18. You already eat in the best grasslands. Must you also stomp all over the other fields? You already drink clear water. Must you also make the rest of the water muddy with your feet?
19. Must my flock have to eat the grass you have stomped on? Must they drink the water you have made muddy?"
20. So the Lord and King speaks to them. He says, "I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the skinny sheep.
21. You push the other sheep around with your hips and shoulders. You use your horns to butt all of the weak sheep. Finally, you drive them away.
22. But I will save my sheep. They will not be carried off anymore. I will judge between one sheep and another.
23. "I will place one shepherd over them. He will belong to the family line of my servant David. He will take good care of them. He will look after them. He will be their shepherd.
24. I am the Lord. I will be their God. And my servant from David's line will be prince among them. I have spoken. I am the Lord.
25. "I will make a covenant with them. It promises to give them peace. I will get rid of the wild animals in the land. Then my sheep can live safely in the desert. They can sleep in the forests.
26. "I will bless them. I will also bless the places surrounding my holy mountain of Zion. I will send down rain at the right time. There will be showers of blessing.
27. The trees in the fields will bear their fruit. And the ground will produce its crops. The people will be secure in their land. I will break the chains that hold them. I will save them from the powerful hands of those who made them slaves. Then they will know that I am the Lord.
28. "The nations will not carry them off anymore. Wild animals will no longer eat them up. They will live in safety. And no one will make them afraid.
29. I will give them a land that is famous for its crops. They will never be hungry there again. The nations will not make fun of them anymore.
30. "Then they will know that I am with them. I am the Lord their God. And they will know that they are my people Israel," announces the Lord and King.