'Shepherd' in the Bible
Then his brothers went to pasture their father’s flock near Shechem.
Israel (Jacob) said to Joseph, “Are not your brothers pasturing [the flock] at Shechem? Come, and I will send you to them.” And he said, “Here I am [ready to obey you].”
you shall say, ‘Your servants have been keepers of livestock from our youth until now, both we and our fathers [before us],’ in order that you may live [separately and securely] in the land of Goshen; for every shepherd is repulsive to the Egyptians.”
Then Jacob (Israel) blessed Joseph, and said,“The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked [in faithful obedience],The God who has been my Shepherd [leading and caring for me] all my life to this day,
“But his bow remained firm and steady [in the Strength that does not fail],For his arms were made strong and agileBy the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob,(By the name of the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel),
who will go out and come in before them, and will lead them out and bring them in, so that the congregation of the Lord will not be as sheep without a shepherd.”
Wherever I have gone with all the Israelites, did I speak a word to any from the tribes of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd My people Israel, asking, ‘Why have you not built Me a house of cedar?’”’
And he said,“I saw all IsraelScattered upon the mountains,Like sheep that have no shepherd.And the Lord said,‘These have no master.Let each of them return to his house in peace.’”
In times past, even when Saul was king, it was you who led out and brought in Israel; and the Lord your God said to you, ‘You shall shepherd My people Israel, and you shall be prince and leader over My people Israel.’”
Then Micaiah said,“I saw all [the people of] IsraelScattered on the mountains,As sheep that have no shepherd;And the Lord said,‘These have no master.Let each one return to his house in peace.’”
The Lord is my Shepherd [to feed, to guide and to shield me],I shall not want.
Save Your people and bless Your inheritance;Be their shepherd also, and carry them forever.
Like sheep they are appointed for Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead);Death will be their shepherd;And the upright shall rule over them in the morning,And their form and beauty shall be for Sheol to consume,So that they have no dwelling [on earth].
From tending the ewes with nursing young He brought himTo shepherd Jacob His people,And Israel His inheritance.
So David shepherded them according to the integrity of his heart;And guided them with his skillful hands.
Hear us O Shepherd of Israel,You who lead Joseph like a flock;You who sit enthroned above the cherubim [of the ark of the covenant], shine forth!
The words of the wise are like [prodding] goads, and these collected sayings are [firmly fixed in the mind] like well-driven nails; they are given by one Shepherd.
But beyond this my son, [about going further than the words given by one Shepherd], be warned: the writing of many books is endless [so do not believe everything you read], and excessive study and devotion to books is wearying to the body.
“Tell me, O you whom my soul loves,Where do you pasture your flock,Where do you make it lie down at noon?For why should I be like one who is veiledBeside the flocks of your companions?”
“My beloved is to me like a pouch of myrrhWhich lies all night between my breasts.
“My beloved is to me a cluster of henna flowersIn the [fragrant] vineyards of Engedi.”
(The Shulammite Bride)“Behold, how fair and handsome you are, my beloved;And so delightful!Our arbor is green and luxuriant.
(The Shulammite Bride)“Like an apple tree [rare and welcome] among the trees of the forest,So is my beloved among the young men!In his shade I took great delight and sat down,And his fruit was sweet and delicious to my palate.
(The Shulammite Bride)“Listen! My beloved!Behold, he comes,Climbing on the mountains,Leaping and running on the hills!
(The Bridegroom)“O my dove, [here] in the clefts in the rock,In the sheltered and secret place of the steep pathway,Let me see your face,Let me hear your voice;For your voice is sweet,And your face is lovely.”
“Until the cool of the day when the shadows flee away,Return quickly, my beloved, and be like a gazelleOr a young stag on the mountains of Bether [which separate us].” Cross references: Song of Solomon 2:6 : Deut 33:27; Matt 28:20 Song of Solomon 2:8 : John 10:27 Song of Solomon 2:16 : Matt 10:32; Acts 4:12 end of crossrefs
(The Bridegroom)“I have come into my garden, my sister, my [promised] bride;I have gathered my myrrh along with my balsam and spice [from your sweet words].I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey;I have drunk my wine with my milk.Eat, friends;Drink and drink deeply, O lovers.”
He will protect His flock like a shepherd,He will gather the lambs in His arm,He will carry them in His bosom;He will gently and carefully lead those nursing their young.
