- 1
- Open thy doors, O Lebanon, that the fire may devour thy cedars.
- 2
- Wail, O cypress-tree, for the cedar is fallen;
because the glorious ones are spoiled;
wail, O ye oaks of Bashan, for the strong forest is come down.
- 3
- Hark!
the wailing of the shepherds, for their glory is spoiled;
Hark!
the roaring of young lions, for the thickets of the Jordan are spoiled.
- 4
- Thus said the LORD my God: "Feed the flock of slaughter;
- 5
- whose buyers slay them, and hold themselves not guilty;
and they that sell them say: Blessed be the LORD, for I am rich;
and their own shepherds pity them not.
- 6
- For I will no more pity the inhabitants of the land, saith the LORD;
but, lo, I will deliver the men every one into his neighbour"s hand, and into the hand of his king;
and they shall smite the land, and out of their hand I will not deliver them."
- 7
- So I fed the flock of slaughter, verily the poor of the flock.
And I took unto me two staves;
the one I called Graciousness, and the other I called Binders;
and I fed the flock.
- 8
- And I cut off the three shepherds in one month;
"for My soul became impatient of them, and their soul also loathed Me."
- 9
- Then said I: "I will not feed you;
that which dieth, let it die;
and that which is to be cut off, let it be cut off;
and let them that are left eat every one the flesh of another."
- 10
- And I took my staff Graciousness, and cut it asunder, "that I might break My covenant which I had made with all the peoples."
- 11
- And it was broken in that day;
and the poor of the flock that gave heed unto me knew of a truth that it was the word of the LORD.
- 12
- And I said unto them: "If ye think good, give me my hire;
and if not, forbear." So they weighed for my hire thirty pieces of silver.
- 13
- And the LORD said unto me: "Cast it into the treasury, the goodly price that I was prized at of them." And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them into the treasury, in the house of the LORD.
- 14
- Then I cut asunder mine other staff, even Binders, that the brotherhood between Judah and Israel might be broken.
- 15
- And the LORD said unto me: "Take unto thee yet the instruments of a foolish shepherd.
- 16
- For, lo, I will raise up a shepherd in the land, who will not think of those that are cut off, neither will seek those that are young, nor heal that which is broken;
neither will he feed that which standeth still, but he will eat the flesh of the fat, and will break their hoofs in pieces."
- 17
- Woe to the worthless shepherd that leaveth the flock!
The sword shall be upon his arm, and upon his right eye;
his arm shall be clean dried up, and his right eye shall be utterly darkened.
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