New Revised Standard NRS
The Bible in Basic English BBE
1 The word of the Lord came to me:
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And the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
2 Mortal, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel: prophesy, and say to them—to the shepherds: Thus says the Lord God: Ah, you shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves! Should not shepherds feed the sheep?
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Son of man, be a prophet against the keepers of the flock of Israel, and say to them, O keepers of the sheep! this is the word of the Lord: A curse is on the keepers of the flock of Israel who take the food for themselves! is it not right for the keepers to give the food to the sheep?
3 You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fatlings; but you do not feed the sheep.
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You take the milk and are clothed with the wool, you put the fat beasts to death, but you give the sheep no food.
4 You have not strengthened the weak, you have not healed the sick, you have not bound up the injured, you have not brought back the strayed, you have not sought the lost, but with force and harshness you have ruled them.
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You have not made the diseased ones strong or made well that which was ill; you have not put bands on the broken or got back that which had been sent away or made search for the wandering ones; and the strong you have been ruling cruelly.
5 So they were scattered, because there was no shepherd; and scattered, they became food for all the wild animals.
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And they were wandering in every direction because there was no keeper: and they became food for all the beasts of the field.
6 My sheep were scattered, they wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill; my sheep were scattered over all the face of the earth, with no one to search or seek for them.
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And my sheep went out of the way, wandering through all the mountains and on every high hill: my sheep went here and there over all the face of the earth; and no one was troubled about them or went in search of them.
7 Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord:
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For this cause, O keepers of the flock, give ear to the word of the Lord:
8 As I live, says the Lord God, because my sheep have become a prey, and my sheep have become food for all the wild animals, since there was no shepherd; and because my shepherds have not searched for my sheep, but the shepherds have fed themselves, and have not fed my sheep;
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By my life, says the Lord, truly, because my sheep have been taken away, and my sheep became food for all the beasts of the field, because there was no keeper, and my keepers did not go in search of the sheep, but the keepers took food for themselves and gave my sheep no food;
9 therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord:
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For this reason, O you keepers of the flock, give ear to the word of the Lord;
10 Thus says the Lord God, I am against the shepherds; and I will demand my sheep at their hand, and put a stop to their feeding the sheep; no longer shall the shepherds feed themselves. I will rescue my sheep from their mouths, so that they may not be food for them.
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This is what the Lord has said: See I am against the keepers of the flock, and I will make search and see what they have done with my sheep, and will let them be keepers of my sheep no longer; and the keepers will no longer get food for themselves; I will take my sheep out of their mouths so that they may not be food for them.
11 For thus says the Lord God: I myself will search for my sheep, and will seek them out.
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For this is what the Lord has said: Truly, I, even I, will go searching and looking for my sheep.
12 As shepherds seek out their flocks when they are among their scattered sheep, so I will seek out my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places to which they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness.
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As the keeper goes looking for his flock when he is among his wandering sheep, so I will go looking for my sheep, and will get them safely out of all the places where they have been sent wandering in the day of clouds and black night.
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 parts of the land.
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And I will take them out from among the peoples, and get them together from the countries, and will take them into their land; and I will give them food on the mountains of Israel by the water-streams and wherever men are living in the country.
14 I will feed them with good pasture, and the mountain heights of Israel shall be their pasture; there they shall lie down in good grazing land, and they shall feed on rich pasture on the mountains of Israel.
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I will give them good grass-land for their food, and their safe place will be the mountains of the high place of Israel: there they will take their rest in a good place, and on fat grass-land they will take their food on the mountains of Israel.
15 I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I will make them lie down, says the Lord God.
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I myself will give food to my flock, and I will give them rest, says the Lord.
16 I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, but the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them with justice.
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I will go in search of that which had gone wandering from the way, and will get back that which had been sent in flight, and will put bands on that which was broken, and give strength to that which was ill: but the fat and the strong I will give up to destruction; I will give them for their food the punishment which is theirs by right.
17 As for you, my flock, thus says the Lord God: I shall judge between sheep and sheep, between rams and goats:
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And as for you, O my flock, says the Lord, truly, I will be judge between sheep and sheep, the he-sheep and the he-goats.
18 Is it not enough for you to feed on the good pasture, but you must tread down with your feet the rest of your pasture? When you drink of clear water, must you foul the rest with your feet?
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Does it seem a small thing to you to have taken your food on good grass-land while the rest of your grass-land is stamped down under your feet? and that after drinking from clear waters you make the rest of the waters dirty with your feet?
19 And must my sheep eat what you have trodden with your feet, and drink what you have fouled with your feet?
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And as for my sheep, their food is the grass which has been stamped on by your feet, and their drink the water which has been made dirty by your feet.
20 Therefore, thus says the Lord God to them: I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep.
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For this reason the Lord has said to them, Truly, I, even I, will be judge between the fat sheep and the thin sheep.
21 Because you pushed with flank and shoulder, and butted at all the weak animals with your horns until you scattered them far and wide,
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Because you have been pushing with side and leg, pushing the diseased with your horns till they were sent away in every direction;
22 I will save my flock, and they shall no longer be ravaged; and I will judge between sheep and sheep.
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I will make my flock safe, and they will no longer be taken away, and I will be judge between sheep and sheep.
23 I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd.
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And I will put over them one keeper, and he will give them food, even my servant David; he will give them food and be their keeper.
24 And I, the Lord, will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince among them; I, the Lord, have spoken.
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And I the Lord will be their God and my servant David their ruler; I the Lord have said it.
25 I will make with them a covenant of peace and banish wild animals from the land, so that they may live in the wild and sleep in the woods securely.
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And I will make with them an agreement of peace, and will put an end to evil beasts through all the land: and they will be living safely in the waste land, sleeping in the woods.
26 I will make them and the region around my hill a blessing; and I will send down the showers in their season; they shall be showers of blessing.
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And I will give the rain at the right time, and I will make the shower come down at the right time; there will be showers of blessing.
27 The trees of the field shall yield their fruit, and the earth shall yield its increase. They shall be secure on their soil; and they shall know that I am the Lord, when I break the bars of their yoke, and save them from the hands of those who enslaved them.
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And the tree of the field will give its fruit and the earth will give its increase, and they will be safe in their land; and they will be certain that I am the Lord, when I have had their yoke broken and have given them salvation from the hands of those who made them servants.
28 They shall no more be plunder for the nations, nor shall the animals of the land devour them; they shall live in safety, and no one shall make them afraid.
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And their goods will no longer be taken by the nations, and they will not again be food for the beasts of the earth; but they will be living safely and no one will be a cause of fear to them.
29 I will provide for them a splendid vegetation so that they shall no more be consumed with hunger in the land, and no longer suffer the insults of the nations.
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And I will give them planting-places of peace, and they will no longer be wasted from need of food or put to shame by the nations.
30 They shall know that I, the Lord their God, am with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are my people, says the Lord God.
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And they will be certain that I the Lord their God am with them, and that they, the children of Israel, are my people, says the Lord.
31 You are my sheep, the sheep of my pasture and I am your God, says the Lord God.
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And you are my sheep, the sheep of my grass-lands, and I am your God, says the Lord.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The Bible in Basic English is in the public domain.