¹ The word of Yahweh came to me, saying,

² Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and tell them, even to the shepherds, Thus says the Lord Yahweh: Woe to the shepherds of Israel who feed themselves! Shouldn't the shepherds feed the sheep?

³ You eat the fat, and you clothe yourself with the wool, you kill the fatlings; but you don't feed the sheep.

⁴ You haven't strengthened the diseased, neither have you healed that which was sick, neither have you bound up that which was broken, neither have you brought back that which was driven away, neither have you sought that which was lost; but with force and with rigor you have ruled over them.

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

⁶ My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and on every high hill: yes, my sheep were scattered on all the surface of the earth; and there was none who searched or sought.

⁷ Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of Yahweh:

⁸ As I live, says the Lord Yahweh, surely because my sheep became a prey, and my sheep became food to all the animals of the field, because there was no shepherd, neither did my shepherds search for my sheep, but the shepherds fed themselves, and didn't feed my sheep;

⁹ therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of Yahweh:

¹⁰ Thus says the Lord Yahweh: 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 says the Lord Yahweh: Behold, I myself, even I, will search for my sheep, and will seek them out.

¹² As a shepherd seeks 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 where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day.

¹³ 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 on 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 on 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 on the mountains of Israel.

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

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 As for you, O my flock, thus says the Lord Yahweh: Behold, I judge between sheep and sheep, the rams and the male goats.

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

¹⁹ As for my sheep, they eat that which you have trodden with your feet, and they drink that which you have fouled with your feet.

²⁰ Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh to them: Behold, I, even I, will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep.

²¹ Because you thrust with side and with shoulder, and push all the diseased with your horns, until you 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 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 I, Yahweh, will be their God, and my servant David prince among them; I, Yahweh, have spoken it.

²⁵ I will make with them a covenant of peace, and will cause evil animals to cease out of the land; and they shall dwell securely in the wilderness, and sleep in the woods.

²⁶ I will make them and the places around my hill a blessing; and I will cause the shower to come down in its season; there shall be showers of blessing.

²⁷ 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 Yahweh, when I have broken the bars of their yoke, and have delivered them out of the hand of those who made slaves of them.

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

²⁹ I will raise up to 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 They shall know that I, Yahweh, their God am with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are my people, says the Lord Yahweh.

³¹ You my sheep, the sheep of my pasture, are men, and I am your God, says the Lord Yahweh.

⁹ Is my heritage to me as a speckled bird of prey? are the birds of prey against her all around? Go, assemble all the animals of the field, bring them to devour.

¹ Let God arise! Let his enemies be scattered! Let them who hate him also flee before him.

² As smoke is driven away, so drive them away. As wax melts before the fire, so let the wicked perish at the presence of God.

³ But let the righteous be glad. Let them rejoice before God. Yes, let them rejoice with gladness.

⁴ Sing to God! Sing praises to his name! Extol him who rides on the clouds: to Yah, his name! Rejoice before him!

⁵ A father of the fatherless, and a defender of the widows, is God in his holy habitation.

⁶ God sets the lonely in families. He brings out the prisoners with singing, but the rebellious dwell in a sun-scorched land.

⁷ God, when you went forth before your people, when you marched through the wilderness... Selah.

⁸ The earth trembled. The sky also poured down rain at the presence of the God of Sinai-- at the presence of God, the God of Israel.

⁹ You, God, sent a plentiful rain. You confirmed your inheritance, when it was weary.

¹⁰ Your congregation lived therein. You, God, prepared your goodness for the poor.

¹¹ The Lord announced the word. The ones who proclaim it are a great company.

¹² "Kings of armies flee! They flee!" She who waits at home divides the spoil,

¹³ while you sleep among the campfires, the wings of a dove sheathed with silver, her feathers with shining gold.

¹⁴ When the Almighty scattered kings in her, it snowed on Zalmon.

¹⁵ The mountains of Bashan are majestic mountains. The mountains of Bashan are rugged.

¹⁶ Why do you look in envy, you rugged mountains, at the mountain where God chooses to reign? Yes, Yahweh will dwell there forever.

¹⁷ The chariots of God are tens of thousands and thousands of thousands. The Lord is among them, from Sinai, into the sanctuary.

¹⁸ You have ascended on high. You have led away captives. You have received gifts among men, yes, among the rebellious also, that Yah God might dwell there.

¹⁹ Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears our burdens, even the God who is our salvation. Selah.

²⁰ God is to us a God of deliverance. To Yahweh, the Lord, belongs escape from death.

²¹ But God will strike through the head of his enemies, the hairy scalp of such a one as still continues in his guiltiness.

²² The Lord said, "I will bring you again from Bashan, I will bring you again from the depths of the sea;

²³ That you may crush them, dipping your foot in blood, that the tongues of your dogs may have their portion from your enemies."

²⁴ They have seen your processions, God, even the processions of my God, my King, into the sanctuary.

²⁵ The singers went before, the minstrels followed after, in the midst of the ladies playing with tambourines,

²⁶ "Bless God in the congregations, even the Lord in the assembly of Israel!"

²⁷ There is little Benjamin, their ruler, the princes of Judah, their council, the princes of Zebulun, and the princes of Naphtali.

²⁸ Your God has commanded your strength. Strengthen, God, that which you have done for us.

²⁹ Because of your temple at Jerusalem, kings shall bring presents to you.

³⁰ Rebuke the wild animal of the reeds, the multitude of the bulls, with the calves of the peoples. Being humbled, may it bring bars of silver. Scatter the nations that delight in war.

³¹ Princes shall come out of Egypt. Ethiopia shall hurry to stretch out her hands to God.

³² Sing to God, you kingdoms of the earth! Sing praises to the Lord! Selah.

³³ To him who rides on the heaven of heavens, which are of old; behold, he utters his voice, a mighty voice.

³⁴ Ascribe strength to God! His excellency is over Israel, his strength is in the skies.

³⁵ You are awesome, God, in your sanctuaries. The God of Israel gives strength and power to his people. Praise be to God! For the Chief Musician. To the tune of "Lilies." By David.