Sheep

Later she gave birth to Cain’s brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, while Cain was a tiller of the soil.

And there was discord between the herdsmen of Abram and the herdsmen of Lot. At that time the Canaanites and the Perizzites were also living in the land.

So Abram said to Lot, “Please let there be no contention between you and me, or between your herdsmen and my herdsmen. After all, we are kinsmen.

And the LORD said to him, “Bring Me a heifer, a goat, and a ram, each three years old, along with a turtledove and a young pigeon.”

Abraham separated seven ewe lambs from the flock,

and Abimelech asked him, “Why have you set apart these seven ewe lambs?”

He replied, “You are to accept the seven ewe lambs from my hand as my witness that I dug this well.”

Then Isaac said to his father Abraham, “My father!” “Here I am, my son,” he replied. “The fire and the wood are here,” said Isaac, “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”

Abraham answered, “God Himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” And the two walked on together.

Then Abraham looked up and saw behind him a ram in a thicket, caught by its horns. So he went and took the ram and offered it as a burnt offering in place of his son.

But the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac’s herdsmen and said, “The water is ours!” So he named the well Esek, because they contended with him.

“Look,” said Jacob, “it is still broad daylight; it is not yet time to gather the livestock. Water the sheep and take them back to pasture.”

While he was still speaking with them, Rachel arrived with her father’s sheep, for she was a shepherdess.

“What can I give you?” Laban asked. “You do not need to give me anything,” Jacob replied. “If you do this one thing for me, I will keep on shepherding and keeping your flocks.

Let me go through all your flocks today and remove from them every speckled or spotted sheep, every dark-colored lamb, and every spotted or speckled goat. These will be my wages.

So my honesty will testify for me when you come to check on my wages in the future. If I have any goats that are not speckled or spotted, or any lambs that are not dark-colored, they will be considered stolen.”

That very day Laban removed all the streaked or spotted male goats and every speckled or spotted female goat—every one that had any white on it—and every dark-colored lamb, and he placed them under the care of his sons.

Then he put a three-day journey between himself and Jacob, while Jacob was shepherding the rest of Laban’s flocks.

Jacob set apart the young, but made the rest face the streaked dark-colored sheep in Laban’s flocks. Then he set his own stock apart and did not put them with Laban’s animals.

I have been with you for twenty years now. Your sheep and goats have not miscarried, nor have I eaten the rams of your flock.

30 milk camels with their young, 40 cows, 10 bulls, 20 female donkeys, and 10 male donkeys.

These are the sons of Zibeon: Aiah and Anah. (This is the Anah who found the hot springs in the wilderness as he was pasturing the donkeys of his father Zibeon.)

This is the account of Jacob. When Joseph was seventeen years old, he was tending the flock with his brothers, the sons of his father’s wives Bilhah and Zilpah, and he brought their father a bad report about them.

Some time later, Joseph’s brothers had gone to pasture their father’s flocks near Shechem.

Israel said to him, “Are not your brothers pasturing the flocks at Shechem? Get ready; I am sending you to them.” “I am ready,” Joseph replied.

“I am looking for my brothers,” Joseph replied. “Can you please tell me where they are pasturing their flocks?”

The men are shepherds; they raise livestock, and they have brought their flocks and herds and all that they own.’

you are to say, ‘Your servants have raised livestock ever since our youth—both we and our fathers.’ Then you will be allowed to settle in the land of Goshen, since all shepherds are detestable to the Egyptians.”

“What is your occupation?” Pharaoh asked Joseph’s brothers. “Your servants are shepherds,” they replied, “both we and our fathers.”

Then he blessed Joseph and said: “May the God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has been my shepherd all my life to this day,

Yet he steadied his bow, and his strong arms were tempered by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob, in the name of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel,

And when some shepherds came along and drove them away, Moses rose up to help them and watered their flock.

“An Egyptian rescued us from the shepherds,” they replied. “He even drew water for us and watered the flock.”

Meanwhile, Moses was shepherding the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian. He led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.

Tell the whole congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each man must select a lamb for his family, one per household.

If the household is too small for a whole lamb, they are to share with the nearest neighbor based on the number of people, and apportion the lamb accordingly.

Your lamb must be an unblemished year-old male, and you may take it from the sheep or the goats.

You must redeem every firstborn donkey with a lamb, and if you do not redeem it, you are to break its neck. And every firstborn of your sons you must redeem.

But if it happens after sunrise, there is guilt for his bloodshed. A thief must make full restitution; if he has nothing, he himself shall be sold for his theft.

If the thief is not found, the owner of the house must appear before the judges to determine whether he has taken his neighbor’s property.

