Study Desk

And if evil people stop doing wrong and start living right and being fair, they will live.

"Son of man, there are Israelites who live in the ruined cities in Israel. They are saying, ‘Abraham was only one man, and God gave him all this land. Now, we are many people, so surely this land belongs to us! It is our land!'

"‘You must tell them that this is what the Lord God says: "By my life, I promise that the people living in the ruined cities will be killed with a sword! If any people are out in the country, I will let animals kill and eat them. If people are hiding in the fortresses and the caves, they will die from disease.

"‘And now about you, son of man. Your people lean against the walls and stand in their doorways talking about you. They tell each other, "Come on, let's go hear what the Lord says."

So they come to you as if they were my people. They sit in front of you as if they were my people. They hear your words, but they will not do the things you say. They only want to do what feels good. They only want to cheat people and make more money.

"‘And now the sheep are scattered because there was no shepherd. They became food for every wild animal, so they were scattered.

The Lord God says, "I swear that wild animals will catch my sheep, and my people will become food for all those animals because they did not have any real shepherds. My shepherds did not look out for my flock. They did not feed my flock. No, they only killed the sheep and fed themselves!"

The Lord God says, "I am against the shepherds. I will demand my sheep from them. I will fire them. They will not be my shepherds anymore. Then the shepherds will not be able to feed themselves, and I will save my flock from their mouths. Then my sheep will not be food for them."

If a shepherd is with his sheep when they begin to wander away, he will go searching for them. In the same way I will search for my sheep. I will save them and bring them back from all the places where they were scattered on that dark and cloudy day.

I will lead them to grassy fields. They will go to the place high on the mountains of Israel and lie down on good ground and eat the grass. They will eat in rich grassland on the mountains of Israel.

"I will search for the lost sheep. I will bring back the sheep that were scattered and put bandages on the sheep that were hurt. I will make the weak sheep strong, but I will destroy the fat and powerful shepherds. I will feed them the punishment they deserve."

My flock must eat the grass you crushed with your feet, and they must drink the water you stir with your feet!"

so I will save my flock. They will not be caught by wild animals anymore. I will judge between one sheep and another.

And the trees growing in the field will produce their fruit. The earth will give its harvest, so the sheep will be safe on their land. I will break the yokes on them and save them from the power of the people who made them slaves. Then they will know that I am the Lord .

Then they will know that I am the Lord their God. The family of Israel will know that I am with them and that they are my people." This is what the Lord God said!

"So speak to the mountains of Israel for me. Tell them that this is what the Lord God says: ‘The enemy destroyed your cities and attacked you from every direction. They did this so that you would belong to the other nations. Then people talked and whispered about you.'"

The Lord God says, "I swear, I will let my strong feelings speak for me! I will let Edom and the other nations feel my anger. They took my land for themselves. They really had a good time when they showed how much they hated this land. They took the land for themselves, just so they could destroy it."

I will give you many people and animals, and they will grow and have many children. I will bring people to live on you as in the past. I will make it better for you than before. Then you will know that I am the Lord .

I scattered them among the nations and spread them through all the lands. I gave them the punishment they deserved for the bad things they did.

"The people of Israel ruined my holy name wherever they went, and I felt sorry for my name.