1 And the word of LORD came to me, saying,

2 Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy, and say to them, even to the shepherds, Thus says lord LORD: Woe to the shepherds of Israel who feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the sheep?

3 Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe yourselves with the wool. Ye kill the fatlings, but ye do not feed the sheep.

4 Ye have not strengthened the diseased, nor have ye healed that which was sick, nor have ye bound up that which was broken, nor have ye brought back that which was driven away, nor have ye sought that which was lost, but ye have rul

5 And they were scattered because there was no shepherd. And they became food to all the beasts of the field, and were scattered.

6 My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and upon every high hill. Yea, my sheep were scattered upon all the face of the earth, and there was none who searched or sought.

7 Therefore, ye shepherds, hear the word of LORD:

8 As I live, says lord LORD, surely inasmuch as my sheep became a prey, and my sheep became food to all the beasts of the field, because there was no shepherd, nor did my shepherds search for my sheep, but the shepherds fed themselve

9 therefore, ye shepherds, hear the word of LORD.

10 Thus says lord LORD: Behold, I am against the shepherds, and I will require my sheep at their hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the sheep. Neither shall the shepherds feed themselves any more, and I will deliver my sheep f

11 For thus says lord LORD: Behold, I myself, even I, will search for my sheep, and will seek them out.

12 As a shepherd seeks out his flock, in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered abroad, so I will seek out my sheep, and I will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day.

13 And I will bring them out from the peoples, and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land. And I will feed them upon the mountains of Israel, by the watercourses, and in all the inhabited places of the

14 I will feed them with good pasture, and their fold shall be upon the mountains of the height of Israel. There they shall lay down in a good fold, and on fat pasture they shall feed upon the mountains of Israel.

15 I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I will cause them to lay down, says lord LORD.

16 I will seek that which was lost, and will bring back that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick, but I will destroy the fat and the strong. I will feed them in justic

17 And as for you, O my flock, thus says lord LORD: Behold, I judge between sheep and sheep, the rams and the he-goats.

18 Does it seem a small thing to you to have fed upon the good pasture, but ye must tread down with your feet the residue of your pasture, and to have drunk of the clear waters, but ye must foul the residue with your feet?

19 And as for my sheep, they eat that which ye have trodden with your feet, and they drink that which ye have fouled with your feet.

20 Therefore thus says lord LORD to them: Behold, I, even I, will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep.

21 Because ye thrust with side and with shoulder, and push all the diseased with your horns, till ye have scattered them abroad,

22 therefore I will save my flock, and they shall no more be a prey. And I will judge between sheep and sheep.

23 And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David. He shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd.

24 And I, LORD, will be their God, and my servant David ruler among them. I, LORD, have spoken it.

25 And I will make a covenant of peace with them, and will cause evil beasts to cease out of the land, and they shall dwell securely in the wilderness, and sleep in the woods.

26 And I will make them and the places round about my hill a blessing, and I will cause the shower to come down in its season; there shall be showers of blessing.

27 And the tree of the field shall yield its fruit, and the earth shall yield its increase, and they shall be secure in their land. And they shall know that I am LORD when I have broken the bars of their yoke, and have delivered them

28 And they shall no more be a prey to the nations, nor shall the beasts of the earth devour them, but they shall dwell securely, and none shall make them afraid.

29 And I will raise up to them a plantation for renown, and they shall no more be consumed with famine in the land, nor bear the shame of the nations any more.

30 And they shall know that I, LORD, their God am with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are my people, says lord LORD.

31 And ye my sheep, the sheep of my pasture, are men, and I am your God, says lord LORD.