The Leaders Are like Shepherds

34 The ·Lord spoke his word [^Lword of the Lord came] to me, saying: ² “·Human [^TSon of man; 2:1], prophesy against the shepherds of Israel [^Cthe leaders]. Prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Lord God says: ·How terrible it will be for [^LWoe to] the shepherds of Israel who feed only themselves! ·Why don’t [Shouldn’t] the shepherds feed the flock? ³ You eat the ·milk curds [or fat], and you clothe yourselves with the wool. You kill the ·fat sheep [choice/fat ones], but you do not feed the flock. ⁴ You have not ·made the weak strong [strengthened the weak]. You have not healed the sick or put bandages on those that were hurt. You have not brought back those who strayed away or searched for the lost [Matt. 18:12; Luke 15:4]. But you have ruled the sheep with ·cruel force [violence and harshness]. ⁵ The sheep were scattered, because there was no shepherd, and they became food for every wild animal. ⁶ My flock wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. They were scattered all over the face of the earth, and no one searched or looked for them.

⁷ “‘So, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord. This is what the Lord God says: ⁸ As surely as I live, my flock has ·been caught [become prey] and eaten by all the wild animals, because the flock has no shepherd. The shepherds did not search for my flock. No, they fed themselves instead of my flock. ⁹ So, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord. ¹⁰ This is what the Lord God says: [^LLook; ^TBehold] I am against the shepherds. I will ·blame them for what has happened to my sheep [hold them accountable; ^Ldemand my sheep from their hand] and will not let them tend the flock anymore. Then the shepherds will stop feeding themselves, and I will ·take [rescue] my flock from their mouths so they will no longer be their food.

¹¹ “‘This is what the Lord God says: I, myself, will search for my sheep and ·take care of [look after; or look for] them. ¹² As a shepherd ·take care of [looks after; or looks for] his scattered flock when ·it is found [or they are with him], I will ·take care of [look after; or look for] my sheep. I will ·save [rescue] them from all the places where they were scattered on a cloudy and dark day. ¹³ I will bring them out from the nations and gather them from the countries. I will bring them to their own land and ·pasture [feed] them on the mountains of Israel, in the ravines, and in all the places where people live in the land. ¹⁴ I will feed them in a good pasture, and they will ·eat grass [graze] on the ·high mountains [mountain heights] of Israel. They will lie down on good ·ground where they eat grass [pasture], and they will eat in rich grassland on the mountains of Israel. ¹⁵ I will feed my flock and ·lead them to rest [have them lie down], says the Lord God [Ps. 23; Is. 40:11]. ¹⁶ I will search for the lost, bring back those that strayed away [v. 4], put bandages on those that were hurt, and make the weak strong. But I will destroy those sheep that are fat and strong. I will ·tend [shepherd; feed] the sheep with ·fairness [justice].

¹⁷ “‘This is what the Lord God says: As for you, my flock, I will judge between one sheep and another, between the ·male sheep [rams] and the male goats [Matt. 25:32–33]. ¹⁸ Is it not enough for you to eat grass in the good ·land [pasture]? Must you ·crush [trample] the rest of the grass with your feet? Is it not enough for you to drink clear water? Must you make the rest of the water muddy with your feet? ¹⁹ Must my flock eat what you ·crush [trample], and must they drink what you make muddy with your feet?

²⁰ “‘So this is what the Lord God says to them: [^LLook; ^TBehold] I, myself, will judge between the fat sheep and the thin sheep. ²¹ You push with your side and with your shoulder, and you ·knock down [butt; thrust at] all the weak sheep with your horns until you have ·forced them away [or scattered them abroad]. ²² So I will save my flock; they will ·not be hurt anymore [^Lno longer be prey]. I will judge between one sheep and another. ²³ Then I will put over them one shepherd, my servant David [Is. 11:1; Jer. 30:9; Hos. 3:5; Mic. 5:2; ^Cthe Messiah envisioned as a new David]. He will feed them and tend them and be their shepherd. ²⁴ Then I, the Lord, will be their God, and my servant David will be a ·ruler [prince] among them. I, the Lord, have spoken.

²⁵ “‘I will make an ·agreement [covenant; treaty] of peace with ·my sheep [^Lthem] and will remove ·harmful animals [wild beasts] from the land. Then the sheep will live safely in the ·desert [wilderness] and sleep in the woods. ²⁶ I will ·bless them and let them live around my hill [or make them and the regions around my hill a blessing]. I will cause ·the rains [showers] to come ·when it is time [in their season]; there will be showers to bless them. ²⁷ Also the trees ·in the countryside [^Lof the field] will ·give [yield] their fruit, and the land will give its ·harvest [produce; increase]. And the sheep will ·be safe [live securely] on their land. Then they will know that I am the Lord when I break the bars of their ·captivity [^Lyoke] and ·save [rescue] them from the ·power [^Lhand] of those who made them slaves. ²⁸ They will not be ·led captive by [prey for] the nations again. The wild animals will not ·eat [devour] them, but they will live safely, and no one will make them afraid. ²⁹ I will give them a place famous for its good crops, so they will no longer ·suffer from hunger [be victims of famine] in the land. They will not suffer the insults of other nations anymore. ³⁰ Then they will know that I, the Lord their God, am with them. The nation [^Lhouse] of Israel will know that they are my people, says the Lord God. ³¹ You, my sheep, are the human sheep ·I care for [^Lof my pasture; Ps. 95:7; 100:3], and I am your God, says the Lord God.’”