GOD'S WORD Translation GW
New King James Version NKJV
1 Open your doors, Lebanon, so that fire will be able to burn down your cedars.
1
Open your doors, O Lebanon, That fire may devour your cedars.
2 Cry, cypress trees, because the cedars have fallen and the stately trees have been destroyed. Cry, oak trees of Bashan, because your dense forest has fallen down.
2
Wail, O cypress, for the cedar has fallen, Because the mighty trees are ruined. Wail, O oaks of Bashan, For the thick forest has come down.
3 Listen! The shepherds are crying, because their rich pastures are destroyed. Listen! The young lions are roaring, because the lush banks of the Jordan are destroyed.
3
There is the sound of wailing shepherds! For their glory is in ruins. There is the sound of roaring lions! For the pride of the Jordan is in ruins.
4 This is what the LORD my God says: Take care of the sheep that are about to be slaughtered.
4
Thus says the Lord my God, "Feed the flock for slaughter,
5 Those who buy them will kill them and go unpunished. Those who sell them will say, "Praise the LORD! I've become rich!" Even their own shepherds will have no pity on them.
5
whose owners slaughter them and feel no guilt; those who sell them say, 'Blessed be the Lord, for I am rich'; and their shepherds do not pity them.
6 The LORD declares, "I will no longer have pity on those who live in the land. I am going to hand the people over to their neighbors and their king, who will crush the land. And I won't rescue any of them from their power."
6
For I will no longer pity the inhabitants of the land," says the Lord. "But indeed I will give everyone into his neighbor's hand and into the hand of his king. They shall attack the land, and I will not deliver them from their hand."
7 So I became the shepherd of the sheep that were to be slaughtered and also of the oppressed sheep. I took two shepherd staffs and named one Favor and the other Unity. And I took care of the sheep.
7
So I fed the flock for slaughter, in particular the poor of the flock. I took for myself two staffs: the one I called Beauty, and the other I called Bonds; and I fed the flock.
8 I got rid of three shepherds in one month. I became impatient with the sheep, and they also became disgusted with me.
8
I dismissed the three shepherds in one month. My soul loathed them, and their soul also abhorred me.
9 So I said, "I won't be your shepherd. Let those that are dying die. Let those that are missing stay missing. And let those that are left devour each other."
9
Then I said, "I will not feed you. Let what is dying die, and what is perishing perish. Let those that are left eat each other's flesh."
10 Then I took my staff called Favor and broke it in pieces, to break the promise that I had made to all the nations.
10
And I took my staff, Beauty, and cut it in two, that I might break the covenant which I had made with all the peoples.
11 So it was broken on that day, and the oppressed among the sheep who were watching me realized that it was the word of the LORD.
11
So it was broken on that day. Thus the poor of the flock, who were watching me, knew that it was the word of the Lord.
12 Then I said to them, "If it's alright with you, pay me my wages. But if it's not, don't." And they paid me my wages--30 pieces of silver.
12
Then I said to them, "If it is agreeable to you, give me my wages; and if not, refrain." So they weighed out for my wages thirty pieces of silver.
13 The LORD told me, "Give it to the potter." So I took the 30 pieces of silver. Such a magnificent price was set by them! I gave the pieces of silver to the potter at the house of the LORD.
13
And the Lord said to me, "Throw it to the potter"--that princely price they set on me. So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the Lord for the potter.
14 Then I broke my second staff, called Unity, in pieces, to break off the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.
14
Then I cut in two my other staff, Bonds, that I might break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.
15 Then the LORD said to me, "Use the equipment of a foolish shepherd again.
15
And the Lord said to me, "Next, take for yourself the implements of a foolish shepherd.
16 I'm about to place a shepherd in the land. He will not take care of those that are dying. He will not search for the young. He will not heal those that have broken their legs or support those that can still stand. But he will eat the meat of the fat animals and tear off their hoofs.
16
"For indeed I will raise up a shepherd in the land who will not care for those who are cut off, nor seek the young, nor heal those that are broken, nor feed those that still stand. But he will eat the flesh of the fat and tear their hooves in pieces.
17 "How horrible it will be for the foolish shepherd who abandoned the sheep. A sword will strike his arm and his right eye. His arm will be completely withered. His right eye will be completely blind."
17
"Woe to the worthless shepherd, Who leaves the flock! A sword shall be against his arm And against his right eye; His arm shall completely wither, And his right eye shall be totally blinded."
GOD'S WORD® is a copyrighted work of God's Word to the Nations. Copyright © 1995 by God's Word to the Nations. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.