“It is I who says of Cyrus, ‘He is My shepherd (ruler),And he will carry out all that I desire—’Saying of Jerusalem, ‘She shall [again] be built,’And of the temple, ‘Your foundation shall [again] be laid.’”
“Lift up your eyes and seeThose coming from the north.Where is the flock that was given to you [to shepherd],Your beautiful flock?
But as for me, I have not tried to escape from being a shepherd [walking] after You,Nor have I longed for the woeful day [of judgment];You know that, whatever I saidWas [spoken] in Your presence and was from You.
Hear the word of the Lord, O you nations,And declare it in the isles and coastlands far away,And say, “He who scattered Israel will gather himAnd will keep him as a shepherd keeps his flock.”
And [through him] I will set fire to the temples of the gods of Egypt, and he will burn them and take them (Egyptian idols) captive. He will wrap himself with the land of Egypt as a shepherd wraps himself with his garment, and he will go away from there safely.
See, one will come like a lion from the thicket of the Jordan against the enduring habitation [of Edom] and its watered pastures; for in an instant I will make him (Edom) run from his land. I will appoint over him the one whom I choose. For who is like Me, and who will summon Me [into court] and prosecute Me [for this]? Who is the [earthly] shepherd who can stand [defiantly] before Me?”
“See, one will come up like a lion from the thicket of the Jordan against the enduring habitation [of Babylon] and its watered pastures; for in an instant I will make Babylon run from his land. I will appoint over Babylon the one whom I choose. For who is like Me, and who will summon Me [into court] and prosecute Me [for this]? Who is the [earthly] shepherd who can stand [defiantly] before Me?”
With you I shatter the shepherd and his flock,With you I shatter the farmer and his yoke of oxen,And with you I shatter governors and commanders.
“I will make you pass under the rod [as the shepherd does with his sheep when he counts them, and I will count you as Mine and constrain you] and bring you into the bond of the covenant [to which you are permanently bound].
They were scattered because there was no shepherd, and when they were scattered they became food for all the predators of the field.
“As I live,” says the Lord God, “certainly because My flock has become prey, My flock has even become food for every predator of the field for lack of a shepherd, and My shepherds did not search for My flock, but rather the shepherds fed themselves and did not feed My flock;
As a shepherd cares for his sheep on the day that he is among his scattered flock, so I will care for My sheep; and I will rescue them from all the places to which they were scattered on a cloudy and gloomy day.
“Then I will appoint over them one shepherd and he will feed them, [a ruler like] My servant David; he will feed them and be their shepherd.
“My servant David will be king over them, and they all will have one shepherd. They will also walk in My ordinances and keep My statutes and observe them.
Thus says the Lord,“Just as the shepherd snatches from the mouth of the lion a couple of legs or a piece of the [sheep’s] ear [to prove to the owner that he has not stolen the animal],So will the [remaining] children of Israel living in Samaria be snatched awayWith the corner of a bed and [part of] the damask covering of a couch.
For the teraphim (household idols) speak wickedness (emptiness, worthlessness),And the diviners see lying visionsAnd tell false dreams;They comfort in vain.Therefore the people wander like sheep,They are afflicted and suffer because there is no shepherd.
Thus says the Lord my God, “Pasture the flock doomed for slaughter,
So I said, “I will not pasture you. What is to die, let it die, and what is to be destroyed, let it be destroyed; and let the survivors devour one another’s flesh.”
Then the Lord said to me, “Throw it to the potter [as if to the dogs]—that magnificent sum at which I am valued by them!” So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them to the potter in the house of the Lord.
The Lord said to me, “Take again for yourself the equipment [of a shepherd, but this time] of a foolish shepherd.
For behold, I am going to raise up a [false] shepherd in the land who will not care for the perishing, seek the scattered, heal the broken, or feed the healthy; but will eat the flesh of the fat ones and tear off their hoofs [to consume everything].
“Woe (judgment is coming) to the worthless and foolish shepherdWho deserts the flock!The sword will strike his armAnd his right eye!His arm shall be totally witheredAnd his right eye completely blinded.”
“Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd,And against the Man, My Associate,”Declares the Lord of hosts.“Strike the Shepherd so that the sheep [of the flock] may be scattered;And I will turn My hand and stretch it out against the little ones [of the flock].