Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 2 “Son of man, prophesy against the ^ashepherds of Israel. Prophesy and say to ¹those shepherds, ‘This is what the Lord ²GOD says: “Woe, shepherds of Israel who have been ^3bfeeding themselves! Should the shepherds not ^4cfeed the flock? 3 You ^aeat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool, you ^bslaughter the fat sheep ¹without feeding the flock. 4 Those who are sickly you have not strengthened, the diseased you have not healed, ^athe broken you have not bound up, the scattered you have not brought back, nor have you ^bsearched for the lost; but with force and with violence you have ¹dominated them. 5 They ^ascattered for lack of a shepherd, and they became ^bfood for every animal of the field and scattered. 6 My flock ^astrayed through all the mountains and on every high hill; ^bMy flock was scattered over all the surface of the earth, and there was ^cno 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, “certainly, because My flock has become ^aplunder, 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, 9 therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD: 10 ‘This is what the Lord GOD says: “Behold, I am ^aagainst the shepherds, and I will demand My ¹sheep ²from them and make them ^bstop tending sheep. So the shepherds will not ³feed themselves anymore, but I will ^csave My sheep from their mouth, so that they will not be food for them.”’”

11 For the Lord GOD says this: “Behold, I Myself will ^asearch for My sheep and look after them. 12 ^aAs a shepherd cares for his flock on a day when he is among his scattered ¹sheep, so I will ^bcare for My ²sheep and will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on a ^ccloudy 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 ^afeed them on the mountains of Israel, by the ^bstreams, and in all the inhabited places of the land. 14 I will feed them in a ^agood 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 ^1brich pasture on the mountains of Israel. 15 I Myself will ^afeed My flock and I Myself will ¹lead 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 ^afat and the strong I will eliminate. I will ^bfeed them with judgment.

17 “As for you, My flock, this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Behold, I am going to ^ajudge between one ¹sheep and another, between the rams and the male goats. 18 Is it too ^alittle a thing for you to feed in the good pasture, that you must trample with your feet the rest of your pastures? Or too little for you to drink the clear waters, that you must muddy the rest with your feet? 19 But as for My flock, they must eat what you trample with your feet, and drink what you muddy with your feet!’”

20 Therefore, this is what the Lord GOD says to them: “Behold, I, I Myself will also judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. 21 Since you push away with your side and shoulder, and ^agore all the ¹weak with your horns until you have scattered them ²abroad, 22 therefore, I will ^asave My flock, and they will no longer be plunder; and I will judge between one sheep and another.

23 “Then I will ^aappoint over them one ^bshepherd, My servant ^cDavid, 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 ^aDavid will be prince among them; I the LORD have spoken.

25 “And I will make a ^acovenant of peace with them and ^beliminate harmful animals from the land, so that they may ^clive securely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods. 26 I will make them and the places around My hill a ^ablessing. And I will make ^bshowers fall in their season; they will be showers of ^cblessing. 27 Also the tree of the field will yield its fruit and the earth will yield its produce, and they will be ^asecure on their land. Then they will know that I am the LORD, when I have ^bbroken the bars of their yoke and have saved them from the hand of those who enslaved them. 28 They will no longer be plunder to the nations, and the animals of the earth will not devour them; but they will ^alive securely, and no one will make them afraid. 29 I will establish for them a ^arenowned planting place, and they will ^bnot again be ¹victims of famine in the land, and they will not ^cendure the insults of the nations anymore. 30 Then they will know that ^aI, 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 ^asheep, ¹the ^bsheep of My pasture, you are mankind, and I am your God,” declares the Lord GOD.