¶ And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds¹ of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD unto the shepherds; Woe² be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed³ themselves! should not the shepherds feed the flocks?

Ye eat⁴ the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill⁵ them that are fed: but ye feed not the flock.

The diseased⁶ 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 sought⁷ that which was lost; but with⁸ force and with cruelty have ye ruled them.

And they were⁹ scattered, because there is no shepherd¹⁰: and they became¹¹ meat to all the beasts of the field, when they were scattered.

My sheep wandered¹² through all the mountains, and upon every high hill: yea, my flock¹³ was scattered upon all the face of the earth, and none¹⁴ did search or seek after them.

¶¹⁵Therefore, ye shepherds, hear the word of the LORD;

As I live, saith the Lord GOD, surely because my flock became a prey¹⁶, 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 shepherds¹⁷ fed themselves, and fed not my flock;

Therefore, O ye shepherds¹⁸, hear the word of the LORD;

¶ Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am¹⁹ against the shepherds; and I will²⁰ require my flock at their hand, and cause²¹ them to cease from feeding the flock; neither shall²² the shepherds feed themselves any more; for I will²³ deliver my flock from their mouth, that they may not be meat for them.

For thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I,²⁴ even I, will both search²⁵ my sheep, and seek them out.

As a shepherd seeketh out²⁶ 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 cloudy²⁷ and dark day.

And I will bring²⁸ them out from the people, and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land, and feed²⁹ them upon the mountains of Israel by the rivers, and in all the inhabited places of the country.

I will feed them³⁰ in a good pasture, and upon the high mountains of Israel shall their fold be: there shall³¹ they lie in a good fold, and in a fat pasture shall they feed upon the mountains of Israel.

³²I will feed my flock, and I will cause them to lie down, saith the Lord GOD.

I will seek that³³ 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 I³⁴ will destroy the fat and the strong; I will feed³⁵ them with judgment.

¶ And as for you, O my flock, thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I judge³⁶ between cattle and cattle³⁷, between the rams and the he goats.

Seemeth it a small³⁸ thing unto you to have³⁹ 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?

And 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.

¶ Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD unto them; Behold,⁴¹ I, even I, will judge between the fat cattle and between the lean cattle.

Because ye have⁴² thrust with side and with shoulder, and pushed⁴³ all the diseased with your horns, till ye have scattered them abroad;

Therefore will I⁴⁴ save my flock, and they shall no more be a prey; and I⁴⁵ will judge between cattle and cattle.

And I will⁴⁶ set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant⁴⁷ David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd.

And I the LORD will⁴⁹ be their God, and my servant David a prince⁵⁰ among them; I the LORD have spoken it.

And I will make⁵¹ with them a covenant of peace, and will⁵² cause the evil beasts to cease out of the land: and they⁵³ shall dwell safely in the wilderness, and sleep in the woods.

And I will make them⁵⁴ and the places round about my hill⁵⁵ a blessing; and I will cause⁵⁶ the shower to come down in his season; there shall be showers⁵⁷ of blessing.

And the tree⁵⁸ 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 that⁵⁹ I am the LORD, when I⁶⁰ have broken the bands of their yoke, and delivered them out of the hand of those that served⁶¹ themselves of them.

And they shall⁶² no more be a prey to the heathen, neither⁶³ shall the beast of the land devour them; but they shall dwell safely, and none shall make them afraid.

And I will⁶⁴ raise up for them a plant of renown⁶⁵, and they shall be no more consumed⁶⁶ with hunger in the land, neither⁶⁷ bear the shame of the heathen any more.

¶⁶⁸Thus 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.

And ye my⁶⁹ flock, the flock of my pasture, are men, and I⁷⁰ am your God, saith the Lord GOD.