Verse 1

Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of My pasture, declares the LORD.

Other Translations

Referenced Verses

  • Jer 10:21 : 21 The shepherds are senseless and do not seek the Lord; therefore they do not prosper, and all their flock is scattered.
  • Zech 11:15-17 : 15 The LORD said to me, 'Take again the equipment of a foolish shepherd. 16 For behold, I am raising up a shepherd in the land who will not care for those being destroyed, seek the young, heal the injured, or feed the healthy, but will eat the meat of the fat sheep and tear off their hooves.' 17 Woe to the worthless shepherd who abandons the flock! May the sword strike his arm and his right eye. May his arm wither completely, and his right eye become totally blind.
  • Ezek 34:2-9 : 2 Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and say to them, the shepherds: This is what the Lord GOD says, 'Woe to the shepherds of Israel who have been feeding themselves! Should not shepherds feed the flock? 3 You eat the fat, wear the wool, and slaughter the fattened animals, but you do not feed the flock. 4 You have not strengthened the weak, healed the sick, bound up the injured, brought back the strays, or searched for the lost. Instead, you have ruled them harshly and brutally. 5 So they were scattered because there was no shepherd, and they became food for all the wild animals; they were scattered. 6 My sheep wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. My flock was scattered over the whole earth, and no one searched or looked for them. 7 Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD: 8 'As surely as I live,' declares the Lord GOD, 'because My flock has become prey and My flock has become food for every wild animal since there was no shepherd and My shepherds did not search for My flock, but the shepherds fed themselves and did not feed My flock, 9 therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD. 10 This is what the Lord GOD says, 'Behold, I am against the shepherds, and I will demand My flock from their hand and stop them from shepherding My flock. The shepherds will no longer feed themselves, for I will rescue My flock from their mouths, so it will no longer be food for them.'
  • Matt 9:36 : 36 When he saw the crowds, he was moved with compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
  • Ezek 13:3 : 3 This is what the Lord GOD says: Woe to the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit and have seen nothing!
  • Isa 56:9-9 : 9 All you wild animals of the field, come and devour, all you creatures of the forest. 10 Israel's watchmen are blind; they all lack knowledge. They are all mute dogs; they cannot bark. They lie around dreaming, loving to sleep. 11 Yet the dogs are greedy; they never have enough. They are shepherds who lack understanding; all of them turn to their own way, each seeking his own gain from every quarter. 12 "Come," they say, "let us fetch wine and drink our fill of strong drink! Tomorrow will be like today, or even far better."
  • Jer 2:8 : 8 The priests did not ask, ‘Where is the LORD?’ Those who handle the law did not know me; the shepherds rebelled against me; the prophets prophesied by Baal and followed worthless things.
  • Jer 12:10 : 10 Many shepherds have ruined my vineyard; they have trampled my portion underfoot. They have turned my pleasant field into a desolate wasteland.
  • Jer 22:22 : 22 The wind will shepherd all your rulers, and your lovers will go into captivity. At that time you will be ashamed and humiliated because of all your wickedness.
  • Matt 15:14 : 14 Leave them alone; they are blind guides. If the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.”
  • Matt 23:13-29 : 13 But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut the kingdom of heaven in people's faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor do you allow those entering to go in. 14 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You devour widows’ houses and for a pretense make long prayers. Therefore, you will receive a greater condemnation. 15 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a child of hell as you are. 16 Woe to you, blind guides! You say, 'If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is obligated.' 17 You fools and blind! Which is greater, the gold or the temple that sanctifies the gold? 18 And you say, 'If anyone swears by the altar, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gift on it, he is obligated.' 19 You fools and blind! Which is greater, the gift or the altar that sanctifies the gift? 20 Therefore, whoever swears by the altar swears by it and everything on it. 21 And whoever swears by the temple swears by it and by the One who dwells in it. 22 And whoever swears by heaven swears by the throne of God and by Him who sits upon it. 23 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You tithe mint, dill, and cumin but have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy, and faithfulness. These you ought to have done without neglecting the others. 24 Blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel. 25 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. 26 Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and the dish, so that the outside may also become clean. 27 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which appear beautiful on the outside but inside are full of the bones of the dead and all impurity. 28 So too, on the outside you appear righteous to people, but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. 29 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous,
