1The word of Yahweh came to me, saying,
2“Son of Man, speak against the leaders of Israel, speak and tell them, the shepherds, ‘This is what the Lord Yahweh says: How terrible for the shepherds of Israel who feed only themselves! Shouldn’t shepherds feed their sheep?’
3You consume the fat, you dress yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fattest animals, but you don't feed the sheep.
4You haven't strengthened the sick, healed the injured, bandaged the broken, brought back the strays, or searched for the lost. Instead, you have ruled them with force and cruelty.
5So they were scattered because there was no shepherd. They became food for all the wild animals and were dispersed.
6My sheep wandered across all the mountains and every high hill. Yes, my sheep were scattered all over the face of the earth, and no one searched or looked for them.
7Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of Yahweh:
8“As surely as I live, declares the Lord Yahweh, because my sheep have become prey and food for all the wild animals since there was no shepherd, and because my shepherds didn't search for my sheep but instead fed themselves and not my sheep,
9therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of Yahweh:
10‘This is what the Lord Yahweh says: Look, I am against the shepherds! I will demand my sheep back from them and stop them from feeding the sheep. The shepherds will no longer feed themselves. I will rescue my sheep from their mouths so they won't be food for them.’
11For this is what the Lord Yahweh says: ‘Look, I myself will search for my sheep and look after them.’
12‘Just as a shepherd looks for his scattered flock when he is among them, so I will look for my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on that cloudy and dark day.’
13I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries. I will bring them back to their own land. I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the streams, and in all the inhabited areas of the country.
14I will feed them in good pastures, and their resting place will be on the high mountains of Israel. There they will lie down in a good and safe place, and they will feed on rich pastures on the mountains of Israel.
15I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I will make them lie down in peace, says the Lord Yahweh.
16I will search for the lost, bring back those that wandered off, bandage the injured, and strengthen the weak. But I will destroy the fat and the strong; I will feed them with justice.
17As for you, my flock, this is what the Lord Yahweh says: Look, I will judge between sheep and sheep, between rams and male goats.
18Is it not enough for you to have fed on the good pasture? Must you also trample down the rest of the pasture with your feet? Is it not enough to have drunk clear water? Must you also muddy the rest with your feet?
19My sheep have to eat what you have trampled with your feet, and drink what you have muddied with your feet.
20Therefore, this is what the Lord Yahweh says to them: Look, I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the thin sheep.
21Because you shove with your sides and shoulders, and push all the weak sheep with your horns until you have scattered them far away,
22therefore I will save my flock, and they will no longer be prey. I will judge between sheep and sheep.
23I will appoint one shepherd over them, my servant David, and he will feed them. He will feed them and be their shepherd.
24I, Yahweh, will be their God, and my servant David will be a prince among them. I, Yahweh, have spoken it.
25I will make a covenant of peace with them and remove dangerous animals from the land. They will live safely in the wilderness and sleep in the forests.
26I will make them and the areas around my hill a blessing. I will send the rain in its season; there will be refreshing showers of blessing.
27The trees of the field will produce their fruit, and the earth will yield its harvest. They will be secure in their land, and they will know that I am Yahweh when I break the bars of their yoke and rescue them from the power of those who enslaved them.
28They will no longer be a target for other nations, nor will wild animals eat them. They will live safely, and no one will make them afraid.
29I will provide them with a famous pasture, and they will no longer suffer from famine in the land or endure the shame from other nations.
30Then they will know that I, Yahweh, their God, am with them, and that they, the people of Israel, are my people, says the Lord Yahweh.
31You, my sheep, the sheep of my pasture, are human beings, and I am your God, says the Lord Yahweh.