¹ And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,

² Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, even to the shepherds, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Woe unto the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the sheep?

³ Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill the fatlings; but ye feed not the sheep.

⁴ The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither have ye brought back that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost; but with force and with rigor have ye ruled over them.

⁵ And they were scattered, because there was no shepherd; and they became food to all the beasts of the field, and were scattered.

⁶ My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and upon every high hill: yea, my sheep were scattered upon all the face of the earth; and there was none that did search or seek [after them].

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

⁸ As I live, saith the Lord Jehovah, surely forasmuch as my sheep became a prey, and my sheep became food to all the beasts of the field, because there was no shepherd, neither did my shepherds search for my sheep, but the shepherds fed themselves, and fed not my sheep;

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 sheep at their hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the sheep; neither shall the shepherds feed themselves any more; and I will deliver my sheep from their mouth, that they may not be food for them.

¹¹ For thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I myself, even I, will search for my sheep, and will seek them out.

¹² As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered abroad, so will I seek out my sheep; and I will deliver them out of all places whither they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day.

¹³ And I will bring them out from the peoples, and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land; and I will feed them upon the mountains of Israel, by the watercourses, and in all the inhabited places of the country.

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

¹⁵ I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I will cause them to lie down, saith the Lord Jehovah.

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

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

¹⁸ Seemeth it a small thing unto you to have fed upon the good pasture, but ye must tread down with your feet the residue of your pasture? and to have drunk of the clear waters, but ye must foul the residue with your feet?

¹⁹ And as for my sheep, they eat that which ye have trodden with your feet, and they drink that which ye have fouled with your feet.

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

²¹ Because ye thrust with side and with shoulder, and push all the diseased with your horns, till ye have scattered them abroad;

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

²³ And I will set 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 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; and they shall dwell securely in the wilderness, 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; there shall be showers of blessing.

²⁷ And the tree of the field shall yield its fruit, and the earth shall yield its increase, and they shall be secure in their land; and they shall know that I am Jehovah, when I have broken the bars of their yoke, and have delivered them out of the hand of those that made bondmen of them.

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

²⁹ And I will raise up unto them a plantation for renown, and they shall be no more consumed with famine in the land, neither bear the shame of the nations any more.

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

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

¹ You therefore, my child, be strengthened in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.

² The things which you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit the same to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also.

³ You therefore must endure hardship, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.

⁴ No soldier on duty entangles himself in the affairs of life, that he may please him who enrolled him as a soldier.

⁵ Also, if anyone competes in athletics, he isn't crowned unless he has competed by the rules.

⁶ The farmers who labor must be the first to get a share of the crops.

⁷ Consider what I say, and may the Lord give you understanding in all things.

⁸ Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, of the seed of David, according to my Good News,

⁹ in which I suffer hardship to the point of chains as a criminal. But God's word isn't chained.

¹⁰ Therefore I endure all things for the chosen ones' sake, that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.

¹¹ This saying is faithful: "For if we died with him, we will also live with him.

¹² If we endure, we will also reign with him. If we deny him, he also will deny us.

¹³ If we are faithless, he remains faithful. He can't deny himself."

¹⁴ Remind them of these things, charging them in the sight of the Lord, that they don't argue about words, to no profit, to the subverting of those who hear.

¹⁵ Give diligence to present yourself approved by God, a workman who doesn't need to be ashamed, properly handling the Word of Truth.

¹⁶ But shun empty chatter, for they will proceed further in ungodliness,

¹⁷ and their word will consume like gangrene, of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus;

¹⁸ men who have erred concerning the truth, saying that the resurrection is already past, and overthrowing the faith of some.

¹⁹ However God's firm foundation stands, having this seal, "The Lord knows those who are his," and, "Let every one who names the name of the Lord depart from unrighteousness."

²⁰ Now in a large house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of clay. Some are for honor, and some for dishonor.

²¹ If anyone therefore purges himself from these, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, and suitable for the master's use, prepared for every good work.

²² Flee from youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.

²³ But refuse foolish and ignorant questionings, knowing that they generate strife.

²⁴ The Lord's servant must not quarrel, but be gentle towards all, able to teach, patient,

²⁵ in gentleness correcting those who oppose him: perhaps God may give them repentance leading to a full knowledge of the truth,

²⁶ and they may recover themselves out of the devil's snare, having been taken captive by him to his will.