The priests didn’t ask, “Where is the Lord?” Those who deal with my teachings didn’t know me. The rulers rebelled against me. The prophets prophesied in the name of Baal and followed statues that couldn’t help them.
This is what the Lord says: Write this about Jehoiakin: He will be childless. He won’t prosper in his lifetime. None of his descendants will succeed him as king. They won’t sit on David’s throne and rule Judah again.
Their camels will be taken as prizes. Their large herds will be taken as loot. I will scatter to the winds those who shave the hair on their foreheads. I will bring disaster on them from every side, declares the Lord.
“The people of Israel are like scattered sheep that lions have chased. The first to devour them was the king of Assyria. The last to gnaw at their bones was King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon.
As a shepherd looks after his flock when he is with his scattered sheep, so I will look after my sheep. I will rescue them on a cloudy and gloomy day from every place where they have been scattered.
“My burning anger is directed against the shepherds. I will punish the male goats. The Lord of Armies takes care of his flock, the people of Judah. He makes them like his splendid war horse.”
“Arise, sword, against my shepherd, against the man who is my friend,” declares the Lord of Armies. “Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered. Then I will turn my hand against the little ones.”