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.

in the same way as shepherds take care of their sheep that were scattered and are brought together again. I will bring them back from all the places where they were scattered on that dark, disastrous day.

I will let them graze in safety in the mountain meadows and the valleys and in all the green pastures of the land of Israel.

"I will look for those that are lost, bring back those that wander off, bandage those that are hurt, and heal those that are sick; but those that are fat and strong I will destroy, because I am a shepherd who does what is right.

Some of you are not satisfied with eating the best grass; you even trample down what you don't eat! You drink the clear water and muddy what you don't drink!

"So now, I, the Sovereign LORD, tell you that I will judge between you strong sheep and the weak sheep.

But I will rescue my sheep and not let them be mistreated any more. I will judge each of my sheep and separate the good from the bad.

I, the LORD, will be their God, and a king like my servant David will be their ruler. I have spoken.

"I will bless them and let them live around my sacred hill. There I will bless them with showers of rain when they need it.

The heathen nations will not plunder them any more, and the wild animals will not kill and eat them. They will live in safety, and no one will terrify them.

Everyone will know that I protect Israel and that they are my people. I, the Sovereign LORD, have spoken.

The LORD said to me, "I am punishing those Levites who, together with the rest of the people of Israel, deserted me and worshiped idols.

The Sovereign LORD said, "Those priests belonging to the tribe of Levi who are descended from Zadok, however, continued to serve me faithfully in the Temple when the rest of the people of Israel turned away from me. So now they are the ones who are to serve me and come into my presence to offer me the fat and the blood of the sacrifices.

This holy area is to be for the priests who are descendants of Zadok. They served me faithfully and did not join the rest of the Israelites in doing wrong, as the other members of the tribe of Levi did.

Then all the people of Israel will hear what happened; they will be afraid, and no one will ever again do such an evil thing.

Then everyone else will hear what happened; they will be afraid, and no one will ever again do such an evil thing.

Before you punished me, I used to go wrong, but now I obey your word.

Those who lead these people have misled them and totally confused them.

"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."

"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.

They have left the straight path and have lost their way; they have followed the path taken by Balaam son of Beor, who loved the money he would get for doing wrong

When they return, they are to get rid of all the filthy, disgusting idols they find.

Then they will keep my laws and faithfully obey all my commands. They will be my people, and I will be their God.

I will sprinkle clean water on you and make you clean from all your idols and everything else that has defiled you.

I will put my spirit in you and will see to it that you follow my laws and keep all the commands I have given you.

I will save you from everything that defiles you. I will command the grain to be plentiful, so that you will not have any more famines.

They will not defile themselves with disgusting idols any more or corrupt themselves with sin. I will free them from all the ways in which they sin and betray me. I will purify them; they will be my people, and I will be their God.

Everyone will know that I protect Israel and that they are my people. I, the Sovereign LORD, have spoken.

Then you will live in the land I gave your ancestors. You will be my people, and I will be your God.

I will live there with them; I will be their God, and they will be my people.

The Israelites will know from then on that I am the LORD their God.

"I will keep my promise to you and to your descendants in future generations as an everlasting covenant. I will be your God and the God of your descendants.

It is the covenant I made with their ancestors when I brought them out of Egypt, the land that was like a blazing furnace to them. I told them to obey me and to do everything that I had commanded. I told them that if they obeyed, they would be my people and I would be their God.

The new covenant that I will make with the people of Israel will be this: I will put my law within them and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.

Then they will be my people, and I will be their God.

And I will test the third that survives and will purify them as silver is purified by fire. I will test them as gold is tested. Then they will pray to me, and I will answer them. I will tell them that they are my people, and they will confess that I am their God."

Now, this is the covenant that I will make with the people of Israel in the days to come, says the Lord: I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.

Instead, it was a better country they longed for, the heavenly country. And so God is not ashamed for them to call him their God, because he has prepared a city for them.

Those who win the victory will receive this from me: I will be their God, and they will be my children.