  • Luke 11:42-52 : 42 But woe to you Pharisees! For you give a tenth of mint, rue, and every herb, but you neglect justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done without neglecting the others. 43 Woe to you Pharisees! For you love the seats of honor in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces. 44 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You are like unmarked graves that people walk over without knowing. 45 One of the experts in the law answered, 'Teacher, by saying these things, you insult us as well.' 46 Jesus replied, 'Woe to you as well, experts in the law! You load people with burdens that are hard to carry, yet you yourselves do not touch these burdens with even one finger.' 47 Woe to you! For you build tombs for the prophets, yet it was your ancestors who killed them. 48 So you are witnesses and approve of the deeds of your ancestors; they killed the prophets, and you build their tombs. 49 Because of this, the wisdom of God said, 'I will send them prophets and apostles; some they will kill, and others they will persecute.' 50 So that the blood of all the prophets, shed since the foundation of the world, may be charged against this generation— 51 from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, it will be charged against this generation. 52 Woe to you experts in the law! You have taken away the key to knowledge. You yourselves did not enter, and you hindered those who were entering.
  • John 10:10 : 10 The thief comes only to steal, kill, and destroy. I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
  • Zeph 3:3-4 : 3 Her officials are roaring lions in her midst; her judges are wolves of the evening, leaving nothing for the morning. 4 Her prophets are reckless, treacherous men; her priests have profaned the sanctuary and have done violence to the law.
  • Zech 11:5-7 : 5 Their buyers slaughter them without remorse, and those who sell them say, 'Blessed be the LORD, for I am rich.' Their own shepherds show no pity on them. 6 For I will no longer show pity to the people of the land,' declares the LORD. 'I will give everyone into the hands of their neighbors and their king. They will crush the land, and I will not deliver them from their power.' 7 So I shepherded the flock marked for slaughter, especially the oppressed of the flock. Then I took two staffs—one I called Favor and the other Union—and I shepherded the flock.
  • John 10:12 : 12 The hired worker, who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming, abandons the sheep, and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters them.
  • Jer 23:2 : 2 Therefore, this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says concerning the shepherds who tend My people: You have scattered My flock and driven them away, and you have not attended to them. Behold, I am about to punish you for your evil deeds, declares the LORD.
  • Jer 23:11-15 : 11 For both prophet and priest have become corrupt. Even in My house I have found their wickedness, declares the LORD. 12 Therefore, their path will become for them like slippery places in the darkness. They will be pushed and fall there, for I will bring disaster upon them in the year of their punishment, declares the LORD. 13 Among the prophets of Samaria I saw something disgraceful: They prophesied by Baal and led My people Israel astray. 14 And among the prophets of Jerusalem I have seen a horrible thing: They commit adultery and walk in lies. They strengthen the hands of evildoers, so that no one turns from their wickedness. They have all become to Me like Sodom, and the inhabitants like Gomorrah. 15 Therefore, this is what the LORD of Hosts says concerning the prophets: Behold, I will make them eat bitter wormwood and drink poisoned water, because from the prophets of Jerusalem ungodliness has spread throughout the land.
  • Jer 25:34-36 : 34 Weep and wail, you shepherds, cry out! Roll in the dust, you leaders of the flock, for your time to be slaughtered has come. You will fall like a precious vessel. 35 The shepherds will have no refuge, and the leaders of the flock will find no escape. 36 Hear the cry of the shepherds, the wailing of the leaders of the flock, for the LORD is destroying their pasture.
  • Jer 50:6 : 6 My people have been lost sheep. Their shepherds have led them astray, causing them to wander on the mountains. They have gone from mountain to hill and forgotten their resting place.
  • Jer 2:26 : 26 As a thief is ashamed when caught, so the house of Israel is put to shame—they, their kings, their officials, their priests, and their prophets.
  • Ezek 22:25-29 : 25 There is a conspiracy of her prophets within her, like a roaring lion that tears its prey; they have devoured lives, seized treasure and precious things, and made many widows within her. 26 Her priests do violence to my law and profane my holy things; they do not distinguish between the holy and the common or teach the difference between the unclean and the clean. They shut their eyes to my Sabbaths, and so I am profaned among them. 27 Her officials within her are like wolves tearing their prey; they shed blood and destroy lives to make unjust gain. 28 Her prophets plaster false visions for them, prophesying lies and saying, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says,’ when the LORD has not spoken. 29 The people of the land practice extortion and commit robbery; they oppress the poor and needy and mistreat the foreigner, denying them justice.
  • Mic 3:11-12 : 11 Her leaders judge for a bribe, her priests teach for a price, and her prophets practice divination for silver. Yet they lean on the LORD, saying, 'Is not the LORD among us? No disaster will come upon us.' 12 Therefore because of you, Zion will be plowed like a field, Jerusalem will become a heap of ruins, and the mountain of the temple will become a high place overgrown with thickets.
  • Ezek 34:21 : 21 Because you push with your side and shoulder, and butt all the weak sheep with your horns until you have scattered them far and wide,
  • Ezek 34:31 : 31 You are My sheep, the sheep of My pasture, and I am your God, declares the Lord GOD.