I Am the Good Shepherd

1 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. 2 But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. 5 ^yA stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” 6 This figure of speech Jesus ^zused with them, but they ^adid not understand what he was saying to them.

7 So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, ^bI am the door of the sheep. 8 All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. 9 I am the door. If anyone enters by me, ^che will be saved and will go in and out and ^dfind pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and ^ekill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. 11 ^fI am the good shepherd. The good shepherd ^glays down his life for the sheep. 12 He who is ^ha hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and ⁱleaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and ^jscatters them. 13 He flees because ^khe is a hired hand and ^lcares nothing for the sheep. 14 ^mI am the good shepherd. ⁿI know my own and ^omy own know me, 15 ^pjust as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and ^qI lay down my life for the sheep. 16 And ^rI have other sheep that are not of this fold. ^sI must bring them also, and ^tthey will listen to my voice. So there will be ^uone flock, ^vone shepherd. 17 ^wFor this reason the Father loves me, ^xbecause ^yI lay down my life that I may take it up again. 18 ^zNo one takes it from me, but ^yI lay it down ^aof my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and ^bI have authority to take it up again. ^cThis charge I have received from my Father.”

Prophecy Against the Shepherds of Israel

1 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 ^d“Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy, and say to them, even to the shepherds, Thus says the Lord God: ^eAh, shepherds of Israel ^fwho have been feeding yourselves! ^gShould not shepherds feed the sheep? 3 ^hYou eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, ⁱyou slaughter the fat ones, but you do not feed the sheep. 4 ^jThe weak you have not strengthened, the sick you have not healed, ^hthe injured you have not bound up, ^hthe strayed you have not brought back, ^kthe lost you have not sought, and with force and ^lharshness you have ruled them. 5 ^mSo they were scattered, because there was no shepherd, and ⁿthey became food for all the wild beasts. My sheep were scattered; 6 they wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. My sheep were scattered over all the face of the earth, ^owith none to search or seek for them.

7 “Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: 8 ^pAs I live, declares the Lord God, surely because ^qmy sheep have become a prey, and my sheep have become food for all the wild beasts, 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, 9 therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: 10 Thus says the Lord God, ^rBehold, I am against the shepherds, and ^sI will require my sheep at their hand and ^tput a stop to their feeding the sheep. ^uNo longer shall the shepherds feed themselves. ^vI will rescue my sheep from their mouths, that they may not be food for them.

The Lord God Will Seek Them Out

11 “For thus says the Lord God: ^wBehold, I, I ^xmyself will search for my sheep and will seek them out. 12 As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, so will I seek out my sheep, and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on ^ya day of clouds and ^zthick darkness. 13 And I will bring them out from the peoples ^aand gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land. And I will feed them on ^bthe mountains of Israel, by the ravines, and in all the inhabited places of the country. 14 ^cI will feed them with good pasture, and on the mountain heights of Israel shall be their grazing land. ^dThere they shall lie down in good grazing land, and on rich pasture they shall feed on the mountains of Israel. 15 ^eI myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, ^dand I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord God. 16 ^fI will seek the lost, ^gand I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, and ^hthe fat and the strong I will destroy.¹ I will feed them in justice.

Prophecy Against the Shepherds of Israel

1 The word of the Lord came to me:

21 For ^zto this you have been called, ^ybecause Christ also suffered for you, ^aleaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. 22 ^bHe committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. 23 ^cWhen he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, ^dbut continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. 24 ^eHe himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we ^fmight die to sin and ^glive to righteousness. ^hBy his wounds you have been healed. 25 For ⁱyou were straying like sheep, but have now returned to ^jthe Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.