In all cases of illegal possession of an ox, a donkey, a sheep, a garment, or any lost item that someone claims, ‘This is mine,’ both parties shall bring their cases before the judges. The one whom the judges find guilty must pay back double to his neighbor.

ram skins dyed red and fine leather; acacia wood;

Also make a covering for the tent out of ram skins dyed red, and over that a covering of fine leather.

“Now this is what you are to do to consecrate Aaron and his sons to serve Me as priests: Take a young bull and two rams without blemish,

put them in a basket, and present them in the basket, along with the bull and the two rams.

Take one of the rams, and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on its head.

You are to slaughter the ram, take its blood, and splatter it on all sides of the altar.

Cut the ram into pieces, wash the entrails and legs, and place them with its head and other pieces.

Then burn the entire ram on the altar; it is a burnt offering to the LORD, a pleasing aroma, a food offering to the LORD.

Take the second ram, and Aaron and his sons are to lay their hands on its head.

Slaughter the ram, take some of its blood, and put it on the right earlobes of Aaron and his sons, on the thumbs of their right hands, and on the big toes of their right feet. Splatter the remaining blood on all sides of the altar.

Take the fat from the ram, the fat tail, the fat covering the entrails, the lobe of the liver, both kidneys with the fat on them, and the right thigh (since this is a ram for ordination),

Take the breast of the ram of Aaron’s ordination and wave it before the LORD as a wave offering, and it will be your portion.

Consecrate for Aaron and his sons the breast of the wave offering that is waved and the thigh of the heave offering that is lifted up from the ram of ordination.

You are to take the ram of ordination and boil its flesh in a holy place.

At the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, Aaron and his sons are to eat the meat of the ram and the bread that is in the basket.

This is what you are to offer regularly on the altar, each day: two lambs that are a year old.

Offer one lamb in the morning and the other at twilight.

With the first lamb offer a tenth of an ephah of fine flour, mixed with a quarter hin of oil from pressed olives, and a drink offering of a quarter hin of wine.

And offer the second lamb at twilight with the same grain offering and drink offering as in the morning, as a pleasing aroma, a food offering to the LORD.

The first offspring of every womb belongs to Me, including all the firstborn males among your livestock, whether cattle or sheep.

You must redeem the firstborn of a donkey with a lamb; but if you do not redeem it, you are to break its neck. You must redeem all the firstborn of your sons. No one shall appear before Me empty-handed.

ram skins dyed red and fine leather; acacia wood;

Everyone who had blue, purple, or scarlet yarn, or fine linen, goat hair, ram skins dyed red, or articles of fine leather, brought them.

Additionally, he made for the tent a covering of ram skins dyed red, and over that a covering of fine leather.

the covering of ram skins dyed red, the covering of fine leather, and the veil of the covering;

If, however, one’s offering is a burnt offering from the flock—from the sheep or goats—he is to present an unblemished male.

If he is presenting a lamb for his offering, he must present it before the LORD.

If, however, he brings a lamb as a sin offering, he must bring an unblemished female.

And he shall remove all the fat, just as the fat of the lamb is removed from the peace offerings, and he shall burn it on the altar along with the food offerings to the LORD. In this way the priest will make atonement for him for the sin he has committed, and he will be forgiven.

and he must bring his guilt offering to the LORD for the sin he has committed: a female lamb or goat from the flock as a sin offering. And the priest will make atonement for him concerning his sin.

If, however, he cannot afford a lamb, he may bring to the LORD as restitution for his sin two turtledoves or two young pigeons—one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering.

“If someone acts unfaithfully and sins unintentionally against any of the LORD’s holy things, he must bring his guilt offering to the LORD: an unblemished ram from the flock, of proper value in silver shekels according to the sanctuary shekel; it is a guilt offering.

Regarding any holy thing he has harmed, he must make restitution by adding a fifth of its value to it and giving it to the priest, who will make atonement on his behalf with the ram as a guilt offering, and he will be forgiven.

He is to bring to the priest an unblemished ram of proper value from the flock as a guilt offering. Then the priest will make atonement on his behalf for the wrong he has committed in ignorance, and he will be forgiven.

“Speak to the Israelites and say, ‘You are not to eat any of the fat of an ox, a sheep, or a goat.

“Take Aaron and his sons, their garments, the anointing oil, the bull of the sin offering, the two rams, and the basket of unleavened bread,

Then Moses presented the ram for the burnt offering, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on its head.

He cut the ram into pieces and burned the head, the pieces, and the fat.

