34Then this message came to me from the Lord:H1697H3068H5592“Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds, the leaders of Israel. Give them this message from the Sovereign Lord: What sorrow awaits you shepherds who feed yourselves instead of your flocks. Shouldn’t shepherds feed their sheep?H1121H120H5012H7462H3478H5012H559H559H136H3069H7462H1945H7462H3478H7462H7462H7462H66293You drink the milk, wear the wool, and butcher the best animals, but you let your flocks starve.H398H2459H3847H6785H2076H1277H7462H66294You have not taken care of the weak. You have not tended the sick or bound up the injured. You have not gone looking for those who have wandered away and are lost. Instead, you have ruled them with harshness and cruelty.H2470H2388H7495H2470H2280H7665H7725H5080H1245H6H2394H6531H72875So my sheep have been scattered without a shepherd, and they are easy prey for any wild animal.H6327H7462H402H2416H7704H63276They have wandered through all the mountains and all the hills, across the face of the earth, yet no one has gone to search for them.H6629H7686H2022H7311H1389H6629H6327H6440H776H1875H12457“Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord:H7462H8085H1697H30688As surely as I live, says the Sovereign Lord, you abandoned my flock and left them to be attacked by every wild animal. And though you were my shepherds, you didn’t search for my sheep when they were lost. You took care of yourselves and left the sheep to starve.H2416H5002H136H3069H6629H957H6629H402H2416H7704H7462H7462H1875H6629H7462H7462H7462H66299Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord.H7462H8085H1697H306810This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I now consider these shepherds my enemies, and I will hold them responsible for what has happened to my flock. I will take away their right to feed the flock, and I will stop them from feeding themselves. I will rescue my flock from their mouths; the sheep will no longer be their prey.H559H136H3069H7462H1875H6629H3027H7673H7462H6629H7462H7462H5337H6629H6310H402
The Good Shepherd
11“For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I myself will search and find my sheep.H559H136H3069H1875H6629H123912I will be like a shepherd looking for his scattered flock. I will find my sheep and rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on that dark and cloudy day.H7462H1243H5739H3117H8432H6629H6567H1239H6629H5337H4725H6327H6051H6205H311713I will bring them back home to their own land of Israel from among the peoples and nations. I will feed them on the mountains of Israel and by the rivers and in all the places where people live.H3318H5971H6908H776H935H127H7462H2022H3478H650H4186H77614Yes, I will give them good pastureland on the high hills of Israel. There they will lie down in pleasant places and feed in the lush pastures of the hills.H7462H2896H4829H4791H2022H3478H5116H7257H2896H5116H8082H4829H7462H2022H347815I myself will tend my sheep and give them a place to lie down in peace, says the Sovereign Lord.H7462H6629H7257H5002H136H306916I will search for my lost ones who strayed away, and I will bring them safely home again. I will bandage the injured and strengthen the weak. But I will destroy those who are fat and powerful. I will feed them, yes—feed them justice!H1245H6H7725H5080H2280H7665H2388H2470H8045H8082H2389H7462H494117“And as for you, my flock, this is what the Sovereign Lord says to his people: I will judge between one animal of the flock and another, separating the sheep from the goats.H859H6629H559H136H3069H8199H7716H7716H352H626018Isn’t it enough for you to keep the best of the pastures for yourselves? Must you also trample down the rest? Isn’t it enough for you to drink clear water for yourselves? Must you also muddy the rest with your feet?H4592H7462H2896H4829H7429H7272H3499H4829H8354H4950H4325H7515H3498H727219Why must my flock eat what you have trampled down and drink water you have fouled?H6629H7462H4823H7272H8354H4833H727220“Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will surely judge between the fat sheep and the scrawny sheep.H559H136H3069H8199H1274H7716H7330H771621For you fat sheep pushed and butted and crowded my sick and hungry flock until you scattered them to distant lands.H1920H6654H3802H5055H2470H7161H6327H235122So I will rescue my flock, and they will no longer be abused. I will judge between one animal of the flock and another.H3467H6629H957H8199H7716H771623And I will set over them one shepherd, my servant David. He will feed them and be a shepherd to them.H6965H259H7462H7462H5650H1732H7462H746224And I, the Lord, will be their God, and my servant David will be a prince among my people. I, the Lord, have spoken!H3068H430H5650H1732H5387H8432H3068H1696
The Lord’s Covenant of Peace
25“I will make a covenant of peace with my people and drive away the dangerous animals from the land. Then they will be able to camp safely in the wildest places and sleep in the woods without fear.H3772H1285H7965H7451H2416H7673H776H3427H983H4057H3462H3293H326426I will bless my people and their homes around my holy hill. And in the proper season I will send the showers they need. There will be showers of blessing.H5414H5439H1389H1293H1653H3381H6256H1653H129327The orchards and fields of my people will yield bumper crops, and everyone will live in safety. When I have broken their chains of slavery and rescued them from those who enslaved them, then they will know that I am the Lord.H6086H7704H5414H6529H776H5414H2981H983H127H3045H3068H7665H4133H5923H5337H3027H564728They will no longer be prey for other nations, and wild animals will no longer devour them. They will live in safety, and no one will frighten them.H957H1471H2416H776H398H3427H983H272929“And I will make their land famous for its crops, so my people will never again suffer from famines or the insults of foreign nations.H6965H4302H8034H622H7458H776H5375H3639H147130In this way, they will know that I, the Lord their God, am with them. And they will know that they, the people of Israel, are my people, says the Sovereign Lord.H3045H3068H430H1004H3478H5971H5002H136H306931You are my flock, the sheep of my pasture. You are my people, and I am your God. I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken!”H859H6629H6629H4830H120H430H5002H136H3069
Ashburn, VA
