Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

A psalm of David.

The Lord Will Be the Shepherd of His People

34 A message from the Lord came to me. The Lord said, ² “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Tell them, ‘The Lord and King says, “How terrible it will be for you shepherds of Israel! You only take care of yourselves. You should take good care of your flocks. ³ Instead, you eat the butter. You dress yourselves with the wool. You kill the finest animals. But you do not take care of your flocks. ⁴ You have not made the weak ones in the flock stronger. You have not healed the sick. You have not bandaged those who are hurt. You have not brought back those who have wandered away. You have not searched for the lost. When you ruled over them, you were mean to them. You treated them badly. ⁵ So they were scattered because they did not have a shepherd. They became food for all of the wild animals. ⁶ My sheep wandered all over the mountains and high hills. They were scattered over the whole earth. No one searched for them. No one looked for them.”

⁷ “ ‘Shepherds, listen to the Lord’s message. He says, ⁸ “My flock does not have a shepherd. Many of my sheep have been stolen. They have become food for all the wild animals. My shepherds did not care for my sheep. They did not even search for them. Instead, they only took care of themselves. And that is just as sure as I am alive,” announces the Lord and King. ⁹ Shepherds, listen to the Lord’s message. ¹⁰ The Lord and King says, “I am against the shepherds. I will hold them responsible for my flock. I will stop them from taking care of the flock. Then they will not be able to feed themselves anymore. I will save my flock from their mouths. My sheep will no longer be food for them.” ’ ”

¹¹ The Lord and King says, “I myself will search for my sheep. I will look after them. ¹² A shepherd looks after his scattered flock when he is with them. And I will look after my sheep. I will save them from all the places where they were scattered on a dark and cloudy day. ¹³ I will bring them out from among the nations. I will gather them together from other countries. I will bring them into their own land. There they will eat grass on the mountains and in the valleys. And they will eat in all the fields of Israel. ¹⁴ I will take care of them in the best grasslands. They will eat grass on the highest mountains of Israel. There they will lie down in the finest grasslands. They will eat grass in the best places on Israel’s mountains. ¹⁵ I myself will take care of my sheep. I will let them lie down in safety,” announces the Lord and King. ¹⁶ “I will search for the lost. I will bring back those who have wandered away. I will bandage the ones who are hurt. I will make the weak ones stronger. But I will destroy those who are fat and strong. I will take good care of my sheep. I will treat them fairly.”

The Story of the Lost Sheep

15 The tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. ² But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law were whispering among themselves. They said, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

³ Then Jesus told them a story. ⁴ He said, “Suppose one of you has 100 sheep and loses one of them. Won’t he leave the 99 in the open country? Won’t he go and look for the one lost sheep until he finds it? ⁵ When he finds it, he will joyfully put it on his shoulders ⁶ and go home. Then he will call his friends and neighbors together. He will say, ‘Be joyful with me. I have found my lost sheep.’ ⁷ I tell you, it will be the same in heaven. There will be great joy when one sinner turns away from sin. Yes, there will be more joy than for 99 godly people who do not need to turn away from their sins.