1. "How terrible it will be for the shepherds who lead my people down the wrong path!" announces the Lord. "They are destroying and scattering the sheep that belong to my flock."
2. So the Lord, the God of Israel, speaks to the shepherds who take care of my people. He tells them, "You have scattered my sheep. You have driven them away. You have not taken good care of them. So I will punish you for the evil things you have done," announces the Lord.
3. "I myself will gather together those who are left alive in my flock. I will gather them out of all of the countries where I have driven them. And I will bring them back to their own land. There my sheep will have many lambs. Their numbers will increase.
4. "I will place shepherds over them who will take good care of them. My sheep will not be afraid or terrified anymore. And none of them will be missing," announces the Lord.
5. "A new day is coming," announces the Lord. "At that time I will raise up from David's royal line a true and rightful Branch. He will be a King who will rule wisely. He will do what is fair and right in the land.
6. In his days Judah will be saved. Israel will live in safety. And the Branch will be called The Lord Who Makes Us Right With Himself.
7. "Other days are also coming," announces the Lord. "At that time people will no longer say, 'The Lord brought the people of Israel up out of Egypt. And that's just as sure as he is alive.'
8. "Instead, they will say, 'The Lord brought the people of Israel up out of the land of the north. He gathered them out of all of the countries where he had forced them to go. And that's just as sure as he is alive.' Then they will live in their own land."
9. Here is my message about the prophets. My heart is broken inside me. All of my bones tremble with fear. I am like a man who is drunk. I am like someone who has had too much wine. That's what the Lord's holy words have done to me.
10. The land is full of people who aren't faithful to the Lord. Now the land is under his curse. And that's why it is thirsty for water. That's why the grasslands in the desert are dry. The prophets are leading sinful lives. They don't use their power in the right way.
11. "Prophets and priests alike are ungodly," announces the Lord. "Even in my temple I find them sinning.
12. So their path will become slippery. They will be thrown out into darkness. There they will fall. I will bring trouble on them when the time to punish them comes," announces the Lord.
13. "Among the prophets of Samaria I saw something I can't stand. They were prophesying in the name of Baal. They were leading my people Israel down the wrong path.
14. I have also seen something horrible among Jerusalem's prophets. They are not faithful to me. They are not living by the truth. They strengthen the hands of those who do evil. So the people do not turn from their sinful ways. All of them are like the people of Sodom to me. They are just like the people of Gomorrah."
15. So the Lord who rules over all speaks about the prophets. He says, "I will make them eat bitter food. I will make them drink poisoned water. The prophets of Jerusalem have spread their ungodly ways all through the land."