He washed the entrails and legs with water and burned the entire ram on the altar as a burnt offering, a pleasing aroma, a food offering to the LORD, just as the LORD had commanded Moses.

After that, Moses presented the other ram, the ram of ordination, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on its head.

He also took the breast—Moses’ portion of the ram of ordination—and waved it before the LORD as a wave offering, as the LORD had commanded him.

He said to Aaron, “Take for yourself a young bull for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering, both without blemish, and present them before the LORD.

Then speak to the Israelites and say, ‘Take a male goat for a sin offering, a calf and a lamb—both a year old and without blemish—for a burnt offering,

an ox and a ram for a peace offering to sacrifice before the LORD, and a grain offering mixed with oil. For today the LORD will appear to you.’”

Then he slaughtered the ox and the ram as the people’s peace offering. His sons brought him the blood, and he splattered it on all sides of the altar.

They also brought the fat portions from the ox and the ram—the fat tail, the fat covering the entrails, the kidneys, and the lobe of the liver—

When the days of her purification are complete, whether for a son or for a daughter, she is to bring to the priest at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting a year-old lamb for a burnt offering and a young pigeon or a turtledove for a sin offering.

But if she cannot afford a lamb, she shall bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons, one for a burnt offering and the other for a sin offering. Then the priest will make atonement for her, and she will be clean.’”

On the eighth day he is to bring two unblemished male lambs, an unblemished ewe lamb a year old, a grain offering of three-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with olive oil, and one log of olive oil.

Then the priest is to take one of the male lambs and present it as a guilt offering, along with the log of olive oil; and he must wave them as a wave offering before the LORD.

Then he is to slaughter the lamb in the sanctuary area where the sin offering and burnt offering are slaughtered. Like the sin offering, the guilt offering belongs to the priest; it is most holy.

If, however, the person is poor and cannot afford these offerings, he is to take one male lamb as a guilt offering to be waved to make atonement for him, along with a tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed with olive oil for a grain offering, a log of olive oil,

The priest shall take the lamb for the guilt offering, along with the log of olive oil, and wave them as a wave offering before the LORD.

And after he slaughters the lamb for the guilt offering, the priest is to take some of the blood of the guilt offering and put it on the right earlobe of the one to be cleansed, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot.

This is how Aaron is to enter the Holy Place: with a young bull for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering.

And he shall take from the congregation of Israel two male goats for a sin offering and one ram for a burnt offering.

‘Anyone from the house of Israel who slaughters an ox, a lamb, or a goat in the camp or outside of it

The man, however, must bring a ram to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting as his guilt offering to the LORD.

The priest shall make atonement on his behalf before the LORD with the ram of the guilt offering for the sin he has committed, and he will be forgiven the sin he has committed.

must offer an unblemished male from the cattle, sheep, or goats in order for it to be accepted on your behalf.

You may present as a freewill offering an ox or sheep that has a deformed or stunted limb, but it is not acceptable in fulfillment of a vow.

“When an ox, a sheep, or a goat is born, it must remain with its mother for seven days. From the eighth day on, it will be acceptable as a food offering presented to the LORD.

But you must not slaughter an ox or a sheep on the same day as its young.

On the day you wave the sheaf, you shall offer a year-old lamb without blemish as a burnt offering to the LORD,

Along with the bread you are to present seven unblemished male lambs a year old, one young bull, and two rams. They will be a burnt offering to the LORD, together with their grain offerings and drink offerings—a food offering, a pleasing aroma to the LORD.

You shall also prepare one male goat as a sin offering and two male lambs a year old as a peace offering.

The priest is to wave the lambs as a wave offering before the LORD, together with the bread of the firstfruits. The bread and the two lambs shall be holy to the LORD for the priest.

But no one may consecrate a firstborn of the livestock, because a firstborn belongs to the LORD. Whether it is an ox or a sheep, it is the LORD’s.

But if the man has no relative to whom restitution can be made for the wrong, the restitution belongs to the LORD and must be given to the priest along with the ram of atonement, by which the atonement is made for him.

He must rededicate his time of separation to the LORD and bring a year-old male lamb as a guilt offering. But the preceding days shall not be counted, because his separation was defiled.

and he is to present an offering to the LORD of an unblemished year-old male lamb as a burnt offering, an unblemished year-old female lamb as a sin offering, and an unblemished ram as a peace offering—

He shall also offer the ram as a peace offering to the LORD, along with the basket of unleavened bread. And the priest is to offer the accompanying grain offering and drink offering.

