International Standard Version

King James Bible

1A message came from the LORD for me, and it had this to say:

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

2"Son of Man, prophesy against Israel's shepherds. Tell those shepherds, 'This is what the Lord GOD says: "Woe to you shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves and not the sheep. Shouldn't shepherds feed the sheep?

2Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD unto the shepherds; Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the flocks?

3You're eating the best parts, clothing yourselves with the wool, and slaughtering the home-grown sheep without having fed the sheep!

3Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed: but ye feed not the flock.

4You haven't strengthened the weak, treated the sick, set broken bones, regathered the scattered, or looked for the lost. Instead, you've dominated them with brutal force and ruthlessness.

4The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost; but with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them.

5"Since they have no shepherd, they have been scattered around and have become prey for all sorts of wild animals. How scattered they are!

5And they were scattered, because there is no shepherd: and they became meat to all the beasts of the field, when they were scattered.

6My sheep have gone wandering on all of the mountains, on all of the hills, and throughout every high place in the whole world, with no one to look for them or go out in search of them.

6My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and upon every high hill: yea, my flock was scattered upon all the face of the earth, and none did search or seek after them.

7"Therefore listen to what the LORD says, you shepherds:

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

8As certainly as I'm alive and living, my sheep have truly become victims, food for all of the wild animals because there are no shepherds. My shepherds did not go searching for my flock. Instead, the shepherds fed themselves, and my flock they would not feed!'

8As I live, saith the Lord GOD, surely because my flock became a prey, and my flock became meat to every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd, neither did my shepherds search for my flock, but the shepherds fed themselves, and fed not my flock;

9"Therefore, you shepherds, listen to what the LORD says:

9Therefore, O ye shepherds, hear the word of the LORD;

10This is what the Lord GOD says: "Watch out, I'm coming after you shepherds! I'm going to demand my sheep back from them and fire them as shepherds. The shepherds won't be shepherds anymore when I snatch my flock right out of their mouths so they can't be eaten by them anymore."'"

10Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against the shepherds; and I will require my flock at their hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the flock; neither shall the shepherds feed themselves any more; for I will deliver my flock from their mouth, that they may not be meat for them.

11"This is what the LORD says: 'Watch me! I'm going to search for my flock. I'll watch over them myself.

11For thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep, and seek them out.

12Just as a shepherd looks after his flock during the day time while he is with them, so also I'm going to watch over my sheep, delivering them from every place where they've been scattered during the times of gloom and doom.

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

13I'm going to bring them out from foreign nations and from foreign lands. Then I'll bring them to their own land and feed them in Israel—on the mountains, in their valleys, and in all of their settlements throughout the land.

13And I will bring them out from the people, and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land, and feed them upon the mountains of Israel by the rivers, and in all the inhabited places of the country.

14I'll feed them in excellent pastures, and even the very heights of Israel's mountains will serve as verdant pastures for them in which they'll rest and feed—yes, even on the fertile mountains of Israel!

14I will feed them in a good pasture, and upon the high mountains of Israel shall their fold be: there shall they lie in a good fold, and in a fat pasture shall they feed upon the mountains of Israel.

15I will feed my sheep and give them rest,' declares the Lord GOD.

15I will feed my flock, and I will cause them to lie down, saith the Lord GOD.

16I'm going to seek both the lost as well as the scattered, and bring them both back so their broken bones can be set and the sick can be healed. But in righteousness I'll exterminate the fat and the stiff-necked.'"

16I will seek that which was lost, and bring again 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 with judgment.

17"Now as for you, my flock, this is what the Lord GOD says: 'Watch out! I'm going to judge between one sheep and another, and between the rams and the goats.

17And as for you, O my flock, thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I judge between cattle and cattle, between the rams and the he goats.

18Is it such an insignificant thing to you that you're feeding in good pastures but trampling down the other pastures with your feet? Or that as you're drinking from the clear streams you're muddying the rest with your feet?

18Seemeth it a small thing unto you to have eaten up the good pasture, but ye must tread down with your feet the residue of your pastures? and to have drunk of the deep waters, but ye must foul the residue with your feet?

19My flock is grazing on what you've been treading down with your feet and they're drinking what you've been making muddy with your feet!'

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

20"Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says to them: 'Watch me! I'm going to judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep,

20Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD unto them; Behold, I, even I, will judge between the fat cattle and between the lean cattle.

21since you've been bumping aside all the weaker sheep with your backsides and shoulders, butting them with your horns until they're scattered around outside.

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

22That's how I'll save my sheep so they won't be plundered any longer. I'm going to judge between one sheep and another.'"

22Therefore will I save my flock, and they shall no more be a prey; and I will judge between cattle and cattle.

23"'Then I'll install one shepherd for them—my servant David—and he will feed them, will be there for them, and will serve as their shepherd.

23And 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.

24I, the LORD, will be their God, and my servant David will rule among them as Prince.' I, the LORD, have spoken this.

24And I the LORD will be their God, and my servant David a prince among them; I the LORD have spoken it.

25"I'm going to enter into a covenant with them, one of peace, and I'll eliminate wild beasts from the land so they can live securely in the wilderness and sleep in the forests.

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

26I'm going to make them and everything that surrounds my hill a blessing. I'll send down the rain! At the appropriate time there will be a rainstorm of blessing!

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

27I'll bring fruit to the trees in the orchards, the land will yield its produce, they will live securely on their land, and they will learn that I am the LORD, when I break the bar that has been their yoke and deliver them from the control of those who have enslaved them.

27And the tree of the field shall yield her fruit, and the earth shall yield her increase, and they shall be safe in their land, and shall know that I am the LORD, when I have broken the bands of their yoke, and delivered them out of the hand of those that served themselves of them.

28They will no longer be plundered by the nations, and wild animals will no longer devour them. They will settle down confidently, with nothing to frighten them.

28And they shall no more be a prey to the heathen, neither shall the beast of the land devour them; but they shall dwell safely, and none shall make them afraid.

29I'm going to prepare for them the best of gardening spots. They will no longer live as victims in a land of starvation, nor will they have to bear the insults of the international community.

29And I will raise up for them a plant of renown, and they shall be no more consumed with hunger in the land, neither bear the shame of the heathen any more.

30That's when they'll learn that I, the LORD their God, am with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are my people,' declares the Lord GOD.

30Thus shall they know that I the LORD their God am with them, and that they, even the house of Israel, are my people, saith the Lord GOD.

31And as for you, my sheep, the flock that I'm pasturing, you are mankind, and I am your God,' declares the Lord GOD."

31And ye my flock, the flock of my pasture, are men, and I am your God, saith the Lord GOD.

The Holy Bible: International Standard Version® Release 2.1 Copyright © 1996-2012 The ISV Foundation ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY.

King James Bible, text courtesy of BibleProtector.com.