And he said, “I saw all Israel scattered upon the hills, as sheep without a shepherd, and the Lord said, ‘These have no master. Let every man return to his own house in peace.’ ”
The prophets of old who have been before me and before you prophesied both against many countries and against great kingdoms, of war and disaster and pestilence.
Israel is a scattered flock. The lions have driven him away. First the king of Assyria devoured him; and this last one who has broken his bones is Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.
My people have been lost sheep. Their shepherds have caused them to go astray; they have turned them away on the mountains. They have gone from mountain to hill and have forgotten their resting place.
As I looked, behold, a whirlwind came out of the north, a great cloud with fire flashing forth continually, and a brightness was all around it, and in its midst something as glowing metal in the midst of the fire.
For the household Teraphim idols speak wickedness, and the diviners envision lies. They utter false dreams, and provide comfort that does not last. So the people wander about like sheep; they are afflicted because there is no shepherd.
“Awake, O sword, against My shepherd and the man of My association,” says the Lord of Hosts. Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will scatter. I will turn My hand against the small ones.
who will go out before them, and who will go in before them, and who will lead them out, and who will bring them in, so the assembly of the Lord will not be like sheep who do not have a shepherd.”
When Jesus came out and saw many people, He was moved with compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And He began to teach them many things.
(Formerly in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, thus he said, “Come, and let us go to the seer.” For he that is now called a prophet was formerly called a seer.)