And the priest is to take the boiled shoulder from the ram, one unleavened cake from the basket, and one unleavened wafer, and put them into the hands of the Nazirite who has just shaved the hair of his consecration.

one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb a year old for a burnt offering;

and a peace offering of two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old. This was the offering of Nahshon son of Amminadab.

one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb a year old for a burnt offering;

and a peace offering of two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old. This was the offering of Nethanel son of Zuar.

one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb a year old for a burnt offering;

and a peace offering of two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old. This was the offering of Eliab son of Helon.

one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb a year old for a burnt offering;

and a peace offering of two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old. This was the offering of Elizur son of Shedeur.

one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb a year old for a burnt offering;

and a peace offering of two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old. This was the offering of Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai.

one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb a year old for a burnt offering;

and a peace offering of two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old. This was the offering of Eliasaph son of Deuel.

one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb a year old for a burnt offering;

and a peace offering of two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old. This was the offering of Elishama son of Ammihud.

one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb a year old for a burnt offering;

and a peace offering of two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old. This was the offering of Gamaliel son of Pedahzur.

one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb a year old for a burnt offering;

and a peace offering of two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old. This was the offering of Abidan son of Gideoni.

one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb a year old for a burnt offering;

and a peace offering of two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old. This was the offering of Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai.

one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb a year old for a burnt offering;

and a peace offering of two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old. This was the offering of Pagiel son of Ocran.

one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb a year old for a burnt offering;

and a peace offering of two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old. This was the offering of Ahira son of Enan.

All the livestock for the burnt offering totaled twelve bulls, twelve rams, and twelve male lambs a year old—together with their grain offerings—and twelve male goats for the sin offering.

All the livestock sacrificed for the peace offering totaled twenty-four bulls, sixty rams, sixty male goats, and sixty male lambs a year old. This was the dedication offering for the altar after it was anointed.

Your children will be shepherds in the wilderness for forty years, and they will suffer for your unfaithfulness until the last of your bodies lies in the wilderness.

With the burnt offering or sacrifice of each lamb, you are to prepare a quarter hin of wine as a drink offering.

With a ram you are to prepare a grain offering of two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with a third of a hin of olive oil,

This is to be done for each bull, ram, lamb, or goat.

But you must not redeem the firstborn of an ox, a sheep, or a goat; they are holy. You are to splatter their blood on the altar and burn their fat as a food offering, a pleasing aroma to the LORD.

Then Balaam said to Balak, “Build for me seven altars here, and prepare for me seven bulls and seven rams.”

So Balak did as Balaam had instructed, and Balak and Balaam offered a bull and a ram on each altar.

and God met with him. “I have set up seven altars,” Balaam said, “and on each altar I have offered a bull and a ram.”

So Balak took him to the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, where he built seven altars and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.

Then Balaam said, “Build for me seven altars here, and prepare for me seven bulls and seven rams.”

So Balak did as Balaam had instructed, and he offered a bull and a ram on each altar.

who will go out and come in before them, and who will lead them out and bring them in, so that the congregation of the LORD will not be like sheep without a shepherd.”

And tell them that this is the food offering you are to present to the LORD as a regular burnt offering each day: two unblemished year-old male lambs.

Offer one lamb in the morning and the other at twilight,

The drink offering accompanying each lamb shall be a quarter hin. Pour out the offering of fermented drink to the LORD in the sanctuary area.

And offer the second lamb at twilight, with the same grain offering and drink offering as in the morning. It is a food offering, a pleasing aroma to the LORD.

On the Sabbath day, present two unblemished year-old male lambs, accompanied by a grain offering of two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil, as well as a drink offering.

At the beginning of every month, you are to present to the LORD a burnt offering of two young bulls, one ram, and seven male lambs a year old, all unblemished,

along with three-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering with each bull, two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering with the ram,

and a tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering with each lamb. This is a burnt offering, a pleasing aroma, a food offering to the LORD.

Their drink offerings shall be half a hin of wine with each bull, a third of a hin with the ram, and a quarter hin with each lamb. This is the monthly burnt offering to be made at each new moon throughout the year.

Present to the LORD a food offering, a burnt offering of two young bulls, one ram, and seven male lambs a year old, all unblemished.

The grain offering shall consist of fine flour mixed with oil; offer three-tenths of an ephah with each bull, two-tenths of an ephah with the ram,

and a tenth of an ephah with each of the seven lambs.

Present a burnt offering of two young bulls, one ram, and seven male lambs a year old as a pleasing aroma to the LORD,

together with their grain offerings of fine flour mixed with oil—three-tenths of an ephah with each bull, two-tenths of an ephah with the ram,

and a tenth of an ephah with each of the seven lambs.

