The Prophecy against the Shepherds of Israel

341 Then the word of the Lord came to me saying , 2 "Son of man , prophesy against the shepherds of Israel . Prophesy and say to those shepherds , 'Thus says the Lord GOD , "Woe , shepherds of Israel who have been feeding themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flock ? 3 "You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool , you slaughter the fat sheep without feeding the flock . 4 "Those who are sickly you have not strengthened , the diseased you have not healed , the broken you have not bound up, the scattered you have not brought back , nor have you sought for the lost ; but with force and with severity you have dominated them. 5 "They were scattered for lack of a shepherd , and they became food for every beast of the field and were scattered . 6 "My flock wandered through all the mountains and on every high hill ; My flock was scattered over all the surface of the earth , and there was no one to search or seek for them.""'

7 Therefore , you shepherds , hear the word of the Lord : 8 "As I live ," declares the Lord GOD , "surely e because My flock has become a prey , My flock has even become food for all the beasts 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 ; 9 therefore , you shepherds , hear the word of the Lord : 10 'Thus says the Lord GOD , "Behold , I am against the shepherds , and I will demand My sheep from them and make them cease from feeding sheep . So the shepherds will not feed themselves anymore , but I will deliver My flock from their mouth , so that they will not be food for them.""' 11 For thus says the Lord GOD , "Behold , I Myself will search for My sheep and seek them out. 12 " As a shepherd cares for his herd in the day when he is among his scattered sheep , so I will care for My sheep and will deliver them from all the places to which they were scattered on a cloudy and gloomy day . 13 "I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries and bring them to their own land ; and I will feed them on the mountains of Israel , by the streams , and in all the inhabited places of the land . 14 "I will feed them in a good pasture , and their grazing ground will be on the mountain heights of Israel . There they will lie down on good grazing ground and feed in rich pasture on the mountains of Israel . 15 "I will feed My flock and I will lead them to rest ," declares the Lord GOD . 16 "I will seek the lost , bring back the scattered , bind up the broken and strengthen the sick ; but the fat and the strong I will destroy . I will feed them with judgment .

17 "As for you, My flock , thus says the Lord GOD , 'Behold , I will judge between one sheep and another , between the rams and the male goats . 18 'Is it too slight a thing for you that you should feed in the good pasture , that you must tread down with your feet the rest of your pastures ? Or that you should drink of the clear waters , that you must foul the rest with your feet ? 19 'As for My flock , they must eat what you tread down with your feet and drink what you foul with your feet !' " 20 Therefore , thus says the Lord GOD to them, "Behold , I, even I, will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep . 21 "Because you push with side and with shoulder , and thrust at all the weak with your horns until e you have scattered them abroad , 22 therefore, I will deliver My flock , and they will no longer be a prey ; and I will judge between one sheep and another . 23 "Then I will set over them one shepherd , My servant David , and he will feed them; he will feed them himself and be their shepherd . 24 "And I, the Lord , will be their God , and My servant David will be prince among them; I the Lord have spoken . 25 "I will make a covenant of peace with them and eliminate harmful beasts from the land so that they may live securely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods . 26 "I will make them and the places around My hill a blessing . And I will cause showers to come down in their season ; they will be showers of blessing . 27 "Also the tree of the field will yield its fruit and the earth will yield its increase , and they will be secure on their land . Then they will know that I am the Lord , when I have broken the bars of their yoke and have delivered them from the hand of those who enslaved them. 28 "They will no longer be a prey to the nations , and the beasts of the earth will not devour them; but they will live securely , and no one will make them afraid . 29 "I will establish for them a renowned planting place , and they will not again be victims of famine in the land , and they will not endure the insults of the nations anymore . 30 "Then they will know that I, the Lord their God , am with them, and that they, the house of Israel , are My people ," declares the Lord GOD . 31 "As for you, My sheep , the sheep of My pasture , you are men , and I am your God ," declares the Lord GOD .