New Century Version NCV
Good News Translation GNT
1 Lebanon, open your gates so fire may burn your cedar trees.
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Open your doors, Lebanon, so that fire can burn down your cedar trees!
2 Cry, pine trees, because the cedar has fallen, because the tall trees are ruined. Cry, oaks in Bashan, because the mighty forest has been cut down.
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Weep and wail, cypress trees - the cedars have fallen; those glorious trees have been destroyed! Weep and wail, oaks of Bashan - the dense forest has been cut down!
3 Listen to the shepherds crying because their rich pastures are destroyed. Listen to the lions roaring because the lovely land of the Jordan River is ruined.
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The rulers cry out in grief; their glory is gone! Listen to the roaring of the lions; their forest home along the Jordan is destroyed!
4 This is what the Lord my God says: "Feed the flock that are about to be killed.
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The Lord my God said to me, "Act the part of the shepherd of a flock of sheep that are going to be butchered.
5 Their buyers kill them and are not punished. Those who sell them say, 'Praise the Lord, I am rich.' Even the shepherds don't feel sorry for their sheep.
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Their owners kill them and go unpunished. They sell the meat and say, "Praise the Lord! We are rich!' Even their own shepherds have no pity on them."
6 I don't feel sorry anymore for the people of this country," says the Lord. "I will let everyone be under the power of his neighbor and king. They will bring trouble to the country, and I will not save anyone from them."
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(The Lord said, "I will no longer pity anyone on earth. I myself will put all the people in the power of their rulers. These rulers will devastate the earth, and I will not save it from their power.")
7 So I fed the flock about to be killed, particularly the weakest ones. Then I took two sticks; I called one Pleasant and the other Union, and I fed the flock.
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Those who bought and sold the sheep hired me, and I became the shepherd of the sheep that were going to be butchered. I took two sticks: one I called "Favor" and the other "Unity." And I took care of the flock.
8 In one month I got rid of three shepherds. The flock did not pay attention to me, and I got impatient with them.
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I lost patience with three other shepherds, who hated me, and I got rid of them all in a single month.
9 I said, "I will no longer take care of you like a shepherd. Let those that are dying die, and let those that are to be destroyed be destroyed. Let those that are left eat each other."
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Then I said to the flock, "I will not be your shepherd any longer. Let those die who are to die. Let those be destroyed who are to be destroyed. Those who are left will destroy one another."
10 Then I broke the stick named Pleasant to break the agreement God made with all the nations.
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Then I took the stick called "Favor" and broke it, to cancel the covenant which the Lord had made with all the nations.
11 That day it was broken. The weak ones in the flock who were watching me knew this message was from the Lord.
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So the covenant was canceled on that day. Those who bought and sold the sheep were watching me, and they knew that the Lord was speaking through what I did.
12 Then I said, "If you want to pay me, pay me. If not, then don't." So they paid me thirty pieces of silver.
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I said to them, "If you are willing, give me my wages. But if not, keep them." So they paid me thirty pieces of silver as my wages.
13 The Lord said to me, "Throw the money to the potter." That is how little they thought I was worth. So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them to the potter in the Temple of the Lord.
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The Lord said to me, "Put them in the Temple treasury." So I took the thirty pieces of silver - the magnificent sum they thought I was worth - and put them in the Temple treasury.
14 Then I broke the second stick, named Union, to break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.
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Then I broke the second stick, the one called "Unity," and the unity of Judah and Israel was shattered.
15 Then the Lord said to me, "Get the things used by a foolish shepherd again,
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Then the Lord said to me, "Once again act the part of a shepherd, this time a worthless one.
16 because I am going to get a new shepherd for the country. He will not care for the dying sheep, or look for the young ones, or heal the injured ones, or feed the healthy. But he will eat the best sheep and tear off their hoofs.
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I have put a shepherd in charge of my flock, but he does not help the sheep that are threatened by destruction; nor does he look for the lost, or heal those that are hurt, or feed the healthy. Instead, he eats the meat of the fattest sheep and tears off their hoofs.
17 "How terrible it will be for the useless shepherd who abandoned the flock. A sword will strike his arm and his right eye. His arm will lose all its strength, and his right eye will go blind."
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That worthless shepherd is doomed! He has abandoned his flock. War will totally destroy his power. His arm will wither, and his right eye will go blind."
Scripture taken from the New Century Version. Copyright © 1987, 1988, 1991 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.