As a pleasing aroma to the LORD, you are to present a burnt offering of one young bull, one ram, and seven male lambs a year old, all unblemished,

together with their grain offerings of fine flour mixed with oil—three-tenths of an ephah with the bull, two-tenths of an ephah with the ram,

and a tenth of an ephah with each of the seven male lambs.

Present as a pleasing aroma to the LORD a burnt offering of one young bull, one ram, and seven male lambs a year old, all unblemished,

together with their grain offerings of fine flour mixed with oil—three-tenths of an ephah with the bull, two-tenths of an ephah with the ram,

and a tenth of an ephah with each of the seven lambs.

As a pleasing aroma to the LORD, you are to present a food offering, a burnt offering of thirteen young bulls, two rams, and fourteen male lambs a year old, all unblemished,

along with the grain offering of three-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil with each of the thirteen bulls, two-tenths of an ephah with each of the two rams,

and a tenth of an ephah with each of the fourteen lambs.

On the second day you are to present twelve young bulls, two rams, and fourteen male lambs a year old, all unblemished,

along with the grain and drink offerings for the bulls, rams, and lambs, according to the number prescribed.

On the third day you are to present eleven bulls, two rams, and fourteen male lambs a year old, all unblemished,

along with the grain and drink offerings for the bulls, rams, and lambs, according to the number prescribed.

On the fourth day you are to present ten bulls, two rams, and fourteen male lambs a year old, all unblemished,

along with the grain and drink offerings for the bulls, rams, and lambs, according to the number prescribed.

On the fifth day you are to present nine bulls, two rams, and fourteen male lambs a year old, all unblemished,

along with the grain and drink offerings for the bulls, rams, and lambs, according to the number prescribed.

On the sixth day you are to present eight bulls, two rams, and fourteen male lambs a year old, all unblemished,

along with the grain and drink offerings for the bulls, rams, and lambs, according to the number prescribed.

On the seventh day you are to present seven bulls, two rams, and fourteen male lambs a year old, all unblemished,

along with the grain and drink offerings for the bulls, rams, and lambs, according to the number prescribed.

As a pleasing aroma to the LORD, you are to present a food offering, a burnt offering of one bull, one ram, and seven male lambs a year old, all unblemished,

along with the grain and drink offerings for the bulls, rams, and lambs, according to the number prescribed.

These are the animals that you may eat: The ox, the sheep, the goat,

You shall not sacrifice to the LORD your God an ox or a sheep with any defect or serious flaw, for that is detestable to the LORD your God.

This shall be the priests’ share from the people who offer a sacrifice, whether a bull or a sheep: the priests are to be given the shoulder, the jowls, and the stomach.

If you see your brother’s ox or sheep straying, you must not ignore it; be sure to return it to your brother.

with curds from the herd and milk from the flock, with the fat of lambs, with rams from Bashan, and goats, with the choicest grains of wheat. From the juice of the finest grapes you drank the wine.

His majesty is like a firstborn bull, and his horns are like those of a wild ox. With them he will gore the nations, even to the ends of the earth. Such are the myriads of Ephraim, and such are the thousands of Manasseh.”

With the edge of the sword they devoted to destruction everything in the city—man and woman, young and old, oxen, sheep, and donkeys.

encamping against them as far as Gaza and destroying the produce of the land. They left Israel with no sustenance, neither sheep nor oxen nor donkeys.

At that time Hannah prayed: “My heart rejoices in the LORD; my horn is exalted in the LORD. My mouth speaks boldly against my enemies, for I rejoice in Your salvation.

Those who oppose the LORD will be shattered. He will thunder from heaven against them. The LORD will judge the ends of the earth and will give power to His king. He will exalt the horn of His anointed.”

Then Samuel took a suckling lamb and offered it as a whole burnt offering to the LORD. He cried out to the LORD on behalf of Israel, and the LORD answered him.

Then he said, “Go among the troops and tell them, ‘Each man must bring me his ox or his sheep, slaughter them in this place, and then eat. Do not sin against the LORD by eating meat with the blood still in it.’” So that night everyone brought his ox and slaughtered it there.

Now go and attack the Amalekites and devote to destruction all that belongs to them. Do not spare them, but put to death men and women, children and infants, oxen and sheep, camels and donkeys.’”

Saul and his troops spared Agag, along with the best of the sheep and cattle, the fat calves and lambs, and the best of everything else. They were unwilling to devote them to destruction, but they devoted to destruction all that was despised and worthless.

But Samuel declared: “Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obedience to His voice? Behold, obedience is better than sacrifice, and attentiveness is better than the fat of rams.

