everyone submit yourselves one to another. Clothe yourselves inwardly in humility. For “God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble.”
6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, so that He may exalt you in due time.
7 Cast all your cares on Him. For He cares for you.
8 Be sober, and watch. For your adversary, the devil, walks about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.
9 Steadfastly resist him in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brothers who are in the world.
10 And the God of all grace - Who has called us to His eternal Glory by Christ Jesus - will, after you have suffered a little, make you perfect; will confirm, strengthen, and establish you.
11 To Him be glory and dominion, forever and ever. Amen.
12 By Silvanus (a faithful brother to you, I reckon) I have written briefly, exhorting and testifying how that this in which you stand is the true grace of God.
13 She who is at Babylon, elected together with you, salutes you; and Mark, my son.
14 Greet one another with a kiss of love. Peace be with you all who are in Christ Jesus. Amen.
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