New Living Translation | Christian Standard Bible |
1Then this message came to me from the LORD: | 1The word of the LORD came to me: |
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 say to them, 'This is what the Lord GOD says to the shepherds: Woe to the shepherds of Israel, who have been feeding themselves! Shouldn't 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 animals, but you do not tend 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, bandaged the injured, brought back the strays, or sought 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; they became food for all the wild animals when they were scattered. |
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. My flock was 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: | 7"'Therefore, 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. | 8As I live?--this is the declaration of the Lord GOD--because my flock, lacking a shepherd, has become prey and food for every wild animal, and because my shepherds do not search for my flock, and because the shepherds feed themselves rather than my flock, |
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 | 10"'This is what the Lord GOD says: Look, I am against the shepherds. I will demand my flock from them 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 Sovereign LORD says: I myself will search and find my sheep. | 11"'For this is what the Lord GOD says: See, I myself will search for my flock and look for them. |
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 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 on a day of clouds and total 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 to their own soil. I will shepherd them on the mountains of Israel, in the ravines, and in all the inhabited places 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 tend them in 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. |
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 let them lie down. This is the declaration of 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, bandage the injured, and strengthen the weak, but I will destroy the fat and the strong. 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. | 17"'As for you, my flock, the Lord GOD says this: Look, I am going to judge between one sheep and another, between the rams and 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? | 18Isn't it enough for you to feed on the good pasture? Must you also trample the rest of the pasture with your feet? Or isn't it enough that you drink the clear water? 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? | 19Yet my flock has to 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. | 20"'Therefore, this is what the Lord GOD says to them: See, 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 have pushed with flank and shoulder and butted all the weak ones with your horns until you scattered them all over, |
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. They will no longer be prey, and 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 establish over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he will shepherd them. He will tend them himself and will 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. | 25"'I will make a covenant of peace with them and eliminate dangerous creatures from the land, so that they may live 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 area around my hill a blessing: I will send down showers in their season; they will be 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 yield their fruit, and the land will yield its produce; my flock will be secure in their land. They will know that I am the LORD when I break the bars of their yoke and rescue them from the power of those who enslave 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 wild creatures of the earth will not consume them. They will live 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. | 29I will establish for them a place renowned for its agriculture, and they will no longer be victims of famine in the land. They will no longer endure the insults 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. This is the declaration of 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!” | 31You are my flock, the human flock of my pasture, and I am your God. This is the declaration of the Lord GOD.'" |
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. | The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. |
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