And Samuel asked him, “Are these all the sons you have?” “There is still the youngest,” Jesse replied, “but he is tending the sheep.” “Send for him,” Samuel replied. “For we will not sit down to eat until he arrives.”

but David went back and forth from Saul to tend his father’s sheep in Bethlehem.

David replied, “Your servant has been tending his father’s sheep, and whenever a lion or a bear came and carried off a lamb from the flock,

And David took his staff in his hand, selected five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in the pouch of his shepherd’s bag. And with his sling in hand, he approached the Philistine.

Then David asked Ahimelech, “Is there not a spear or sword on hand here? For I have brought neither my sword nor my weapons with me, because the king’s mission was urgent.”

He also put to the sword Nob, the city of the priests, with its men and women, children and infants, oxen, donkeys, and sheep.

Now I hear that it is time for shearing. When your shepherds were with us, we did not harass them, and nothing of theirs was missing the whole time they were in Carmel.

They were a wall around us, both day and night, the whole time we were herding our sheep near them.

Even in times past, while Saul was king over us, you were the one who led Israel out and brought them back. And to you the LORD said, ‘You will shepherd My people Israel, and you will be ruler over them.’”

In all My journeys with all the Israelites, have I ever asked any of the leaders I appointed to shepherd My people Israel, ‘Why haven’t you built Me a house of cedar?’

but the poor man had nothing except one small ewe lamb that he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food and drank from his cup; it slept in his arms and was like a daughter to him.

Now a traveler came to the rich man, who refrained from taking one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he took the poor man’s lamb and prepared it for his guest.”

Because he has done this thing and has shown no pity, he must pay for the lamb four times over.”

My God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation. My stronghold, my refuge, and my Savior, You save me from violence.

Now Zedekiah son of Chenaanah had made for himself iron horns and declared, “This is what the LORD says: ‘With these you shall gore the Arameans until they are finished off.’”

So Micaiah declared: “I saw all Israel scattered on the hills like sheep without a shepherd. And the LORD said, ‘These people have no master; let each one return home in peace.’”

Now Mesha king of Moab was a sheep breeder, and he would render to the king of Israel a hundred thousand lambs and the wool of a hundred thousand rams.

Even in times past, while Saul was king, you were the one who led Israel out and brought them back. And the LORD your God said, ‘You will shepherd My people Israel, and you will be ruler over them.’”

And because God helped the Levites who were carrying the ark of the covenant of the LORD, they sacrificed seven bulls and seven rams.

In all My journeys with all the Israelites, have I ever asked any of the leaders I appointed to shepherd My people, ‘Why haven’t you built Me a house of cedar?’

All these sons of Heman the king’s seer were given him through the promises of God to exalt him, for God had given Heman fourteen sons and three daughters.

The next day they offered sacrifices and presented burnt offerings to the LORD: a thousand bulls, a thousand rams, and a thousand lambs, along with their drink offerings, and other sacrifices in abundance for all Israel.

But did you not drive out the priests of the LORD, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites? And did you not make priests for yourselves as do the peoples of other lands? Now whoever comes to consecrate himself with a young bull and seven rams can become a priest of things that are not gods.

Some Philistines also brought gifts and silver as tribute to Jehoshaphat, and the Arabs brought him 7,700 rams and 7,700 goats from their flocks.

Now Zedekiah son of Chenaanah had made for himself iron horns and declared, “This is what the LORD says: ‘With these you shall gore the Arameans until they are finished off.’”

So Micaiah declared: “I saw all Israel scattered on the hills like sheep without a shepherd. And the LORD said, ‘These people have no master; let each one return home in peace.’”

They brought seven bulls, seven rams, seven lambs, and seven male goats as a sin offering for the kingdom, for the sanctuary, and for Judah. And the king commanded the priests, the descendants of Aaron, to offer them on the altar of the LORD.

So they slaughtered the bulls, and the priests took the blood and splattered it on the altar. They slaughtered the rams and splattered the blood on the altar. And they slaughtered the lambs and splattered the blood on the altar.

The number of burnt offerings the assembly brought was seventy bulls, a hundred rams, and two hundred lambs; all these were for a burnt offering to the LORD.

From his own flocks and herds Josiah contributed 30,000 lambs and goats plus 3,000 bulls for the Passover offerings for all the people who were present.

Whatever is needed—young bulls, rams, and lambs for burnt offerings to the God of heaven, as well as wheat, salt, wine, and oil, as requested by the priests in Jerusalem—must be given to them daily without fail.

For the dedication of the house of God they offered a hundred bulls, two hundred rams, four hundred lambs, and a sin offering for all Israel of twelve male goats, one for each tribe of Israel.

