Then they remembered the days of old, of Moses, his servant: Where is the one who brought up out of the sea the shepherd of his flock? Where is the one who placed in their midst his holy spirit,
They shall tend the land of Assyria with the sword, and the land of Nimrod with the drawn sword; They will deliver us from Assyria, when it invades our land, when it treads upon our borders.
Listen! the wailing of shepherds, their glory has been destroyed. Listen! the roaring of young lions, the thickets of the Jordan are destroyed. The Shepherd Narrative.
For they who buy them slay them and are not held accountable; while those who sell them say, “Blessed be the Lord, I have become rich!” Even their own shepherds will not pity them.
Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, against the one who is my associate —oracle of the Lord of hosts. Strike the shepherd that the sheep may be scattered; I will turn my hand against the little ones.
Keep watch over yourselves and over the whole flock of which the holy Spirit has appointed you overseers, in which you tend the church of God that he acquired with his own blood.
This is the secret meaning of the seven stars you saw in my right hand, and of the seven gold lampstands: the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.