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¹ Open thy doors, O Lebanon, that the fire may devour thy cedars.² Howl, O fir tree, for the cedar is fallen, because the goodly ones are spoiled: howl, O ye oaks of Bashan, for the strong forest is come down.³ A voice of the howling of the shepherds! for their glory is spoiled: a voice of the roaring of young lions! for the pride of Jordan is spoiled.

⁴ Thus said the LORD my God: Feed the flock of slaughter; ⁵ whose possessors slay them, and hold themselves not guilty; and they that sell them say, Blessed be the LORD, for I am rich: and their own shepherds pity them not. ⁶ For I will no more pity the inhabitants of the land, saith the LORD: but, lo, I will deliver the men every one into his neighbour's hand, and into the hand of his king: and they shall smite the land, and out of their hand I will not deliver them.⁷ So I fed the flock of slaughter, verily the poor of the flock. And I took unto me two staves; the one I called Beauty, and the other I called Bands; and I fed the flock. ⁸ And I cut off the three shepherds in one month; for my soul was weary of them, and their soul also loathed me. ⁹ Then said I, I will not feed you: that that dieth, let it die; and that that is to be cut off, let it be cut off; and let them which are left eat every one the flesh of another.¹⁰ And I took my staff Beauty, and cut it asunder, that I might break my covenant which I had made with all the peoples. ¹¹ And it was broken in that day: and thus the poor of the flock that gave heed unto me knew that it was the word of the LORD. ¹² And I said unto them, If ye think good, give me my hire; and if not, forbear. So they weighed for my hire thirty pieces of silver. ¹³ And the LORD said unto me, Cast it unto the potter, the goodly price that I was prised at of them. And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them unto the potter, in the house of the LORD. ¹⁴ Then I cut asunder mine other staff, even Bands, that I might break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.

¹⁵ And the LORD said unto me, Take unto thee yet again the instruments of a foolish shepherd. ¹⁶ For, lo, I will raise up a shepherd in the land, which shall not visit those that be cut off, neither shall seek those that be scattered, nor heal that that is broken; neither shall he feed that which is sound, but he shall eat the flesh of the fat, and shall tear their hoofs in pieces.¹⁷ Woe to the worthless shepherd that leaveth the flock, the sword shall be upon his arm, and upon his right eye: his arm shall be clean dried up, and his right eye shall be utterly darkened.