The Lord God Will Seek Them Out

¹¹ “For thus says the Lord God: ^(A)Behold, I, I ^(B)myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out. ¹² As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, so will I seek out my sheep, and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on ^(C)a day of clouds and ^(D)thick darkness. ¹³ And I will bring them out from the peoples ^(E)and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land. And I will feed them on ^(F)the mountains of Israel, by the ravines, and in all the inhabited places of the country. ^14 (G)I will feed them with good pasture, and on the mountain heights of Israel shall be their grazing land. ^(H)There they shall lie down in good grazing land, and on rich pasture they shall feed on the mountains of Israel. ^15 (I)I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, ^(J)and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord God. ^16 (K)I will seek the lost, ^(L)and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, and ^(M)the fat and the strong I will destroy.^[a] I will feed them in justice.

¹⁷ “As for you, my flock, thus says the Lord God: ^(N)Behold, I judge between sheep and sheep, between rams and ^(O)male goats. ¹⁸ Is it not enough for you to feed on the good pasture, that you must tread down with your feet the rest of your pasture; and to drink of ^(P)clear water, that you must muddy the rest of the water with your feet? ¹⁹ And must my sheep eat what you have trodden with your feet, and drink what you have muddied with your feet?

²⁰ “Therefore, thus says the Lord God to them: Behold, I, I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. ²¹ Because you push with side and shoulder, and ^(Q)thrust at all the ^(R)weak with your horns, till you have scattered them abroad, ²² I will rescue^[b] my flock; ^(S)they shall no longer be a prey. And I will judge between sheep and sheep. ²³ And ^(T)I will set up over them one shepherd, ^(U)my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd. ²⁴ And ^(V)I, the Lord, will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince among them. ^(W)I am the Lord; I have spoken.