Study Desk

Open your doors, Lebanon, So that a fire may feed on your cedars.

Open thy doors, O Lebanon, that the fire may devour thy cedars.

Wail, juniper, because the cedar has fallen, For the magnificent trees have been destroyed; Wail, oaks of Bashan, Because the impenetrable forest has come down.

Howl, fir tree; for the cedar is fallen; because the mighty are spoiled: howl, O ye oaks of Bashan; for the forest of the vintage is come down.

There is a sound of the shepherds' wail, For their splendor is ruined; There is a sound of the young lions' roar, For the pride of the Jordan is ruined.

There is a voice of the howling of the shepherds; for their glory is spoiled: a voice of the roaring of young lions; for the pride of Jordan is spoiled.

This is what the LORD my God says: "Pasture the flock doomed to slaughter.

Thus saith the Lord my God; Feed the flock of the slaughter;

"Those who buy them slaughter them and go unpunished, and each of those who sell them says, 'Blessed be the LORD, for I have become rich!' And their own shepherds have no compassion for them.

Whose possessors slay them, and hold themselves not guilty: and they that sell them say, Blessed be the Lord ; for I am rich: and their own shepherds pity them not.

"For I will no longer have compassion for the inhabitants of the land," declares the LORD; "but behold, I will let the people fall, each into another's power and into the power of his king; and they will crush the land, and I will not rescue them from their power."

For I will no more pity the inhabitants of the land, saith the Lord : but, lo, I will deliver the men every one into his neighbour's hand, and into the hand of his king: and they shall smite the land, and out of their hand I will not deliver them.

So I pastured the flock doomed to slaughter, therefore also the afflicted of the flock. And I took for myself two staffs: the one I called Favor, and the other I called Union; so I pastured the flock.

And I will feed the flock of slaughter, even you, O poor of the flock. And I took unto me two staves; the one I called Beauty, and the other I called Bands; and I fed the flock.

Then I did away with the three shepherds in one month, for my soul was impatient with them, and their soul also was tired of me.

Three shepherds also I cut off in one month; and my soul lothed them, and their soul also abhorred me.

Then I said, "I will not pasture you. What is to die, let it die, and what is to perish, let it perish; and let those who are left eat one another's flesh."

Then said I, I will not feed you: that that dieth, let it die; and that that is to be cut off, let it be cut off; and let the rest eat every one the flesh of another.

And I took my staff Favor and cut it in pieces, to break my covenant which I had made with all the peoples.

And I took my staff, even Beauty, and cut it asunder, that I might break my covenant which I had made with all the people.

So it was broken on that day, and so the afflicted of the flock who were watching me realized that it was the word of the LORD.

And it was broken in that day: and so the poor of the flock that waited upon me knew that it was the word of the Lord .

And I said to them, "If it is good in your sight, give me my wages; but if not, never mind!" So they weighed out thirty shekels of silver as my wages.

And I said unto them, If ye think good, give me my price; and if not, forbear. So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver.

Then the LORD said to me, "Throw it to the potter, that magnificent price at which I was valued by them." So I took the thirty shekels of silver and threw them to the potter in the house of the LORD.

And the Lord said unto me, Cast it unto the potter: a goodly price that I was prised at of them. And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them to the potter in the house of the Lord .

Then I cut in pieces my second staff Union, to break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.

Then I cut asunder mine other staff, even Bands, that I might break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.

And the LORD said to me, "Take again for yourself the equipment of a foolish shepherd.

And the Lord said unto me, Take unto thee yet the instruments of a foolish shepherd.

"For behold, I am going to raise up a shepherd in the land who will not care for the perishing, seek the scattered, heal the broken, or provide for the one who is exhausted, but will devour the flesh of the fat sheep and tear off their hoofs.

For, lo, I will raise up a shepherd in the land, which shall not visit those that be cut off, neither shall seek the young one, nor heal that that is broken, nor feed that that standeth still: but he shall eat the flesh of the fat, and tear their claws in pieces.

"Woe to the worthless shepherd Who abandons the flock! A sword will be on his arm And on his right eye! His arm will be totally withered, And his right eye will be blind."

Woe to the idol shepherd that leaveth the flock! the sword shall be upon his arm, and upon his right eye: his arm shall be clean dried up, and his right eye shall be utterly darkened.