Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 23
The Good Shepherd
A Davidic psalm.
1 The Lord is my shepherd;(A)
there is nothing I lack.(B)
2 He lets me lie down in green pastures;(C)
He leads me beside quiet waters.(D)
3 He renews my life;
He leads me along the right paths[a]
for His name’s sake.(E)
4 Even when I go through the darkest valley,[b]
I fear no danger,
for You are with me;(F)
Your rod and Your staff[c]—they comfort me.(G)
The Shepherds and God’s Flock
34 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy, and say to them: This is what the Lord God says to the shepherds: Woe to the shepherds of Israel, who have been feeding themselves!(A) Shouldn’t the shepherds feed their flock? 3 You eat the fat, wear the wool, and butcher the fattened animals, but you do not tend the flock.(B) 4 You have not strengthened the weak, healed the sick, bandaged the injured, brought back the strays, or sought the lost.(C) Instead, you have ruled them with violence and cruelty. 5 They were scattered for lack of a shepherd;(D) they became food for all the wild animals(E) when they were scattered. 6 My flock went astray on all the mountains and every high hill.(F) They were scattered over the whole face of the earth, and there was no one searching or seeking for them.
7 “Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord. 8 As I live”—the declaration of the Lord God—“because My flock has become prey and food for every wild animal since they lack a shepherd, for My shepherds do not search for My flock, and because the shepherds feed themselves rather than My flock, 9 therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord!
10 “This is what the Lord God says: Look, I am against the shepherds.(G) I will demand My flock from them[a] and prevent them from shepherding the flock. The shepherds will no longer feed themselves, for I will rescue My flock from their mouths so that they will not be food for them.
11 “For this is what the Lord God says: See, I Myself will search for My flock and look for them. 12 As a shepherd looks for his sheep on the day he is among his scattered flock, so I will look for My flock. I will rescue them from all the places where they have been scattered(H) on a cloudy and dark day. 13 I will bring them out from the peoples, gather them from the countries, and bring them into their own land. I will shepherd them on the mountains of Israel, in the ravines, and in all the inhabited places of the land. 14 I will tend them with good pasture, and their grazing place will be on Israel’s lofty mountains. There they will lie down in a good grazing place; they will feed in rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. 15 I will tend My flock and let them lie down.”(I) This is the declaration of the Lord God. 16 “I will seek the lost,(J) bring back the strays, bandage the injured,(K) and strengthen the weak, but I will destroy[b] the fat and the strong. I will shepherd them with justice.
The Parable of the Lost Sheep
15 All(A) the tax collectors(B) and sinners were approaching to listen to Him. 2 And the Pharisees and scribes were complaining, “This man welcomes sinners(C) and eats with them!”
3 So He told them this parable:(D) 4 “What man among you, who has 100 sheep and loses one of them,(E) does not leave the 99 in the open field[a] and go after the lost one until he finds it? 5 When he has found it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders, 6 and coming home, he calls his friends and neighbors together, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, because I have found my lost sheep!’ 7 I tell you, in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven(F) over one sinner who repents than over 99 righteous people who don’t need repentance.
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