Ezekiel 34:15

“Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy, and tell them, even the shepherds, ‘The Lord Yahweh says: “Woe to the shepherds of Israel who feed themselves! Shouldn’t the shepherds feed the sheep?

I will set up shepherds over them, who will feed them. They will no longer be afraid or dismayed, neither will any be lacking,” says Yahweh.

He gave some to be apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, shepherds and teachers;

“ ‘I will make with them a covenant of peace, and will cause evil animals to cease out of the land. They will dwell securely in the wilderness, and sleep in the woods.

Take heed, therefore, to yourselves, and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the assembly of the Lord and God which he purchased with his own blood.

I laid myself down and slept. I awakened; for Yahweh sustains me.

When you walk, it will lead you. When you sleep, it will watch over you. When you awake, it will talk with you.

I have other sheep, which are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will hear my voice. They will become one flock with one shepherd.

In times past, when Saul was king over us, it was you who led Israel out and in. Yahweh said to you, ‘You will be shepherd of my people Israel, and you will be prince over Israel.’ ”

In peace I will both lay myself down and sleep, for you, Yahweh alone, make me live in safety.

He will judge between the nations, and will decide concerning many peoples. They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.

He will feed his flock like a shepherd. He will gather the lambs in his arm, and carry them in his bosom. He will gently lead those who have their young.

In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell safely. This is his name by which he will be called: Yahweh our righteousness.

The coast will be for the remnant of the house of Judah. They will find pasture. In the houses of Ashkelon, they will lie down in the evening, for Yahweh, their God, will visit them, and restore them.

I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

In their mouth was found no lie, for they are blameless.

“ ‘I will give peace in the land, and you shall lie down, and no one will make you afraid. I will remove evil animals out of the land, neither shall the sword go through your land.

In all places in which I have walked with all Israel, did I speak a word with any of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to be shepherd of my people, saying, ‘Why have you not built me a house of cedar?’ ” ’

For you will be allied with the stones of the field. The animals of the field will be at peace with you.

It is vain for you to rise up early, to stay up late, eating the bread of toil, for he gives sleep to his loved ones.

The sleep of a laboring man is sweet, whether he eats little or much; but the abundance of the rich will not allow him to sleep.

The wolf will live with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the young goat, the calf, the young lion, and the fattened calf together; and a little child will lead them.

The cities of Aroer are forsaken. They will be for flocks, which shall lie down, and no one shall make them afraid.

For Yahweh says concerning the house of the king of Judah: “You are Gilead to me, the head of Lebanon. Yet surely I will make you a wilderness, cities which are not inhabited.

but they will serve Yahweh their God, and David their king, whom I will raise up to them.

On this I awakened, and saw; and my sleep was sweet to me.

and I will make that which was lame a remnant, and that which was cast far off a strong nation: and Yahweh will reign over them on Mount Zion from then on, even forever.”

I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem; and the battle bow will be cut off; and he will speak peace to the nations: and his dominion will be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.

For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision amounts to anything, nor uncircumcision, but faith working through love.

Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ with incorruptible love. Amen.

We proclaim him, admonishing every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus;

We love him, because he first loved us.

But now your kingdom will not continue. Yahweh has sought for himself a man after his own heart, and Yahweh has appointed him to be prince over his people, because you have not kept that which Yahweh commanded you.”

In times past, even when Saul was king, it was you who led out and brought in Israel. Yahweh your God said to you, ‘You shall be shepherd of my people Israel, and you shall be prince over my people Israel.’ ”

According to the good hand of our God on us they brought us a man of discretion, of the sons of Mahli, the son of Levi, the son of Israel; and Sherebiah, with his sons and his brothers, eighteen;

Also you will lie down, and no one will make you afraid. Yes, many will court your favor.

He makes wars cease to the end of the earth. He breaks the bow, and shatters the spear. He burns the chariots in the fire.

But as for those who turn away to their crooked ways, Yahweh will lead them away with the workers of iniquity. Peace be on Israel.

When you lie down, you will not be afraid. Yes, you will lie down, and your sleep will be sweet.

The words of the wise are like goads; and like nails well fastened are words from the masters of assemblies, which are given from one shepherd.

A shoot will come out of the stock of Jesse, and a branch out of his roots will bear fruit.

In that day, their strong cities will be like the forsaken places in the woods and on the mountain top, which were forsaken from before the children of Israel; and it will be a desolation.

