Verse 2

“Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy, and say to them– to the shepherds:‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Woe to the shepherds of Israel who have been feeding themselves! Should not shepherds feed the flock?

Referenced Verses

  • Jer 23:1 : 1 New Leaders over a Regathered Remnant The LORD says,“The leaders of my people are sure to be judged. They were supposed to watch over my people like shepherds watch over their sheep. But they are causing my people to be destroyed and scattered.
  • Jer 3:15 : 15 I will give you leaders who will be faithful to me. They will lead you with knowledge and insight.
  • Isa 40:11 : 11 Like a shepherd he tends his flock; he gathers up the lambs with his arm; he carries them close to his heart; he leads the ewes along.
  • Luke 20:46-47 : 46 “Beware of the experts in the law. They like walking around in long robes, and they love elaborate greetings in the marketplaces and the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. 47 They devour widows’ property, and as a show make long prayers. They will receive a more severe punishment.”
  • John 21:15-17 : 15 Peter’s Restoration Then when they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter,“Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these do?” He replied,“Yes, Lord, you know I love you.” Jesus told him,“Feed my lambs.” 16 Jesus said a second time,“Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He replied,“Yes, Lord, you know I love you.” Jesus told him,“Shepherd my sheep.” 17 Jesus said a third time,“Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was distressed that Jesus asked him a third time,“Do you love me?” and said,“Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you.” Jesus replied,“Feed my sheep.
  • Ezek 34:8-9 : 8 As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, my sheep have become prey and have become food for all the wild beasts. There was no shepherd, and my shepherds did not search for my flock, but fed themselves and did not feed my sheep, 9 Therefore, you shepherds, listen to the LORD’s message: 10 This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Look, I am against the shepherds, and I will demand my sheep from their hand. I will no longer let them be shepherds; the shepherds will not feed themselves anymore. I will rescue my sheep from their mouth, so that they will no longer be food for them.
  • Ps 78:71-72 : 71 He took him away from following the mother sheep, and made him the shepherd of Jacob, his people, and of Israel, his chosen nation. 72 David cared for them with pure motives; he led them with skill.
  • Jer 10:21 : 21 For our leaders are stupid. They have not sought the LORD’s advice. So they do not act wisely, and the people they are responsible for have all been scattered.
  • Ezek 13:19 : 19 You have profaned me among my people for handfuls of barley and scraps of bread. You have put to death people who should not die and kept alive those who should not live by your lies to my people, who listen to lies!
  • Jer 12:10 : 10 Many foreign rulers will ruin the land where I planted my people. They will trample all over my chosen land. They will turn my beautiful land into a desolate wilderness.
  • Jer 2:8 : 8 Your priests did not ask,‘Where is the LORD?’ Those responsible for teaching my law did not really know me. Your rulers rebelled against me. Your prophets prophesied in the name of the god Baal. They all worshiped idols that could not help them.
  • Zech 11:17 : 17 Woe to the worthless shepherd who abandons the flock! May a sword fall on his arm and his right eye! May his arm wither completely away, and his right eye become completely blind!”
  • John 10:11-12 : 11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 The hired hand, who is not a shepherd and does not own sheep, sees the wolf coming and abandons the sheep and runs away. So the wolf attacks the sheep and scatters them.
  • Acts 20:29 : 29 I know that after I am gone fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock.
  • Rom 16:18 : 18 For these are the kind who do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By their smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of the naive.
  • 1 Pet 5:2-4 : 2 Give a shepherd’s care to God’s flock among you, exercising oversight not merely as a duty but willingly under God’s direction, not for shameful profit but eagerly. 3 And do not lord it over those entrusted to you, but be examples to the flock. 4 Then when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that never fades away.
  • 2 Pet 2:3 : 3 And in their greed they will exploit you with deceptive words. Their condemnation pronounced long ago is not sitting idly by; their destruction is not asleep.
  • Acts 20:26 : 26 Therefore I declare to you today that I am innocent of the blood of you all.
  • Matt 24:48-51 : 48 But if that evil slave should say to himself,‘My master is staying away a long time,’ 49 and he begins to beat his fellow slaves and to eat and drink with drunkards, 50 then the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not foresee, 51 and will cut him in two, and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
  • Luke 12:42-46 : 42 The Lord replied,“Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom the master puts in charge of his household servants, to give them their allowance of food at the proper time? 43 Blessed is that slave whom his master finds at work when he returns. 44 I tell you the truth, the master will put him in charge of all his possessions. 45 But if that slave should say to himself,‘My master is delayed in returning,’ and he begins to beat the other slaves, both men and women, and to eat, drink, and get drunk, 46 then the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not foresee, and will cut him in two, and assign him a place with the unfaithful.
  • John 10:1-2 : 1 Jesus as the Good Shepherd“I tell you the solemn truth, the one who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs in some other way, is a thief and a robber. 2 The one who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.
  • Mic 3:11-12 : 11 Her leaders take bribes when they decide legal cases, her priests proclaim rulings for profit, and her prophets read omens for pay. Yet they claim to trust the LORD and say,“The LORD is among us. Disaster will not overtake us!” 12 Therefore, because of you, Zion will be plowed up like a field, Jerusalem will become a heap of ruins, and the Temple Mount will become a hill overgrown with brush!
  • Zeph 3:3-4 : 3 Her princes are as fierce as roaring lions; her rulers are as hungry as wolves in the desert, who completely devour their prey by morning. 4 Her prophets are proud; they are deceitful men. Her priests have defiled what is holy; they have broken God’s laws.
  • Mic 3:1-3 : 1 God Will Judge Judah’s Sinful Leaders I said,“Listen, you leaders of Jacob, you rulers of the nation of Israel! You ought to know what is just, 2 yet you hate what is good, and love what is evil. You flay my people’s skin and rip the flesh from their bones. 3 You devour my people’s flesh, strip off their skin, and crush their bones. You chop them up like flesh in a pot– like meat in a kettle.
  • 2 Sam 5:2 : 2 In the past, when Saul was our king, you were the real leader in Israel. The LORD said to you,‘You will shepherd my people Israel; you will rule over Israel.’”
  • Ezek 33:24 : 24 “Son of man, the ones living in these ruins in the land of Israel are saying,‘Abraham was only one man, yet he possessed the land, but we are many; surely the land has been given to us for a possession.’