Balisi be Iziraela
1 Dama la Yahwe lakazha kundili liti, 2 “Nkololo we nthu, lebelambeli ngekwe balisi be Iziraela, lebelambeli uti ku bali, ‘She Yahwe bakati, Yee mme wee! Mapalala imwi balisi be Iziraela ibo banozwitjengeta tjekwabo koga. Apa balisi abazofanila kutjengeta ngubi kene? 3 Moja mafuta, muambala zwakathamiwa nge wulu, mube mubhaya zwithuwo zwakakola koga musinga tjengete ngubi. 4 Amuzosimisa dzisakasima, amuzopodza dzinogwala, amuzotalila mukasunga dzakubala, amuzodziba dzinoyendila ntome ne dzakamila amuzonodzishaka. Modzilaula nge bushongola nenge kuhwisa zogwadza. 5 Ndizo wali dzakapalala ngoti kusina nlisi, ngono dzikati dzapalala dzikabe zojiwa zwe zwibandana zwe shango. 6 Pkhwizi dzangu dzakapalala, dzakapalalila mu matombo wose ne mu duthu limwe ne limwe lakakula. Dzakapalala nge shango yose, koga kukasibe ne wakanodzishaka kene kudzikubunganya.
7 “ ‘Ndizo wali imwi balisi, ihwani dama la Yahwe eli, 8 Se nditjila, kojalo She Yahwe, se ngubi yangu isheta nlisi, se yabe thundu inotapiwa ntome ili zojiwa zwe zwibandana zwe shango nenge kuti balisi bangu abazonoshaka ngubi yangu, koga banozwitjengeta abatotjengeta ngubi yangu, 9 ndizo imwi balisi ihwani dama la Yahwe.
10 “ ‘She Yahwe bakati, Bonani ndogwa ne balisi ngono ndoshaka ngubi yangu mu bali. Ndowobadusa mu bulisi bakasitjabe balisi kuti basitjabe bangazwitjengeta tjekwabo. Ndowodusa ngubi yangu mu milomo yabo dzikasitjabe zojiwa zwabo.
Nlisi we malebeswa
11 “ ‘Ngoti She Yahwe bakati, imi nge kwangu ndowoshaka pkhwizi dzangu ngono adzilisa. 12 Ndowonga nlisi ekubunganya pkhwizi dzidze dzapalala, ngono saikoko ndowoshaka pkhwizi dzangu. Ndowodzigwila mu magalo wose kwadzakapalalila mu zhuba le makole ne zhalima. 13 Ndowodzizhisa kudwa mu njudzi adzikubunganya kudwa mu shango dzakasiyana, ngono ndowodzizhisa mu shango yabo. Ndowodzifudza mu matombo e Iziraela pa misenya ye vula ne mu magalo wose e shango agegwe. 14 Ndowodzifudza mu mafulo akanaka, ngono pezhugwi kwe matombo e Iziraela kobe mafulo adzo. Ikoko dzowolala pasi mu mafulo akanaka, ikoko ndiko kwadzinowofula mu mafulo ana fulo pezhugwi kwe matombo e Iziraela. 15 Imi nge kwangu ndowobe nlisi we pkhwizi dzangu, ngono ndowothama kuti dzilale pasi, kojalo She Yahwe. 16 Ndowoshaka dzakamila adziba dzinoyendila ntome ngono ndowosunga dzakubala, ngono ndowosimisa dzisakasima koga dzakakola ne dzakasima ndowodzilobesa. Ndowolisa ngubi nge ndulamo.
17 “ ‘Koga nge kwenyu imwi ngubi yangu, kojalo She Yahwe, Ndowosumikilisa pakati kwe pkhwizi ne pkhwizi, na pakati kwe nyundo ne phoko. 18 Apa akuzomulizana kuti mufule mu mafulo akanaka kene? Apa ngono makafanila tshamba nge makumbo enyu mafulo asala kene? Mungati mung'wa vula mbuyanana mukadzonga yasala nge makombo enyu kene? 19 Ngubi yangu apa yakafanila fula zwamakanyanga nge makumbo enyu, kene ibuya ing'wa vula yamakapa nge makumbo enyu kene?
