Study Desk

Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

"Son of man, prophesy against the ^(C1)shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and say to ^(F1)those shepherds, 'This is what the Lord ^(F2)GOD says: "Woe, shepherds of Israel who have been ^(F3)(C2)feeding themselves! Should the shepherds not ^(F3)(C3)feed the flock?

"You ^(C1)eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool, you ^(C2)slaughter the fat sheep ^(F1)without feeding the flock.

"Those who are sickly you have not strengthened, the diseased you have not healed, ^(C1)the broken you have not bound up, the scattered you have not brought back, nor have you ^(C2)searched for the lost; but with force and with violence you have ^(F1)dominated them.

"They ^(C1)scattered for lack of a shepherd, and they became ^(C2)food for every animal of the field and scattered.

"My flock ^(C1)strayed through all the mountains and on every high hill; ^(C2)My flock was scattered over all the surface of the earth, and there was ^(C3)no one to search or seek for them."'"

Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD:

"As I live," declares the Lord GOD, "certainly, because My flock has become ^(C1)plunder, and My flock has become food for all the animals of the field for lack of a shepherd, and My shepherds did not search for My flock, but rather the shepherds fed themselves and did not feed My flock,

therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD:

'This is what the Lord GOD says: "Behold, I am ^(C1)against the shepherds, and I will demand My ^(F1)sheep ^(F2)from them and make them ^(C2)stop tending sheep. So the shepherds will not ^(F3)feed themselves anymore, but I will ^(C3)save My sheep from their mouth, so that they will not be food for them."'"

For the Lord GOD says this: "Behold, I Myself will ^(C1)search for My sheep and look after them.

"^(C1)As a shepherd cares for his flock on a day when he is among his scattered ^(F1)sheep, so I will ^(C2)care for My ^(F1)sheep and will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on a ^(C3)cloudy and gloomy day.

"I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries and bring them to their own land; and I will ^(C1)feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the ^(C2)streams, and in all the inhabited places of the land.

"I will feed them in a ^(C1)good pasture, and their grazing place will be on the mountain heights of Israel. There they will lie down in a good grazing place and feed in ^(F1)(C2)rich pasture on the mountains of Israel.

"I Myself will ^(C1)feed My flock and I Myself will ^(F1)lead them to rest," declares the Lord GOD.

"I will seek the lost, bring back the scattered, bind up the broken, and strengthen the sick; but the ^(C1)fat and the strong I will eliminate. I will ^(C2)feed them with judgment.