With this money, therefore, you are to buy as many bulls, rams, and lambs as needed, together with their grain offerings and drink offerings, and offer them on the altar at the house of your God in Jerusalem.

Then the exiles who had returned from captivity sacrificed burnt offerings to the God of Israel: 12 bulls for all Israel, 96 rams, 77 lambs, and a sin offering of 12 male goats. All this was a burnt offering to the LORD.

They pledged to send their wives away, and for their guilt they presented a ram from the flock as a guilt offering.

I have sewn sackcloth over my skin; I have buried my horn in the dust.

Men move boundary stones; they pasture stolen flocks.

if his heart has not blessed me for warming him with the fleece of my sheep,

So now, take seven bulls and seven rams, go to My servant Job, and sacrifice a burnt offering for yourselves. Then My servant Job will pray for you, for I will accept his prayer and not deal with you according to your folly. For you have not spoken accurately about Me, as My servant Job has.”

I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised; so shall I be saved from my enemies.

I will proclaim Your name to my brothers; I will praise You in the assembly.

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

Save Your people and bless Your inheritance; shepherd them and carry them forever.

But God will redeem my life from Sheol, for He will surely take me to Himself. Selah

I will offer You fatlings as burnt offerings, with the fragrant smoke of rams; I will offer bulls and goats. Selah

Do not lift up your horn against heaven or speak with an outstretched neck.’”

For exaltation comes neither from east nor west, nor out of the desert,

from tending the ewes He brought him to be shepherd of His people Jacob, of Israel His inheritance.

So David shepherded them with integrity of heart and guided them with skillful hands.

before Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh. Rally Your mighty power and come to save us.

Surely our shield belongs to the LORD, and our king to the Holy One of Israel.

I will set his hand over the sea, and his right hand upon the rivers.

My eyes see the downfall of my enemies; my ears hear the wailing of my wicked foes.

He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor; his righteousness endures forever; his horn will be lifted high in honor.

the mountains skipped like rams, the hills like lambs.

O mountains, that you skipped like rams, O hills, like lambs?

I have strayed like a lost sheep; seek Your servant, for I have not forgotten Your commandments.

There I will make a horn grow for David; I have prepared a lamp for My anointed one.

He has raised up a horn for His people, the praise of all His saints, of Israel, a people near to Him. Hallelujah!

The lips of the righteous feed many, but fools die for lack of judgment.

the lambs will provide you with clothing, and the goats with the price of a field.

The words of the wise are like goads, and the anthologies of the masters are like firmly embedded nails driven by a single Shepherd.

Tell me, O one I love, where do you pasture your sheep? Where do you rest them at midday? Why should I be like a veiled woman beside the flocks of your companions?

If you do not know, O fairest of women, follow the tracks of the flock, and graze your young goats near the tents of the shepherds.

Your teeth are like a flock of sheep coming up from the washing; each has its twin, and not one of them is lost.

“What good to Me is your multitude of sacrifices?” says the LORD. “I am full from the burnt offerings of rams and the fat of well-fed cattle; I take no delight in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats.

Lambs will graze as in their own pastures, and strangers will feed in the ruins of the wealthy.

For fear of the briers and thorns, you will no longer traverse the hills once tilled by the hoe; they will become places for oxen to graze and sheep to trample.

The wolf will live with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the goat; the calf and young lion and fatling will be together, and a little child will lead them.

She will never be inhabited or settled from generation to generation; no nomad will pitch his tent there, no shepherd will rest his flock there.

Send the tribute lambs to the ruler of the land, from Sela in the desert to the mount of Daughter Zion.

For this is what the LORD has said to me: “Like a lion roaring or a young lion over its prey—and though a band of shepherds is called out against it, it is not terrified by their shouting or subdued by their clamor—so the LORD of Hosts will come down to do battle on Mount Zion and its heights.

The sword of the LORD is bathed in blood. It drips with fat—with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of rams. For the LORD has a sacrifice in Bozrah, a great slaughter in the land of Edom.

My dwelling has been picked up and removed from me like a shepherd’s tent. I have rolled up my life like a weaver; He cuts me off from the loom; from day until night You make an end of me.

He tends His flock like a shepherd; He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart. He gently leads the nursing ewes.

You have not brought Me sheep for burnt offerings, nor honored Me with your sacrifices. I have not burdened you with offerings, nor wearied you with frankincense.

who says of Cyrus, ‘My shepherd will fulfill all that I desire,’ who says of Jerusalem, ‘She will be rebuilt,’ and of the temple, ‘Let its foundation be laid.’”

