Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Yahweh Is My Shepherd

A Psalm of David.

Prophecy Against the Shepherds of Israel

34 Then the word of Yahweh came to me saying, ² “Son of man, prophesy against the ^(A)shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and say to ^[a]those shepherds, ‘Thus says Lord Yahweh, “Woe, shepherds of Israel who have been ^[b](B)shepherding themselves! Should not the shepherds ^(C)shepherd the flock? ³ You ^(D)eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool; you ^(E)sacrifice the fat sheep without shepherding the flock. ⁴ Those who are sickly you have not strengthened, and the ^[c]diseased you have not healed, and ^(F)the broken you have not bound up, and the scattered you have not brought back, nor have you ^(G)searched for the lost; but with strength and with severity you have dominated them. ⁵ They were ^(H)scattered for lack of a shepherd, and they became ^(I)food for every beast of the field and were scattered. ⁶ My flock ^(J)wandered through all the mountains and on every high hill; ^(K)My flock was scattered over all the surface of the earth, and there was ^(L)no one to seek or search for them.”’”

⁷ Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of Yahweh: ⁸ “As I live,” declares Lord Yahweh, “surely because My flock has become ^(M)plunder, My flock has even become food for all the beasts of the field for lack of a shepherd, and My shepherds did not seek for My flock, but rather the shepherds shepherded themselves and did not shepherd My flock; ⁹ therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of Yahweh: ¹⁰ ‘Thus says Lord Yahweh, “Behold, I am ^(N)against the shepherds, and I will seek My flock from their hand and make them ^(O)cease from shepherding the flock. So the shepherds will not shepherd themselves anymore, but I will ^(P)deliver My flock from their mouth so that they will not be food for them.”’”

Yahweh Will Shepherd His Flock

¹¹ For thus says Lord Yahweh, “Behold, I Myself will ^(Q)seek My sheep and care for them. ^12 (R)As a shepherd ^[d]cares for his herd in the day when he is among his ^[e]sheep which are spread out, so I will ^[f](S)care for My ^[g]sheep and will deliver them from all the places to which they were scattered on a ^(T)cloudy and gloomy day. ¹³ I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries and bring them to their own land; and I will ^(U)shepherd them on the mountains of Israel, by the ^(V)streams, and in all the inhabited places of the land. ¹⁴ I will shepherd them in a ^(W)good pasture, and their grazing ground will be on the mountain heights of Israel. There they will lie down on good grazing ground and be shepherded in ^[h](X)rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. ¹⁵ I will ^(Y)shepherd My flock, and I will make them lie down,” declares Lord Yahweh. ¹⁶ “I will search for the lost, bring back the scattered, bind up the broken, and strengthen the sick; but the ^(Z)fat and the strong I will destroy. I will ^(AA)shepherd them with judgment.

The Parable of the Lost Sheep

15 Now all the ^(A)tax collectors and the ^[a]sinners were coming near Him to listen to Him. ² And both the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling, saying, “This man receives sinners and ^(B)eats with them.”

³ So He told them this parable, saying, ⁴ “^(C)What man among you, if he has one hundred sheep and has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the ^[b]open pasture and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? ⁵ And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. ⁶ And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’ ⁷ I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.