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Expanded Comments |
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| 1 And the word of Yahweh came unto me, saying: |
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| 2 Son of man, Prophesy against the shepherds of Israel,–Prophesy, and thou shalt say unto them, even to the shepherds–Thus, saith My Lord, Yahweh–Alas! for the shepherds of Israel who have been tending, themselves, Is it not, the flock, that the shepherds should tend? |
Shepherds of Israel – All who accept the position of elders are, to some extent, representing the Lord, who is the Great Shepherd of the flock. R5389:4
Hireling shepherds of the pulpit. D62; HG715:6
Greedy, ignorant, lazy teachers. F287
Feed themselves – Divide amongst themselves the spoils of filthy lucre, honors, reverence, titles, etc. R1895:6
Many preachers have discerned the Plan but, instead of preaching it, have hidden it, to cause themselves to shine. R3138:4
These are warned by the Lord of his displeasure, and could not be expected to thrive spiritually. R3138:5
Feed the flocks – Not nominal Christians, but the true saints of God. R5693:3
Leading them to the "green pastures" of God's Word and to the "still waters" of divine truth. R5693:2
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| 3 The milk, ye do eat, And, with the wool, ye do clothe yourselves, The well-fed, ye do sacrifice, The flock, ye do not tend: |
Ye kill – Slaughter their influence, cast out their names as evil. R633:2
Them that are fed – They that find pastures of truth and feed, despite the neglect of the shepherds. R633:2
Feed not – Their church arrangements are often especially for the goat or tare class. R5693:3
Very few of the flock of the Lord's consecrated people any longer seek spiritual food at their hands. R5693:6
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| 4 The weak, have ye not strengthened, And, the sick, have ye not healed, And, the torn, have ye not bound up, And, that which was driven out, have ye not brought back, And, that which was straying, have ye not sought out; But, with force, have ye ruled them, and with rigour. |
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| 5 And they were scattered, because there was no shepherd; And they became food for every wild beast of the field, So were they scattered. |
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| 6 My sheep did wander, through all the mountains, And over every high hill,–And, over all the face of the land, were my sheep scattered, And there was none, to inquire, And none, to seek out. |
All the mountains – Kingdoms. A318
The Lord's sheep are intermixed with various nations. R633:2
Every high hill – Societies of earth--churches. R633:2
Or seek after them – The shepherds sanction the scattered and divided condition of the Lord's sheep, and claim that it is the Chief Shepherd's will that they should be separated in various sects. R633:2
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| 7 Wherefore, ye shepherds, hear ye the word of Yahweh: |
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| 8 As I live,–Declareth My Lord, Yahweh, Surely, because my flock became a prey, And my flock became food for every wild beast of the field, through having no, shepherd, Neither did my shepherds inquire after the flock,–But, the shepherds, tended, themselves, And, my flock, they tended not, |
There was no shepherd – Preferring to act a lie, to destroy the faith of the too-confident sheep whom they lead and whose praise and money they enjoy. SM298:1
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| 9 Therefore, ye shepherds, hear ye the word of Yahweh: |
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| 10 Thus, saith My Lord, Yahweh, Behold me! against the shepherds, So then I will require my flock at their hand, And will cause them to cease tending the flock, Neither shall, the shepherds, any longer, tend, themselves, But I will deliver my flock out of their mouth, that they may not be their, food. |
The shepherds – Theological professors and pastors, by not explaining the meaning of the Hebrew and Greek words Sheol and hades, have permitted God's character and plan to be traduced. R2598:6
Require my flock at – Take my flock from. R633:1, R2599:1
Cease from feeding – They shall not continue to be God's mouthpieces, nor shepherd his flock. R2599:1
Feed themselves – Upon the husks of science and man-made theology, and in honoring each other with titles. R633:2
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| 11 For, Thus, saith My Lord, Yahweh,–Here am, I myself, Therefore will I inquire after my flock, and seek them out: |
Behold, I, even I – Behold I am here and will enquire for my flock. R633:1
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| 12 As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day he is in the midst of his sheep that are scattered, So, will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all the places where they were scattered in the day of cloud and thick darkness; |
In the day – The "Day of the Lord." R487:3
He is among – Present among. R487:3
Will I seek out – This is having a fulfillment in the gathering of the sheep of both folds, natural and spiritual Israelites, out of their respective bondages and dispersions. R487:3
Will deliver them – Mark well that this will be when he is present, "here," and "among his flocks that are scattered." R633:2, R5693:6
Cloudy and dark day – The Day of the Lord, the time of trouble. R487:3, R633:2
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| 13 And I will bring them out from among the peoples, And will gather them out of the lands, And will bring them upon their own soil,–And will tend them, Upon the mountains of Israel, In the ravines, And in all the habitable places of the land: |
Gather them – He is about to complete his flock of this Gospel age. R5693:6
Their own land – The homeland of the Lord's sheep of this Gospel age is heaven itself. R5694:1
