'Shepherds' in the Bible
and the men are shepherds, for they have been keepers of livestock; and they have brought their flocks and their herds and all that they have.’
Then Pharaoh said to his brothers, “What is your occupation?” So they said to Pharaoh, “Your servants are shepherds, both we and our fathers.”
Then the shepherds came and drove them away, but Moses stood up and helped them and watered their flock.
So they said, “An Egyptian delivered us from the hand of the shepherds, and what is more, he even drew the water for us and watered the flock.”
Your sons shall be shepherds for forty years in the wilderness, and they will suffer for your unfaithfulness, until your corpses lie in the wilderness.
Now one of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained before the Lord; and his name was Doeg the Edomite, the chief of Saul’s shepherds.
Now I have heard that you have shearers; now your shepherds have been with us and we have not insulted them, nor have they missed anything all the days they were in Carmel.
Then he arose and departed and went to Samaria. On the way while he was at Beth-eked of the shepherds,
“If you yourself do not know,Most beautiful among women,Go forth on the trail of the flockAnd pasture your young goatsBy the tents of the shepherds.
It will never be inhabited or lived in from generation to generation;Nor will the Arab pitch his tent there,Nor will shepherds make their flocks lie down there.
For thus says the Lord to me,“As the lion or the young lion growls over his prey,Against which a band of shepherds is called out,And he will not be terrified at their voice nor disturbed at their noise,So will the Lord of hosts come down to wage war on Mount Zion and on its hill.”
And the dogs are greedy, they are not satisfied.And they are shepherds who have no understanding;They have all turned to their own way,Each one to his unjust gain, to the last one.
Then His people remembered the days of old, of Moses.Where is He who brought them up out of the sea with the shepherds of His flock?Where is He who put His Holy Spirit in the midst of them,
“Then I will give you shepherds after My own heart, who will feed you on knowledge and understanding.
“Shepherds and their flocks will come to her,They will pitch their tents around her,They will pasture each in his place.
For the shepherds have become stupidAnd have not sought the Lord;Therefore they have not prospered,And all their flock is scattered.
“Many shepherds have ruined My vineyard,They have trampled down My field;They have made My pleasant fieldA desolate wilderness.
“The wind will sweep away all your shepherds,And your lovers will go into captivity;Then you will surely be ashamed and humiliatedBecause of all your wickedness.
“Woe to the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep of My pasture!” declares the Lord.
Therefore thus says the Lord God of Israel concerning the shepherds who are tending My people: “You have scattered My flock and driven them away, and have not attended to them; behold, I am about to attend to you for the evil of your deeds,” declares the Lord.
I will also raise up shepherds over them and they will tend them; and they will not be afraid any longer, nor be terrified, nor will any be missing,” declares the Lord.
“Wail, you shepherds, and cry;And wallow in ashes, you masters of the flock;For the days of your slaughter and your dispersions have come,And you will fall like a choice vessel.
“Flight will perish from the shepherds,And escape from the masters of the flock.
“Hear the sound of the cry of the shepherds,And the wailing of the masters of the flock!For the Lord is destroying their pasture,
“Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘There will again be in this place which is waste, without man or beast, and in all its cities, a habitation of shepherds who rest their flocks.
“My people have become lost sheep;Their shepherds have led them astray.They have made them turn aside on the mountains;They have gone along from mountain to hillAnd have forgotten their resting place.
“Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and say to those shepherds, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “Woe, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flock?
“As I live,” declares the Lord God, “surely because My flock has become a prey, My flock has even become food for all the beasts 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;
‘Thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I am against the shepherds, and I will demand My sheep from them and make them cease from feeding sheep. So the shepherds will not feed themselves anymore, but I will deliver My flock from their mouth, so that they will not be food for them.”’”
He said,“The Lord roars from ZionAnd from Jerusalem He utters His voice;And the shepherds’ pasture grounds mourn,And the summit of Carmel dries up.”
This One will be our peace.When the Assyrian invades our land,When he tramples on our citadels,Then we will raise against himSeven shepherds and eight leaders of men.
Your shepherds are sleeping, O king of Assyria;Your nobles are lying down.Your people are scattered on the mountainsAnd there is no one to regather them.
So the seacoast will be pastures,With caves for shepherds and folds for flocks.
“My anger is kindled against the shepherds,And I will punish the male goats;For the Lord of hosts has visited His flock, the house of Judah,And will make them like His majestic horse in battle.
There is a sound of the shepherds’ wail,For their glory is ruined;There is a sound of the young lions’ roar,For the pride of the Jordan is ruined.
Those who buy them slay them and go unpunished, and each of those who sell them says, ‘Blessed be the Lord, for I have become rich!’ And their own shepherds have no pity on them.
Then I annihilated the three shepherds in one month, for my soul was impatient with them, and their soul also was weary of me.