Son of man, prophesyagainst the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say untothem, Thussaith the Lord GOD unto the shepherds; Woe be to the shepherds of Israelthat do feedthemselves! should not the shepherdsfeed the flocks?
The diseasedhave ye not strengthened, neitherhave ye healedthatwhich was sick, neitherhave ye bound up thatwhich was broken, neitherhave ye broughtagainthatwhich was drivenaway, neitherhave ye soughtthatwhich was lost; but withforce and withcrueltyhave ye ruledthem.
My sheepwanderedthrough all the mountains, and uponeveryhighhill: yea, my flock was scatteredupon all the face of the earth, and none did search or seekafterthem.
As I live, saith the Lord GOD, surelybecause my flockbecame a prey, and my flockbecamemeat to everybeast of the field, becausethere was no shepherd, neither did my shepherdssearch for my flock, but the shepherds fed themselves, and fed not my flock;
Thussaith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against the shepherds; and I willrequire my flock at theirhand, and causethem to ceasefromfeeding the flock; neithershall the shepherdsfeedthemselves any more; for I willdeliver my flockfromtheirmouth, thatthey may not be meat for them.
As a shepherdseeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheepthat are scattered; so will I seek out my sheep, and willdeliverthem out of all placeswheretheyhavebeenscattered in the cloudy and dark day.
And I willbringthem out from the people, and gatherthemfrom the countries, and willbringthem to their own land, and feedthemupon the mountains of Israel by the rivers, and in all the inhabitedplaces of the country.
I willfeedthem in a goodpasture, and upon the highmountains of Israelshalltheirfold be: thereshallthey lie in a goodfold, and in a fat pastureshalltheyfeedupon the mountains of Israel.
I willseekthatwhich was lost, and bringagainthatwhich was drivenaway, and willbind up thatwhich was broken, and willstrengthenthatwhich was sick: but I willdestroy the fat and the strong; I willfeedthemwithjudgment.
Seemeth it a smallthingunto you to haveeaten up the goodpasture, but ye musttreaddownwithyourfeet the residue of yourpastures? and to havedrunk of the deepwaters, but ye mustfoul the residuewithyourfeet?
And I willmakewiththem a covenant of peace, and willcause the evilbeasts to cease out of the land: and theyshalldwellsafely in the wilderness, and sleep in the woods.
And I willmakethem and the placesroundabout my hill a blessing; and I willcause the shower to comedown in his season; thereshall be showers of blessing.
And the tree of the fieldshallyield her fruit, and the earthshallyield her increase, and theyshall be safe in theirland, and shallknowthat I am the LORD, when I havebroken the bands of theiryoke, and deliveredthem out of the hand of thosethatservedthemselves of them.