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.

¹ Contend, Yahweh, with those who contend with me. Fight against those who fight against me.

² Take hold of shield and buckler, and stand up for my help.

³ Brandish the spear and block those who pursue me. Tell my soul, "I am your salvation."

⁴ Let those who seek after my soul be disappointed and brought to dishonor. Let those who plot my ruin be turned back and confounded.

⁵ Let them be as chaff before the wind, Yahweh's angel driving them on.

⁶ Let their way be dark and slippery, Yahweh's angel pursuing them.

⁷ For without cause they have hidden their net in a pit for me. without cause they have dug a pit for my soul.

⁸ Let destruction come on him unawares. Let his net that he has hidden catch himself. Let him fall into that destruction.

⁹ My soul shall be joyful in Yahweh. It shall rejoice in his salvation.

¹⁰ All my bones shall say, "Yahweh, who is like you, who delivers the poor from him who is too strong for him; yes, the poor and the needy from him who robs him?"

¹¹ Unrighteous witnesses rise up. They ask me about things that I don't know about.

¹² They reward me evil for good, to the bereaving of my soul.

¹³ But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth. I afflicted my soul with fasting. My prayer returned into my own bosom.

¹⁴ I behaved myself as though it had been my friend or my brother. I bowed down mourning, as one who mourns his mother.

¹⁵ But in my adversity, they rejoiced, and gathered themselves together. The attackers gathered themselves together against me, and I didn't know it. They tore at me, and didn't cease.

¹⁶ Like the profane mockers in feasts, they gnashed their teeth at me.

¹⁷ Lord, how long will you look on? Rescue my soul from their destruction, my precious life from the lions.

¹⁸ I will give you thanks in the great assembly. I will praise you among many people.

¹⁹ Don't let those who are my enemies wrongfully rejoice over me; neither let those who hate me without a cause wink their eyes.

²⁰ For they don't speak peace, but they devise deceitful words against those who are quiet in the land.

²¹ Yes, they opened their mouth wide against me. They said, "Aha! Aha! Our eye has seen it!"

²² You have seen it, Yahweh. Don't keep silent. Lord, don't be far from me.

²³ Wake up! Rise up to defend me, my God! My Lord, contend for me!

²⁴ Vindicate me, Yahweh my God, according to your righteousness. Don't let them gloat over me.

²⁵ Don't let them say in their heart, "Aha! That's the way we want it!" Don't let them say, "We have swallowed him up!"

²⁶ Let them be disappointed and confounded together who rejoice at my calamity. Let them be clothed with shame and dishonor who magnify themselves against me.

²⁷ Let them shout for joy and be glad, who favor my righteous cause. Yes, let them say continually, "Yahweh be magnified, who has pleasure in the prosperity of his servant!"

²⁸ My tongue shall talk about your righteousness and about your praise all day long. For the Chief Musician. By David, the servant of Yahweh.