The priests did not ask, 'Where is the LORD?' My own priests did not know me. The rulers rebelled against me; the prophets spoke in the name of Baal and worshiped useless idols.

The LORD says, "Just as a thief is disgraced when caught, so all you people of Israel will be disgraced---your kings and officials, your priests and prophets.

This is what the Sovereign LORD says: "These foolish prophets are doomed! They provide their own inspiration and invent their own visions.

"Mortal man," he said, "denounce the rulers of Israel. Prophesy to them, and tell them what I, the Sovereign LORD, say to them: You are doomed, you shepherds of Israel! You take care of yourselves, but never tend the sheep.

That worthless shepherd is doomed! He has abandoned his flock. War will totally destroy his power. His arm will wither, and his right eye will go blind."

"How terrible for you, teachers of the Law and Pharisees! You hypocrites! You lock the door to the Kingdom of heaven in people's faces, but you yourselves don't go in, nor do you allow in those who are trying to enter!

"How terrible for you, teachers of the Law and Pharisees! You hypocrites! You sail the seas and cross whole countries to win one convert; and when you succeed, you make him twice as deserving of going to hell as you yourselves are!

Blind fools! Which is more important, the gold or the Temple which makes the gold holy?

How blind you are! Which is the more important, the gift or the altar which makes the gift holy?

and when he swears by the Temple, he is swearing by it and by God, who lives there;

"How terrible for you, teachers of the Law and Pharisees! You hypocrites! You give to God one tenth even of the seasoning herbs, such as mint, dill, and cumin, but you neglect to obey the really important teachings of the Law, such as justice and mercy and honesty. These you should practice, without neglecting the others.

"How terrible for you, teachers of the Law and Pharisees! You hypocrites! You clean the outside of your cup and plate, while the inside is full of what you have gotten by violence and selfishness.

"How terrible for you, teachers of the Law and Pharisees! You hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look fine on the outside but are full of bones and decaying corpses on the inside.

"How terrible for you, teachers of the Law and Pharisees! You hypocrites! You make fine tombs for the prophets and decorate the monuments of those who lived good lives;

"How terrible for you Pharisees! You give to God one tenth of the seasoning herbs, such as mint and rue and all the other herbs, but you neglect justice and love for God. These you should practice, without neglecting the others.

How terrible for you! You are like unmarked graves which people walk on without knowing it."

Jesus answered, "How terrible also for you teachers of the Law! You put onto people's backs loads which are hard to carry, but you yourselves will not stretch out a finger to help them carry those loads.

You yourselves admit, then, that you approve of what your ancestors did; they murdered the prophets, and you build their tombs.

So the people of this time will be punished for the murder of all the prophets killed since the creation of the world,

"How terrible for you teachers of the Law! You have kept the key that opens the door to the house of knowledge; you yourselves will not go in, and you stop those who are trying to go in!"

This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says about the rulers who were supposed to take care of his people: "You have not taken care of my people; you have scattered them and driven them away. Now I am going to punish you for the evil you have done.

The LORD says, "The prophets and the priests are godless; I have caught them doing evil in the Temple itself.

I have seen the sin of Samaria's prophets: they have spoken in the name of Baal and have led my people astray.

"So then, this is what I, the LORD Almighty, say about the prophets of Jerusalem: I will give them bitter plants to eat and poison to drink, because they have spread ungodliness throughout the land."

The priests did not ask, 'Where is the LORD?' My own priests did not know me. The rulers rebelled against me; the prophets spoke in the name of Baal and worshiped useless idols.

I answered, "Our leaders are stupid; they do not ask the LORD for guidance. This is why they have failed, and our people have been scattered.

Many foreign rulers have destroyed my vineyard; they have trampled down my fields; they have turned my lovely land into a desert.

Your leaders will be blown away by the wind, your allies taken as prisoners of war, your city disgraced and put to shame because of all the evil you have done.

Cry, you leaders, you shepherds of my people, cry out loud! Mourn and roll in the dust. The time has come for you to be slaughtered, and you will be butchered like rams.

You moan and cry out in distress because the LORD in his anger has destroyed your nation and left your peaceful country in ruins.

"My people are like sheep whose shepherds have let them get lost in the mountains. They have wandered like sheep from one mountain to another, and they have forgotten where their home is.

The LORD has told the foreign nations to come like wild animals and devour his people.

They are like greedy dogs that never get enough. These leaders have no understanding. They each do as they please and seek their own advantage.

The leaders are like lions roaring over the animals they have killed. They kill the people, take all the money and property they can get, and by their murders leave many widows.

The government officials are like wolves tearing apart the animals they have killed. They commit murder in order to get rich.

The wealthy cheat and rob. They mistreat the poor and take advantage of foreigners.

"Mortal man," he said, "denounce the rulers of Israel. Prophesy to them, and tell them what I, the Sovereign LORD, say to them: You are doomed, you shepherds of Israel! You take care of yourselves, but never tend the sheep.

You have not taken care of the weak ones, healed the ones that are sick, bandaged the ones that are hurt, brought back the ones that wandered off, or looked for the ones that were lost. Instead, you treated them cruelly.

So my sheep wandered over the high hills and the mountains. They were scattered over the face of the earth, and no one looked for them or tried to find them.

As surely as I am the living God, you had better listen to me. My sheep have been attacked by wild animals that killed and ate them because there was no shepherd. My shepherds did not try to find the sheep. They were taking care of themselves and not the sheep.

I, the Sovereign LORD, declare that I am your enemy. I will take my sheep away from you and never again let you be their shepherds; never again will I let you take care only of yourselves. I will rescue my sheep from you and not let you eat them.

The city's rulers govern for bribes, the priests interpret the Law for pay, the prophets give their revelations for money---and they all claim that the LORD is with them. "No harm will come to us," they say. "The LORD is with us."

And so, because of you, Zion will be plowed like a field, Jerusalem will become a pile of ruins, and the Temple hill will become a forest.

Its officials are like roaring lions; its judges are like hungry wolves, too greedy to leave a bone until morning.

The prophets are irresponsible and treacherous; the priests defile what is sacred, and twist the law of God to their own advantage.

Their owners kill them and go unpunished. They sell the meat and say, 'Praise the LORD! We are rich!' Even their own shepherds have no pity on them."

Those who bought and sold the sheep hired me, and I became the shepherd of the sheep that were going to be butchered. I took two sticks: one I called "Favor" and the other "Unity." And I took care of the flock.

Then the LORD said to me, "Once again act the part of a shepherd, this time a worthless one.

That worthless shepherd is doomed! He has abandoned his flock. War will totally destroy his power. His arm will wither, and his right eye will go blind."

As he saw the crowds, his heart was filled with pity for them, because they were worried and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.

"Don't worry about them! They are blind leaders of the blind; and when one blind man leads another, both fall into a ditch."

The thief comes only in order to steal, kill, and destroy. I have come in order that you might have life---life in all its fullness.

When the hired man, who is not a shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees a wolf coming, he leaves the sheep and runs away; so the wolf snatches the sheep and scatters them.