¹ And the word of Jehovah came to me, saying:

² Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy, and say to them, to the shepherds, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Woe to the shepherds of Israel, who feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flocks?

³ Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill that which is fatted; but ye feed not the flock.

⁴ The weak do ye not strengthen, and the sick do ye not heal, and the wounded do ye not bind up; ye bring not back that which hath been driven away, neither seek ye that which hath been lost; but with force and with cruelty do ye rule them.

⁵ Therefore are they scattered abroad, because there is no shepherd, and they are food to all the beasts of the field, or are scattered abroad.

⁶ My sheep wander through all the mountains, and upon every high hill; yea, over the whole face of the land is my flock scattered, and none careth for them, or seeketh them.

⁷ Therefore, ye shepherds, hear the word of Jehovah:

⁸ As I live, saith the Lord Jehovah, surely, because my flock is become a prey, and my flock is become meat to all the beasts of the field because there is no shepherd, and because my shepherds search not for my flock, and feed themselves, and feed not my flock,—

⁹ therefore, ye shepherds, hear the word of Jehovah.

¹⁰ Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: 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, and they shall not be meat for them.

¹¹ For thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold I, even I, will seek my flock, and look after them;

¹² as a shepherd looketh after his flock in the day when he is among his sheep that are scattered, so will I look after my sheep, and will deliver them out of all the places where they have been scattered in the day of clouds and darkness.

¹³ And I will bring them out from the nations, and gather them from the countries; and I will bring them to their own land, and feed them upon the mountains of Israel, in the valleys, and in all the dwelling-places of the land.

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

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

¹⁶ I will seek that which was lost, and bring back that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen the sick; but the fat and the strong will I destroy; I will feed them as they deserve.

¹⁷ And as for you, O my sheep, thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I will judge between the weak of the flock and the strong ones, even the rams and the he-goats.

¹⁸ Seemeth it a small thing to you to eat up the good pasture, but ye must tread down with your feet the residue of your pastures? and to drink of the clear waters, but ye must foul the residue with your feet?

¹⁹ and that my sheep eat that which ye have trodden with your feet, and drink that which ye have fouled with your feet?

²⁰ Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah to them: Behold I, even I, will judge between the fat and the lean of the flock.

²¹ Because ye thrust with your side and with your shoulder, and push all the weak with your horns, till ye scatter them abroad,

²² therefore will I save my sheep, and they shall no more be a prey; and I will judge between sheep and sheep.

²³ And I will raise up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd.

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

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

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

²⁷ And the tree of the field shall yield her fruit, and the earth shall yield her increase; and they shall be secure in their land, and shall know that I am Jehovah, when I shall break the bands of their yoke and deliver them out of the hand of them that made them servants.

²⁸ And they shall no more be a prey to the nations, neither shall the beasts of the land devour them; but they shall dwell in security, and none shall make them afraid.

²⁹ And I will raise up for them a plantation for my glory; and they shall no more be consumed with hunger in the land, neither shall they bear the reproach of the nations any more.

³⁰ Then shall they know, that I, Jehovah, their God, am with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are my people, saith the Lord Jehovah.

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