The Israelites are a flock that's been chased and scattered by lions. The first on the attack was the king of Assyria; then lastly Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon crushed their bones.
My people are sheep that are lost, led astray by their shepherds, making them wander aimlessly in the mountains. They go from place to place in the mountains and hills, forgetting where they used to rest.
I will go looking for the lost, bring home the strays, bandage the injured, and strengthen the weak. However, I will destroy those who are fat and strong. Because I do what's right, I will be sure to take care of them.
You haven't taken care of the weak, healed the sick, bandaged the injured, brought home the strays, or looked for the lost. On the contrary, you ruled them using violence and cruelty.
As I live, declares the Lord God, because my sheep didn't have a shepherd and were preyed on by all the wild animals for food, and because my shepherds didn't look after my sheep but instead only fed themselves,
So Paul and Barnabas spoke out strongly, saying “We had to speak the word of God to you first. But now that you're rejecting it—you're deciding that you're not worthy of eternal life—well now we're turning to the foreigners.
When they opposed him and cursed him, he shook out his clothes and told them, “Your blood is on your own heads! I am innocent of any guilt, and from now on I will go to the foreigners.”
First in Damascus, then in Jerusalem, and then all over Judea and also to the foreigners I shared the message of repentance: how they should turn to God, demonstrating their repentance through their actions.
