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And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:
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“Son of man, prophesy about the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy, and you shall say to the shepherds: Thus says the Lord God: Woe to the shepherds of Israel who feed themselves! Should not the flocks be fed by the shepherds?(a)
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You consumed the milk, and you covered yourselves with the wool, and you killed what was fattened. But my flock you did not feed.
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What was weak, you have not strengthened, and what was sick, you have not healed. What was broken, you have not bound, and what was cast aside, you have not led back again, and what was lost, you have not sought. Instead, you ruled over them with severity and with power.
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And my sheep were scattered, because there was no shepherd. And they became devoured by all the wild beasts of the field, and they were dispersed.
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My sheep have wandered to every mountain and to every exalted hill. And my flocks have been scattered across the face of the earth. And there was no one who sought them; there was no one, I say, who sought them.
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Because of this, O shepherds, listen to the word of the Lord:
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As I live, says the Lord God, since my flocks have become a prey, and my sheep have been devoured by all the wild beasts of the field, since there was no shepherd, for my shepherds did not seek my flock, but instead the shepherds fed themselves, and they did not feed my flocks:
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because of this, O shepherds, listen to the word of the Lord:
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Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I myself will be over the shepherds. I will require my flock at their hand, and I will cause them to cease, so that they no longer refrain from feeding the flock. Neither will the shepherds feed themselves any more. And I will deliver my flock from their mouth; and it will no longer be food for them.
The Good Shepherd
(Psalm 23:1–6; John 10:1–21)
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For thus says the Lord God: Behold, I myself will seek my sheep, and I myself will visit them.
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Just as a shepherd visits his flock, in the day when he will be in the midst of his sheep that were scattered, so will I visit my sheep. And I will deliver them from all the places to which they had been scattered in the day of gloom and darkness.
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And I will lead them away from the peoples, and I will gather them from the lands, and I will bring them into their own land. And I will pasture them on the mountains of Israel, by the rivers, and in all the settlements of the land.
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I will feed them in very fertile pastures, and their pastures will be on the lofty mountains of Israel. There they will rest on the green grass, and they will be fed in the fat pastures, on the mountains of Israel.
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I will feed my sheep, and I will cause them to lie down, says the Lord God.
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I will seek what had been lost. And I will lead back again what had been cast aside. And I will bind up what had been broken. And I will strengthen what had been infirm. And I will preserve what was fat and strong. And I will feed them on judgment.
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But as for you, O my flocks, thus says the Lord God: Behold, I judge between cattle and cattle, among rams and among he-goats.
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Was it not enough for you to feed upon good pastures? For you even trample with your feet upon the remainder of your pastures. And when you drank the purist water, you disturbed the remainder with your feet.
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And my sheep were pastured from what you had trampled with your feet, and they drank from what your feet had disturbed.
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Because of this, thus says the Lord God to you: Behold, I myself am judging between the fat cattle and the lean.
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For you have pushed with your sides and shoulders, and you have threatened all the weak cattle with your horns, until they were scattered abroad.
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I will save my flock, and it will no longer be a prey, and I will judge between cattle and cattle.
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And I will raise up over them ONE SHEPHERD, who will feed them, my servant David. He himself will feed them, and he will be their shepherd.(b) (c)
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And I, the Lord, will be their God. And my servant David will be the leader in their midst. I, the Lord, have spoken.
The Covenant of Peace
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And I will make a covenant of peace with them. And I will cause the very harmful beasts to cease from the land. And those who are living in the desert will sleep securely in the forests.
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And I will make them a blessing all around my hill. And I will send the rain in due time; there will be showers of blessing.
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And the tree of the field will yield its fruit, and the land will yield its crop. And they will be in their own land without fear. And they shall know that I am the Lord, when I will have crushed the chains of their yoke, and when I will have rescued them from the hand of those who rule over them.
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And they will no longer be a prey to the Gentiles, nor will the wild beasts of the earth devour them. Instead, they will live in confidence without any terror.
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And I will raise up for them a renowned branch. And they will be no longer be diminished by famine in the land, nor will they carry any longer the reproach of the Gentiles.(d)
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And they shall know that I, the Lord their God, am with them, and that they are my people, the house of Israel, says the Lord God.
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For you are my flocks; the flocks of my pasture are men. And I am the Lord your God, says the Lord God.”
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