Immerse: Prophets - Flipbook - Page 385
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all these terrible things happen to them—as they certainly will—then they
will know a prophet has been among them.”
Then this message came to me from the Lord: “Son of man, prophesy
against the shepherds, the leaders of Israel. Give them this message from
the Sovereign Lord: What sorrow awaits you shepherds who feed your
selves instead of your flocks. Shouldn’t shepherds feed their sheep? You
drink the milk, wear the wool, and butcher the best animals, but you let
your flocks starve. You have not taken care of the weak. You have not
tended the sick or bound up the injured. You have not gone looking for
those who have wandered away and are lost. Instead, you have ruled them
with harshness and cruelty. So my sheep have been scattered without a
shepherd, and they are easy prey for any wild animal. They have wandered
through all the mountains and all the hills, across the face of the earth, yet
no one has gone to search for them.
“Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: As surely as I
live, says the Sovereign Lord, you abandoned my flock and left them to
be attacked by every wild animal. And though you were my shepherds,
you didn’t search for my sheep when they were lost. You took care of your
selves and left the sheep to starve. Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word
of the Lord. This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I now consider these
shepherds my enemies, and I will hold them responsible for what has
happened to my flock. I will take away their right to feed the flock, and I
will stop them from feeding themselves. I will rescue my flock from their
mouths; the sheep will no longer be their prey.
“For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I myself will search and find
my sheep. I will be like a shepherd looking for his scattered flock. I will find
my sheep and rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on
that dark and cloudy day. I will bring them back home to their own land of
Israel from among the peoples and nations. I will feed them on the moun
tains of Israel and by the rivers and in all the places where people live. Yes,
I will give them good pastureland on the high hills of Israel. There they
will lie down in pleasant places and feed in the lush pastures of the hills.
I myself will tend my sheep and give them a place to lie down in peace,
says the Sovereign Lord. I will search for my lost ones who strayed away,
and I will bring them safely home again. I will bandage the injured and
strengthen the weak. But I will destroy those who are fat and powerful. I
will feed them, yes—feed them justice!
“And as for you, my flock, this is what the Sovereign Lord says to
his people: I will judge between one animal of the flock and another,
