| New Living Translation | NET 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--to the shepherds: 'This is what the sovereign LORD says: Woe to the shepherds of Israel who have been feeding themselves! Should not shepherds feed the flock? |
| 3You drink the milk, wear the wool, and butcher the best animals, but you let your flocks starve. | 3You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the choice animals, but you do not feed the sheep! |
| 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, but with force and harshness you have ruled over them. |
| 5So my sheep have been scattered without a shepherd, and they are easy prey for any wild animal. | 5They were scattered because they had no shepherd, and they became food for every wild beast. |
| 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 sheep wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. My sheep were scattered over the entire face of the earth with no one looking or searching 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 surely as I live, declares the sovereign LORD, my sheep have become prey and have become food for all the wild beasts. There was no shepherd, and my shepherds did not search for my flock, but fed themselves and did not feed my sheep, |
| 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 sovereign LORD says: Look, I am against the shepherds, and I will demand my sheep from their hand. I will no longer let them be shepherds; the shepherds will not feed themselves anymore. I will rescue my sheep from their mouth, so that they will no longer 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 sovereign LORD says: Look, I myself will search for my sheep 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 seeks out his flock when he is among his scattered sheep, so I will seek out my flock. I will rescue them from all the places where they have been scattered on a cloudy, dark day. |
| 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 among the peoples and gather them from foreign countries; I will bring them to their own land. I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the streams and 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. | 14In a good pasture I will feed them; the mountain heights of Israel will be their pasture. There they will lie down in a lush pasture, and they will feed on rich grass 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 myself will feed my sheep and I myself will make them lie down, declares the sovereign LORD. |
| 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 and bring back the strays; I will bandage the injured and strengthen the sick, but the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them--with judgment! |
| 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 sheep, this is what the sovereign LORD says: Look, I am about to judge between one sheep and another, between 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? | 18Is it not enough for you to feed on the good pasture, that you must trample the rest of your pastures with your feet? When you drink clean water, must you muddy the rest of the water by trampling it with your feet? |
| 19Why must my flock eat what you have trampled down and drink water you have fouled? | 19As for my sheep, they must eat what you trampled with your feet, and drink what you have muddied with your feet! |
| 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 sovereign LORD says to them: Look, 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. | 21Because you push with your side and your shoulder, and thrust your horns at all the weak sheep until you scatter 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 sheep; 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 set one shepherd over them, and he will feed them--namely, my servant David. He will feed them 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 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 will rid the land of wild beasts, so that they can live securely in the wilderness and even sleep in the woods. |
| 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 turn them and the regions around my hill into a blessing. I will make showers come down in their season; they will be showers that bring 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 earth will yield its crops. They will live securely on their land; they will know that I am the LORD, when I break the bars of their yoke and rescue them from the hand of those who 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 wild beasts will not devour them. They will live securely and no one will make them afraid. |
| 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 prepare for them a healthy planting. They will no longer be victims of famine in the land and will no longer bear 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 are my people, the house of Israel, declares the sovereign LORD. |
| 31You are my flock, the sheep of my pasture. You are my people, and I am your God. I, the Sovereign LORD, have spoken!” | 31And you, my sheep, the sheep of my pasture, are my people, and I am your God, declares the sovereign LORD.'" |
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