1 A nd the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,

The Word of the Lord came to me saying,

2 S on of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God unto the shepherds; Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the flocks?

“Son of man, speak against the shepherds of Israel. Speak in My name and tell those shepherds, ‘The Lord God says, “It is bad for the shepherds of Israel who have been feeding themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flock?

3 Y e eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed: but ye feed not the flock.

You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool. You kill the fat sheep without feeding the flock.

4 T he diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost; but with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them.

You have not given strength to the weak ones. You have not healed the sick. You have not helped the ones that are hurt. You have not brought back those that have gone away. And you have not looked for the lost. But you have ruled them with power and without pity.

5 A nd they were scattered, because there is no shepherd: and they became meat to all the beasts of the field, when they were scattered.

They went everywhere because they had no shepherd. And they became food for every animal of the field.

6 M y sheep wandered through all the mountains, and upon every high hill: yea, my flock was scattered upon all the face of the earth, and none did search or seek after them.

My flock went many different ways through all the mountains and on every high hill. My sheep were spread over all the earth, and there was no one looking for them.”’”

7 T herefore, ye shepherds, hear the word of the Lord;

So, you shepherds, hear the Word of the Lord.

8 A s I live, saith the Lord God, surely because my flock became a prey, and my flock became meat to every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd, neither did my shepherds search for my flock, but the shepherds fed themselves, and fed not my flock;

“As I live,” says the Lord God, “My flock has been killed and become food for wild animals because they had no shepherd. My shepherds did not look for My flock. They fed themselves, but have not fed My flock.”

9 t herefore, O ye shepherds, hear the word of the Lord;

So, you shepherds, hear the Word of the Lord.

10 T hus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against the shepherds; and I will require my flock at their hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the flock; neither shall the shepherds feed themselves any more; for I will deliver my flock from their mouth, that they may not be meat for them.

The Lord God says, “I am against the shepherds, and I will ask them for My sheep. I will stop them from feeding the sheep, so they will no longer be able to feed themselves. I will save my sheep from their mouths, so that they will no longer be food for them.” The Good Shepherd

11 F or thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep, and seek them out.

For the Lord God says, “I Myself will look for My sheep and find them.

12 A s a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered; so will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day.

As a shepherd looks for his sheep when they are not together, so I will look for My sheep. And I will save them from all the places where they were spread out on a day of clouds and darkness.

13 A nd I will bring them out from the people, and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land, and feed them upon the mountains of Israel by the rivers, and in all the inhabited places of the country.

I will bring them out from the people and gather them from the countries, and bring them to their own land. I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the rivers, and in all the places of the land where people live.

14 I will feed them in a good pasture, and upon the high mountains of Israel shall their fold be: there shall they lie in a good fold, and in a fat pasture shall they feed upon the mountains of Israel.

I will feed them in a good field. The ground they eat upon will be on the mountains of Israel. There they will lie down in a good field and feed on good grass on the mountains of Israel.

15 I will feed my flock, and I will cause them to lie down, saith the Lord God.

I will feed My sheep, and give them rest,” says the Lord God.

16 I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick: but I will destroy the fat and the strong; I will feed them with judgment.

“I will look for the lost, bring back those that have gone away, help those who have been hurt, and give strength to the sick. But I will destroy the fat and the strong. I will feed them with punishment.

17 A nd as for you, O my flock, thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I judge between cattle and cattle, between the rams and the he goats.

“As for you, My flock, the Lord God says, ‘I will judge between one sheep and another, between the rams and the male goats.

18 S eemeth it a small thing unto you to have eaten up the good pasture, but ye must tread down with your feet the residue of your pastures? and to have drunk of the deep waters, but ye must foul the residue with your feet?

Is it not enough for you to eat in the good field? Must you crush under foot the rest of your fields? Is it not enough for you to drink of the clear waters? Must your feet fill the rest with mud?

19 A nd as for my flock, they eat that which ye have trodden with your feet; and they drink that which ye have fouled with your feet.

Must My flock eat what you have crushed with your feet, and drink what you have made dirty with your feet?’”

20 T herefore thus saith the Lord God unto them; Behold, I, even I, will judge between the fat cattle and between the lean cattle.

So the Lord God says to them, “I Myself will judge between the fat sheep and the weak sheep.

21 B ecause ye have thrust with side and with shoulder, and pushed all the diseased with your horns, till ye have scattered them abroad;

Because you push with your side and shoulder and run against all the weak with your horns until you have driven them away,

22 t herefore will I save my flock, and they shall no more be a prey; and I will judge between cattle and cattle.

I will save My flock. They will no longer be hurt. And I will judge between one sheep and another.

23 A nd I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd.

Then I will set over them one shepherd, My servant David, and he will feed them. He will feed them and be their shepherd.

24 A nd I the Lord will be their God, and my servant David a prince among them; I the Lord have spoken it.

I, the Lord, will be their God, and My servant David will be their leader. I, the Lord, have spoken.

25 A nd I will make with them a covenant of peace, and will cause the evil beasts to cease out of the land: and they shall dwell safely in the wilderness, and sleep in the woods.

“I will make a peace agreement with them and take away wild animals from the land. Then they will be safe as they live in the desert and sleep in the woods.

26 A nd I will make them and the places round about my hill a blessing; and I will cause the shower to come down in his season; there shall be showers of blessing.

I will bring good to them and to the places around My hill. I will give them rain when they need it. Good will rain down upon them.

27 A nd the tree of the field shall yield her fruit, and the earth shall yield her increase, and they shall be safe in their land, and shall know that I am the Lord, when I have broken the bands of their yoke, and delivered them out of the hand of those that served themselves of them.

The trees of the field will give their fruit and the earth will give its food. They will be safe in their land. Then they will know that I am the Lord, when I have broken the load from their backs and have saved them from those who made servants of them.

28 A nd they shall no more be a prey to the heathen, neither shall the beast of the land devour them; but they shall dwell safely, and none shall make them afraid.

They will no longer be under the power of the nations. And the wild animals of the earth will not eat them. But they will be safe, and no one will make them afraid.

29 A nd I will raise up for them a plant of renown, and they shall be no more consumed with hunger in the land, neither bear the shame of the heathen any more.

I will give them a land well known for its fields of food. They will never suffer with hunger again, and will no longer be put to shame by the nations.

30 T hus shall they know that I the Lord their God am with them, and that they, even the house of Israel, are my people, saith the Lord God.

Then they will know that I, the Lord their God, am with them, and that they, the people of Israel, are My people,” says the Lord God.

31 A nd ye my flock, the flock of my pasture, are men, and I am your God, saith the Lord God.

“You, My sheep, the sheep of My field, are people, and I am your God,” says the Lord God.