1 And the Word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy and say to them, Thus says the Lord Jehovah to the shepherds: Woe to the shepherds of Israel who feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flocks?
3 You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool; you slaughter the fatlings, but you do not feed the flock.
4 The weak you have not strengthened, nor have you healed those who were sick, nor bound up the broken, nor brought back what was driven away, nor sought what was lost; but with force and cruelty you have ruled them.
5 So they were scattered because there was no shepherd; and they became food for all the beasts of the field when they were scattered.
6 My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and on every high hill; yes, My flock was scattered over the whole face of the earth, and no one was seeking or searching for them.
7 Therefore, you shepherds, hear the Word of Jehovah:
8 As I live, says the Lord Jehovah, surely because My flock became a prey, and My flock became food for every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd, nor did My shepherds search for My flock, but the shepherds fed themselves and did not feed My flock;
9 therefore, O shepherds, hear the Word of Jehovah!
10 Thus says the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I am against the shepherds, and I will require My flock at their hand; I will cause them to cease feeding the sheep, and the shepherds shall feed themselves no more; for I will deliver My flock from their mouths, that they may no longer be food for them.
11 For thus says the Lord Jehovah: Indeed I Myself will search for My sheep and seek them out.
12 As a shepherd seeks out his flock on the day he is among his scattered sheep, so will I seek out My sheep and deliver them from all the places where they were scattered on a cloudy and dark day.
13 And I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the lands, and will bring them to their own land; I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, in the ravines and in all the dwelling places of the land.
14 I will feed them in a good pasture, and their fold shall be on the high mountains of Israel. There they shall lie down in a good fold and feed in rich pasture on the mountains of Israel.
15 I will feed My flock, and I will make them lie down, declares the Lord Jehovah.
16 I will seek what was lost and bring back what was driven away, bind up the broken and strengthen what was sick; but I will destroy the fat and the strong, and feed them with judgment.
17 And as for you, O My flock, thus says the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I shall judge between sheep and sheep, between rams and he goats.
18 Is it a small thing for you to have eaten up the good pasture, that you must tread down with your feet the rest of your pasture; and to have drunk of the clear waters, that you must foul the rest with your feet?
19 And as for My flock, they eat what you have trampled with your feet, and they drink what you have fouled with your feet.
20 Therefore thus says the Lord Jehovah to them: Behold, I, even I, will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep.
21 Because you have pushed with side and shoulder, thrust at all the weak ones with your horns, and scattered them abroad,
22 therefore I will save My flock, and they shall no longer be a prey; and I will judge between sheep and sheep.
23 I will raise up one Shepherd over them, and He shall feed them; My servant David. He shall feed them and be their Shepherd.
24 And I, Jehovah, will be their God, and My Servant David a prince among them; I, Jehovah, have spoken.
25 I will make a covenant of peace with them, and remove the evil beasts out of the land; and they will dwell safely in the wilderness and sleep in the wooded forests.
26 And I will make them and the places all around My hill a blessing; and I will cause showers to come down in their season; there shall be showers of blessing.
27 Then the trees of the field shall yield their fruit, and the earth shall yield her increase. They shall be safe in their land; and they shall know that I am Jehovah, when I have broken the bars of their yoke and delivered them from the hand of those who enslaved them.
28 And they shall no longer be a prey for the nations, nor shall beasts of the land devour them; but they shall dwell safely, and no one shall make them afraid.
29 I will raise up for them a notable plantation, and they shall no longer be consumed with hunger in the land, nor bear the shame of the nations any more.
30 Thus they shall know that I, Jehovah their God, am with them, and they, the house of Israel, are My people, declares the Lord Jehovah.
31 And you men, the flock of My pasture, are My flock; and I am your God, declares the Lord Jehovah.