20 “ ‘Ndizo wali She Yahwe bakati ku bali, bonani imi nge kwangu ndowosumikilisa pakati kwe pkhwizi yakakola ne yakawonda. 21 Ngoti mosunda nge lubadu nenge thudzi, mungoriya nge nyanga dzenyu zwithuwo zwakawonda kudzina mazwipaladzila kule na kule, 22 ngono ndowotjidza ngubi yangu, ngono adzitjawotapiwa kakale, ndowosumikilisa pakati kwe pkhwizi ne imwe pkhwizi. 23 Ndowodzipa nlisi nng'ompela, nlanda wangu Dafite, unowodzifudza, unowodzifudza ngono kabe nlisi wadzo. 24 Ngono imi Ndzimu ndowobe Ndzimu wadzo, nlanda wangu Dafite unowobe gombgwa pakati kwadzo, kojalo imi Yahwe.
25 “ ‘Ndowothama tjidumano tje mbakiso nadzo, ndibe ndidusa zwibandana mu shango kuita kuti dzitjile mu tjilambanyika, dziizele mu zwishaka kusina tjinotjisa. 26 Ndowodzikombolela kose ne magalo akapoteleka duthu langu. Ndowonisa vula nge tjibaka tjayo, ndowonisa vula ye makombolelo. 27 Miti ye shango inowozwala mitjelo na pasi panowodusa zwizwalo zwapo, bathu banowoshaladuka mu shango yabo. Banowoziba kuti ndimi Yahwe pandinowovuna zwikeyi zwe jokwi labo ndibasunungula mu maboko aibabo bakabathama balanda. 28 Abatjowobe batjatapiwa kakale nge njudzi kene kuli kujiwa nge zwibandana zwe shango. Banowotjila bakadzikama kusina unobatjisa. 29 Ndowobapa shango inozibika nge zwidzwalo zwayo, ngono abatowobe batjabulawa nge bhamba mu shango kene bedadigwa nge njudzi. 30 Ipapo banowoziba kuti imi Yahwe Ndzimu wabo ndinabo nenge kuti ibaba bathu be Iziraela bathu bangu, kojalo She Yahwe. 31 Imwi mu pkhwizi dzangu, pkhwizi dze mafulilo angu, mu bathu bangu, imi ndi Ndzimu wenyu, kojalo She Yahwe.’ ”
The Shepherds of Israel
1 The Lord spoke to me. 2 “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. 3 You drink the milk, wear clothes made from the wool, and kill and eat the finest sheep. But you never tend the sheep. 4 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. 5 Because the sheep had no shepherd, they were scattered, and wild animals killed and ate them. 6 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.
7 “Now, you shepherds, listen to what I, the Lord, am telling you. 8 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. 9 So listen to me, you shepherds. 10 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 Good Shepherd
11 “I, the Sovereign Lord, tell you that I myself will look for my sheep and take care of them 12 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. 13 I will take them out of foreign countries, gather them together, and bring them back to their own land. I will lead them back to the mountains and the streams of Israel and will feed them in pleasant pastures. 14 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. 15 I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I will find them a place to rest. I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken.
16 “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.
17 “Now then, my flock, I, the Sovereign Lord, tell you that I will judge each of you and separate the good from the bad, the sheep from the goats. 18 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! 19 My other sheep have to eat the grass you trample down and drink the water you muddy.
20 “So now, I, the Sovereign Lord, tell you that I will judge between you strong sheep and the weak sheep. 21 You pushed the sick ones aside and butted them away from the flock. 22 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. 23 I will give them a king like my servant David to be their one shepherd, and he will take care of them. 24 I, the Lord, will be their God, and a king like my servant David will be their ruler. I have spoken. 25 I will make a covenant with them that guarantees their security. I will get rid of all the dangerous animals in the land, so that my sheep can live safely in the fields and sleep in the forests.
26 “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. 27 The trees will bear fruit, the fields will produce crops, and everyone will live in safety on his own land. When I break my people's chains and set them free from those who made them slaves, then they will know that I am the Lord. 28 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. 29 I will give them fertile fields and put an end to hunger in the land. The other nations will not sneer at them any more. 30 Everyone will know that I protect Israel and that they are my people. I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken.
31 “You, my sheep, the flock that I feed, are my people, and I am your God,” says the Sovereign Lord.