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| 14 In good pastures, will I feed them, And, on the mountains of the height of Israel, shall be their fold,–There, shall they lie down, in a fold that is good, And, on pasture that is fat, shall they feed, among the mountains of Israel. |
A good fold – The whole world will become "the fold." R5694:6
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| 15 I myself, will tend my flock, And, I myself, will cause them to lie down, Declareth My Lord, Yahweh: |
Will feed my flock – This promised feeding of the Lord's flock is now taking place. R633:4
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| 16 That which is straying, will I seek out, And, that which hath been driven away, will I bring back, And, that which is torn, will I bind up, And, the weak, will I strengthen,–But, the fat and the strong, will I watch, I will feed them with justice. |
With judgment – A righteous recompense. R5694:3
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| 17 And, as for you, O my flock, Thus saith My Lord, Yahweh: Behold me! judging between one kind of small cattle and another, as well the rams as the he-goats. |
O my flock – The beguiling of the attention of the flock from the one true shepherd to a fellow sheep is not always the fault of the leaders. There is a tendency of those of the sheep nature to follow one another. R2080:2, R5694:3
The rams – Elders in the church. R5389:1
The he goats – Whenever any one manifests the goat disposition the ecclesia should strictly avoid making him a leader. R5389:4
Owners of sheep sometimes use a goat as leader of the flock because a goat is more combative than a sheep, and thus supplies the sheep courage. R5389:4
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| 18 Is it too small a thing for you that, on the good pasture, ye feed, But, the remainder of your pastures, ye must needs trample down with your feet? Or that, of the pure waters, ye drink, But, the waters left remaining–with your feet, ye must needs foul? |
The deep waters – Of truth. R3076:1; C65
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| 19 And, my flock, On what hath been trampled down by your feet, may feed, And, of what hath been fouled by your feet, may drink? |
They eat that – Each sheep must see to it that he eats only "clean provender" and drinks only "pure water" as directed by the Shepherd. R2080:4
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| 20 Therefore, Thus, saith My Lord, Yahweh, unto them: Here am, I myself, Therefore, will I judge between fat, sheep and lean, sheep, |
I, will judge – This already has begun in respect to the Gospel Church. R5694:4
The fat cattle – Some who have been considered quite prominent in Christendom, pushing and managing its affairs, will be reproved by the Lord in this day. R5694:4
The lean cattle – The poor, the outcasts, the peculiar, are styled his flock, which he is now gathering and feeding. R5694:4
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| 21 Because, with the side and with the shoulder, ye do thrust, And, with your horns, ye do push all the sick,–Until you have scattered them abroad, |
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| 22 Therefore will I bring salvation to my flock, and they shall be no longer a prey,–but I will judge, between one sheep and another, |
I will judge – See comments on verse 20.
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| 23 And I will raise up over them one shepherd, And he shall tend them, Even my servant David,–He, will tend them, And, he, will become to them a shepherd; |
My servant David – The Christ, Head and Body. R5694:5
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| 24 And, I, Yahweh, will become to them a God, my servant David being a prince in their midst;–I, Yahweh, have spoken; |
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| 25 And I will solemnise for them a covenant of prosperity, And will cause to cease the mischievous wild-beast out of the land, And they shall dwell in the wilderness, securely, And shall sleep in the forests; |
The evil beasts – The evildoers, those who will devour, destroy and do harm. R5694:6
In the woods – A quiet and restful condition. R5694:6
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| 26 And I will make them, and the places round about my hill, a blessing,–And I will cause the abundant rain to come down in its season, abundant rains of blessing, shall they be; |
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| 27 And the tree of the field shall yield his fruit, And, the land, shall yield her increase, And they shall remain on their own soil, in security,–So shall they know, that, I, am Yahweh, When I have broken the bars of their yoke, And shall deliver them out of the hand of them who have been using them as slaves. |
Yield her increase – In the "Times of Restitution" of Messiah's reign. R4674:1, R1248:3; A192; HG515:1
Already we have evidence of how these scriptures may be fulfilled. R4431:5
For the microbes of destruction and disease shall be restrained. R1771:6
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| 28 And they shall be no longer a prey for the nations, Nor shall, the wild beast of the earth! devour them,–But they shall dwell securely with none, to put them in terror. |
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| 29 And I will raise up unto them a plantation for fame,–And there shall be no longer the destroyed of hunger in the land, Neither shall they bear any longer, the reproach of the nations. |
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| 30 So shall they know, that, I Yahweh their God, am with them,–And that, they, are my people, the house of Israel, Declareth My Lord, Yahweh. |
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| 31 Ye, therefore, my flock, the flock of my pasture, are, men,–I, am your God, Declareth My Lord, Yahweh. |
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