“Because you have said, ‘We have made a covenant with death, and we are in agreement with Sheol. When the overflowing scourge passes through, it won’t come to us; for we have made lies our refuge, and we have hidden ourselves under falsehood.’ ”

For the palace will be forsaken. The populous city will be deserted. The hill and the watchtower will be for dens forever, a delight for wild donkeys, a pasture of flocks,

Then your people will all be righteous. They will inherit the land forever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I may be glorified.

I will give you shepherds according to my heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding.

then I will make this house like Shiloh, and will make this city a curse to all the nations of the earth.” ’ ”

“Micah the Morashtite prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah; and he spoke to all the people of Judah, saying, ‘Yahweh of Armies says: “ ‘Zion will be plowed as a field, and Jerusalem will become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places of a forest.’

Therefore don’t be afraid, O Jacob my servant, says Yahweh. Don’t be dismayed, Israel. For, behold, I will save you from afar, and save your offspring from the land of their captivity. Jacob will return, and will be quiet and at ease. No one will make him afraid.

“But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” says Yahweh: “I will put my law in their inward parts, and I will write it in their heart. I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

The king of Babylon struck them, and put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. So Judah was carried away captive out of his land.

“ ‘ “My servant David will be king over them. They all will have one shepherd. They will also walk in my ordinances, and observe my statutes, and do them.

Afterward the children of Israel shall return, and seek Yahweh their God, and David their king, and shall come with trembling to Yahweh and to his blessings in the last days.

Therefore Zion for your sake will be plowed like a field, and Jerusalem will become heaps of rubble, and the mountain of the temple like the high places of a forest.

“Awake, sword, against my shepherd, and against the man who is close to me,” says Yahweh of Armies. “Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered; and I will turn my hand against the little ones.

But he answered, “I wasn’t sent to anyone but the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”

Then he said to them, “The harvest is indeed plentiful, but the laborers are few. Pray therefore to the Lord of the harvest, that he may send out laborers into his harvest.

Beginning from Moses and from all the prophets, he explained to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.

for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me, and have believed that I came from God.

We bring you good news of the promise made to the fathers,

Don’t lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old man with his doings,

There is no creature that is hidden from his sight, but all things are naked and laid open before the eyes of him to whom we must give an account.

Now may the God of peace, who brought again from the dead the great shepherd of the sheep with the blood of an eternal covenant, our Lord Jesus,

as newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the Word, that with it you may grow,

For you were going astray like sheep; but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

When the chief Shepherd is revealed, you will receive the crown of glory that doesn’t fade away.

I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify these things to you for the assemblies. I am the root and the offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star.”

“Let Yahweh, the God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the congregation,

In all places in which I have walked with all the children of Israel, did I say a word to any of the tribes of Israel, whom I commanded to be shepherd of my people Israel, saying, ‘Why have you not built me a house of cedar?’ ” ’

The lips of the righteous feed many, but the foolish die for lack of understanding.

My beloved has gone down to his garden, to the beds of spices, to pasture his flock in the gardens, and to gather lilies.

The confused city is broken down. Every house is shut up, that no man may come in.

For the fortified city is solitary, a habitation deserted and forsaken, like the wilderness. The calf will feed there, and there he will lie down, and consume its branches.

though hail flattens the forest, and the city is leveled completely.

The wilderness and the dry land will be glad. The desert will rejoice and blossom like a rose.

saying to those who are bound, ‘Come out!’; to those who are in darkness, ‘Show yourselves!’ “They shall feed along the paths, and their pasture shall be on all treeless heights.

They shall not hunger nor thirst; neither shall the heat nor sun strike them: for he who has mercy on them will lead them. He will guide them by springs of water.

Behold, my servant will deal wisely. He will be exalted and lifted up, and will be very high.

I will overturn, overturn, overturn it. This also will be no more, until he comes whose right it is; and I will give it.” ’

I will set up one shepherd over them, and he will feed them, even my servant David. He will feed them, and he will be their shepherd.

In that day I will make a covenant for them with the animals of the field, and with the birds of the sky, and with the creeping things of the ground. I will break the bow, the sword, and the battle out of the land, and will make them lie down safely.

The remnant of Israel will not do iniquity, nor speak lies, neither will a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth, for they will feed and lie down, and no one will make them afraid.”

Pray therefore that the Lord of the harvest will send out laborers into his harvest.”

If a man doesn’t remain in me, he is thrown out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them, throw them into the fire, and they are burned.

So when they had eaten their breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I have affection for you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.”