| New Living Translation | Berean Study Bible |
| 1Then this message came to me from the LORD: | 1Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying, |
| 2“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? | 2“Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Woe to the shepherds of Israel, who only feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed their flock? |
| 3You drink the milk, wear the wool, and butcher the best animals, but you let your flocks starve. | 3You eat the fat, wear the wool, and butcher the fattened sheep, but you do not feed the flock. |
| 4You 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. | 4You have not strengthened the weak, healed the sick, bound up the injured, brought back the strays, or searched for the lost. Instead, you have ruled them with violence and cruelty. |
| 5So my sheep have been scattered without a shepherd, and they are easy prey for any wild animal. | 5They were scattered for lack of a shepherd, and when they were scattered they became food for all the wild beasts. |
| 6They 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. | 6My flock went astray on all the mountains and every high hill. They were scattered over the face of all the earth, with no one to search for them or seek them out.’ |
| 7“Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD: | 7Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD: |
| 8As 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. | 8‘As surely as I live, declares the Lord GOD, because My flock lacks a shepherd and has become prey and food for every wild beast, and because My shepherds did not search for My flock but fed themselves instead, |
| 9Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD. | 9therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD!’ |
| 10This 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. The Good Shepherd | 10This is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Behold, I am against the shepherds, and I will demand from them My flock and remove them from tending the flock, so that they can no longer feed themselves. For I will deliver My flock from their mouths, and it will no longer be food for them.’ |
| 11“For this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I myself will search and find my sheep. | 11For this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Behold, I Myself will search for My flock and seek them out. |
| 12I 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. | 12As a shepherd looks for his scattered sheep when he is among the flock, so I will look for My flock. I will rescue them from all the places to which they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness. |
| 13I 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. | 13I will bring them out from the peoples, gather them from the countries, and bring them into their own land. I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, in the ravines, and in all the settlements of the land. |
| 14Yes, 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. | 14I will feed them in good pasture, and the lofty mountains of Israel will be their grazing land. There they will lie down in a good grazing land; they will feed in rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. |
| 15I myself will tend my sheep and give them a place to lie down in peace, says the Sovereign LORD. | 15I will tend My flock and make them lie down, declares the Lord GOD. |
| 16I 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! | 16I will seek the lost, bring back the strays, bind up the broken, and strengthen the weak; but the sleek and strong I will destroy. I will shepherd them with justice.’ |
| 17“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. | 17This is what the Lord GOD says to you, My flock: ‘I will judge between one sheep and another, between the rams and the goats. |
| 18Isn’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? | 18Is it not enough for you to feed on the good pasture? Must you also trample the rest of the pasture with your feet? Is it not enough for you to drink the clear waters? Must you also muddy the rest with your feet? |
| 19Why must my flock eat what you have trampled down and drink water you have fouled? | 19Why must My flock feed on what your feet have trampled, and drink what your feet have muddied?’ |
| 20“Therefore, this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I will surely judge between the fat sheep and the scrawny sheep. | 20Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says to them: ‘Behold, I Myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. |
| 21For you fat sheep pushed and butted and crowded my sick and hungry flock until you scattered them to distant lands. | 21Since you shove with flank and shoulder, butting all the weak ones with your horns until you have scattered them abroad, |
| 22So I will rescue my flock, and they will no longer be abused. I will judge between one animal of the flock and another. | 22I will save My flock, and they will no longer be prey. I will judge between one sheep and another. |
| 23And I will set over them one shepherd, my servant David. He will feed them and be a shepherd to them. | 23I will appoint over them one shepherd, My servant David, and he will feed them. He will feed them and be their shepherd. |
| 24And I, the LORD, will be their God, and my servant David will be a prince among my people. I, the LORD, have spoken! The LORD’s Covenant of Peace | 24I, the LORD, will be their God, and My servant David will be a prince among them. I, the LORD, have spoken. |
| 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. | 25I will make with them a covenant of peace and rid the land of wild animals, so that they may dwell securely in the wilderness and sleep in the forest. |
| 26I 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. | 26I will make them and the places around My hill a blessing. I will send down showers in season—showers of blessing. |
| 27The 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. | 27The trees of the field will give their fruit, and the land will yield its produce; My flock will be secure in their land. Then they will know that I am the LORD, when I have broken the bars of their yoke and delivered them from the hands that enslaved them. |
| 28They 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. | 28They will no longer be prey for the nations, and the beasts of the earth will not consume them. They will dwell securely, and no one will frighten them. |
| 29“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. | 29And I will raise up for them a garden of renown, and they will no longer be victims of famine in the land or bear the scorn of the nations. |
| 30In 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. | 30Then they will know that I, the LORD their God, am with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are My people,’ declares the Lord GOD. |
| 31You are my flock, the sheep of my pasture. You are my people, and I am your God. I, the Sovereign LORD, have spoken!” | 31‘You are My flock, the sheep of My pasture, My people, and I am your God,’ declares the Lord GOD.” |
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