The Redeemer of Zion

²⁴ “Son of man, say to her: ‘You are a land that is ^(A)not ^[a]cleansed or rained on in the day of indignation.’ ^25 (B)The conspiracy of her ^[b]prophets in her midst is like a roaring lion tearing the prey; they ^(C)have devoured ^[c]people; ^(D)they have taken treasure and precious things; they have made many widows in her midst. ^26 (E)Her priests have ^[d]violated My law and ^(F)profaned My holy things; they have not ^(G)distinguished between the holy and unholy, nor have they made known the difference between the unclean and the clean; and they have hidden their eyes from My Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them. ²⁷ Her ^(H)princes in her midst are like wolves tearing the prey, to shed blood, to destroy ^[e]people, and to get dishonest gain. ^28 (I)Her prophets plastered them with untempered mortar, ^(J)seeing false visions, and divining ^(K)lies for them, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord God,’ when the Lord had not spoken.

⁷ ‘Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: ⁸ “As I live,” says the Lord God, “surely because My flock became a prey, and My flock ^(A)became food for every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd, nor did My shepherds search for My flock, ^(B)but the shepherds fed themselves and did not feed My flock”— ⁹ therefore, O shepherds, hear the word of the Lord! ¹⁰ Thus says the Lord God: “Behold, I am ^(C)against the shepherds, and ^(D)I will require My flock at their hand; I will cause them to cease feeding the sheep, and the shepherds shall ^(E)feed themselves no more; for I will ^(F)deliver My flock from their mouths, that they may no longer be food for them.”

God, the True Shepherd

¹¹ ‘For thus says the Lord God: “Indeed I Myself will search for My sheep and seek them out. ¹² As a ^(G)shepherd seeks out his flock on the day he is among his scattered sheep, so will I seek out My sheep and deliver them from all the places where they were scattered on ^(H)a cloudy and dark day. ¹³ And ^(I)I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land; I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, ^[a]in the valleys and in all the inhabited places of the country. ^14 (J)I will feed them in good pasture, and their fold shall be on the high mountains of Israel. ^(K)There they shall lie down in a good fold and feed in rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. ¹⁵ I will feed My flock, and I will make them lie down,” says the Lord God. ^16 (L)“I will seek what was lost and bring back what was driven away, bind up the broken and strengthen what was sick; but I will destroy ^(M)the fat and the strong, and feed them ^(N)in judgment.”

²⁸ And they shall no longer be a prey for the nations, nor shall beasts of the land devour them; but ^(A)they shall dwell safely, and no one shall make them afraid.