The Lord Will Be Israel’s Shepherd
1The word of the Lord came to me: 2“Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Woe to you shepherds of Israel who only take care of yourselves! Should not shepherds take care of the flock? 3You eat the curds, clothe yourselves with the wool and slaughter the choice animals, but you do not take care of the flock. 4You have not strengthened the weak or healed the sick or bound up the injured. You have not brought back the strays or searched for the lost. You have ruled them harshly and brutally. 5So they were scattered because there was no shepherd, and when they were scattered they became food for all the wild animals. 6My sheep wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. They were scattered over the whole earth, and no one searched or looked for them.
7“ ‘Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: 8As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, because my flock lacks a shepherd and so has been plundered and has become food for all the wild animals, and because my shepherds did not search for my flock but cared for themselves rather than for my flock, 9therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: 10This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am against the shepherds and will hold them accountable for my flock. I will remove them from tending the flock so that the shepherds can no longer feed themselves. I will rescue my flock from their mouths, and it will no longer be food for them.
11“ ‘For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I myself will search for my sheep and look after them. 12As a shepherd looks after his scattered flock when he is with them, so will I look after my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness. 13I will bring them out from the nations and gather them from the countries, and I will bring them into their own land. I will pasture them on the mountains of Israel, in the ravines and in all the settlements in the land. 14I will tend them in a good pasture, and the mountain heights of Israel will be their grazing land. There they will lie down in good grazing land, and there they will feed in a rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. 15I myself will tend my sheep and have them lie down, declares the Sovereign Lord. 16I will search for the lost and bring back the strays. I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak, but the sleek and the strong I will destroy. I will shepherd the flock with justice.
17“ ‘As for you, my flock, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will judge between one sheep and another, and between rams and goats. 18Is it not enough for you to feed on the good pasture? Must you also trample the rest of your pasture with your feet? Is it not enough for you to drink clear water? Must you also muddy the rest with your feet? 19Must my flock feed on what you have trampled and drink what you have muddied with your feet?
20“ ‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says to them: See, I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. 21Because you shove with flank and shoulder, butting all the weak sheep with your horns until you have driven them away, 22I will save my flock, and they will no longer be plundered. I will judge between one sheep and another. 23I will place over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he will tend them; he will tend them and be their shepherd. 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 them and rid the land of savage beasts so that they may live in the wilderness and sleep in the forests in safety. 26I will make them and the places surrounding my hill a blessing.34:26 Or I will cause them and the places surrounding my hill to be named in blessings (see Gen. 48:20); or I will cause them and the places surrounding my hill to be seen as blessed I will send down showers in season; there will be showers of blessing. 27The trees will yield their fruit and the ground will yield its crops; the people 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 hands of those who enslaved them. 28They will no longer be plundered by the nations, nor will wild animals devour them. They will live in safety, and no one will make them afraid. 29I will provide for them a land renowned for its crops, and they will no longer be victims of famine in the land or bear the scorn of the nations. 30Then they will know that I, the Lord their God, am with them and that they, the Israelites, are my people, declares the Sovereign Lord. 31You are my sheep, the sheep of my pasture, and I am your God, declares the Sovereign Lord.’ ”
以色列的牧人
1耶和华对我说： 2“人子啊，你要这样说预言斥责以色列的牧人，‘主耶和华说：以色列的牧人啊，你们有祸了！你们只顾喂养自己，牧人岂不应该喂养羊群吗？ 3但你们只顾吃羊的脂肪，穿羊毛衣，宰杀肥羊，却不喂养羊群。 4你们没有养壮瘦弱的，没有医治生病的，没有包扎受伤的，没有领回走散的，没有寻找迷失的。你们反用暴力辖制他们。 5因为没有牧人，羊群便流离失散，成了所有野兽的食物。 6我的羊在群山和高岗上游荡，分散在各地，没有人寻找他们。
7“‘所以，你们这些牧人啊，要听耶和华的话。 8主耶和华说：我凭我的永恒起誓，我的羊因为没有牧人而成了猎物，沦为所有野兽的食物。我的牧人不去寻找我的羊，他们只喂养自己，不喂养我的羊， 9所以你们这些牧人啊，要听耶和华的话。 10主耶和华说，我要攻击这些牧人，从他们手中要回我的羊，不再让他们喂养羊群，使他们无法再喂养自己。我要从他们口中救回我的羊，不再让羊成为他们的食物。
11“‘主耶和华说：看啊，我要亲自寻找我的羊，找到他们。 12牧人怎样寻找他四散的羊，我也照样寻找我的羊，他们在密云幽暗的日子失散到各地，我要把他们从那里救回来。 13我要把他们从列邦领出来，从列国招聚他们，带他们回到自己的故土，我要在以色列的山岭上、溪水旁和境内可居之地牧养他们。 14我要在佳美的草场上牧养他们，以色列的山岭必成为他们的草场。他们要在佳美的草场上安卧，在以色列山岭的肥美草场上吃草。 15我要亲自喂养我的羊，让他们得到安歇。这是主耶和华说的。 16我要寻找迷失的，领回失散的，包扎受伤的，医治患病的，但我要消灭肥壮的。我要秉公牧养他们。
17“‘我的羊群啊！至于你们，主耶和华这样说：我要在你们中间施行审判，在公绵羊和公山羊之间进行审判。 18你们肥壮的羊在茂盛的草场上吃还不够吗？你们非要用蹄子践踏吃剩的草吗？你们喝清水还不够吗？你们非要用蹄子搅浑剩下的水吗？ 19我其余的羊只得吃你们践踏的草，喝你们搅浑的水。
20“‘因此，主耶和华对他们说：看啊，我要亲自在肥羊和瘦羊之间施行审判。 21你们肥羊用胁和肩拱，用角抵瘦弱的，使他们四散。 22因此我要拯救我的羊，使他们不再成为猎物，我要在羊与羊之间施行审判。 23我要立我的仆人大卫做他们的牧人，他将牧养他们，做他们的牧人。 24我耶和华要做他们的上帝，我的仆人大卫要在他们当中做王，这是耶和华说的。
25“‘我要跟他们立平安的约，除去地上的恶兽，让他们在旷野安居，在丛林安睡。 26我要赐福他们，也要赐福我圣山的周围，我要按季节降雨给他们，使恩福如雨降下。 27田间的树木必结果子，土地必长出庄稼，他们要在故乡安居。我要折断他们所负的轭，从奴役他们的人手中把他们拯救出来，那时他们便知道我是耶和华。 28他们必不再成为列国的猎物，也不会被地上的野兽吞吃。他们必安居乐业，不再受人惊吓。 29我要把沃土赐给他们，使他们不再被境内的饥荒吞噬，也不再受各国的侮辱。 30这样，以色列人就知道我耶和华——他们的上帝与他们同在，他们以色列人是我的子民，这是主耶和华说的。 31你们是我草场上的羊，你们是我的子民，我是你们的上帝。这是主耶和华说的。’”