He was oppressed and afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth. He was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so He did not open His mouth.

Like ravenous dogs, they are never satisfied. They are shepherds with no discernment; they all turn to their own way, each one seeking his own gain:

All the flocks of Kedar will be gathered to you; the rams of Nebaioth will serve you and go up on My altar with acceptance; I will adorn My glorious house.

Strangers will stand and feed your flocks, and foreigners will be your plowmen and vinedressers.

Then His people remembered the days of old, the days of Moses. Where is He who brought them through the sea with the shepherds of His flock? Where is the One who set His Holy Spirit among them,

The wolf and the lamb will feed together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox, but the food of the serpent will be dust. They will neither harm nor destroy on all My holy mountain,” says the LORD.

Whoever slaughters an ox is like one who slays a man; whoever sacrifices a lamb is like one who breaks a dog’s neck; whoever presents a grain offering is like one who offers pig’s blood; whoever offers frankincense is like one who blesses an idol. Indeed, they have chosen their own ways and delighted in their abominations.

The priests did not ask, ‘Where is the LORD?’ The experts in the law no longer knew Me, and the leaders rebelled against Me. The prophets prophesied by Baal and followed useless idols.

Then I will give you shepherds after My own heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding.”

Shepherds and their flocks will come against her; they will pitch their tents all around her, each tending his own portion:

For the shepherds have become senseless; they do not seek the LORD. Therefore they have not prospered, and all their flock is scattered.

For I was like a gentle lamb led to slaughter; I did not know that they had plotted against me: “Let us destroy the tree with its fruit; let us cut him off from the land of the living, that his name may be remembered no more.”

Many shepherds have destroyed My vineyard; they have trampled My plot of ground. They have turned My pleasant field into a desolate wasteland.

But I have not run away from being Your shepherd; I have not desired the day of despair. You know that the utterance of my lips was spoken in Your presence.

The wind will drive away all your shepherds, and your lovers will go into captivity. Then you will be ashamed and humiliated because of all your wickedness.

“Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of My pasture!” declares the LORD.

Therefore this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says about the shepherds who tend My people: “You have scattered My flock and driven them away, and have not attended to them. Behold, I will attend to you for the evil of your deeds, declares the LORD.

I will raise up shepherds over them who will tend them, and they will no longer be afraid or dismayed, nor will any go missing, declares the LORD.

Wail, you shepherds, and cry out; roll in the dust, you leaders of the flock. For the days of your slaughter have come; you will fall and be shattered like fine pottery.

Flight will evade the shepherds, and escape will elude the leaders of the flock.

Hear the cry of the shepherds, the wailing of the leaders of the flock, for the LORD is destroying their pasture.

Hear, O nations, the word of the LORD, and proclaim it in distant coastlands: “The One who scattered Israel will gather them and keep them as a shepherd keeps his flock.

This is what the LORD of Hosts says: In this desolate place, without man or beast, and in all its cities, there will once more be pastures for shepherds to rest their flocks.

I will kindle a fire in the temples of the gods of Egypt, and Nebuchadnezzar will burn those temples and take their gods as captives. So he will wrap himself with the land of Egypt as a shepherd wraps himself in his garment, and he will depart from there unscathed.

The horn of Moab has been cut off, and his arm is broken,” declares the LORD.

Behold, one will come up like a lion from the thickets of the Jordan to the watered pasture. For in an instant I will chase Edom from her land. Who is the chosen one I will appoint for this? For who is like Me, and who can challenge Me? What shepherd can stand against Me?”

My people are lost sheep; their shepherds have led them astray, causing them to roam the mountains. They have wandered from mountain to hill; they have forgotten their resting place.

Israel is a scattered flock, chased away by lions. The first to devour him was the king of Assyria; the last to crush his bones was Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.”

Behold, one will come up like a lion from the thickets of the Jordan to the watered pasture. For in an instant I will chase Babylon from her land. Who is the chosen one I will appoint for this? For who is like Me, and who can challenge Me? What shepherd can stand against Me?”

With you I shatter the shepherd and his flock; with you I shatter the farmer and his oxen; with you I shatter the governors and officials.

I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, like rams with male goats.

In fierce anger He has cut off every horn of Israel and withdrawn His right hand at the approach of the enemy. He has burned in Jacob like a flaming fire that consumes everything around it.

The LORD has done what He planned; He has accomplished His decree, which He ordained in days of old; He has overthrown you without pity. He has let the enemy gloat over you and exalted the horn of your foes.

The men of Dedan were your clients; many coastlands were your market; they paid you with ivory tusks and ebony.

Arabia and all the princes of Kedar were your customers, trading in lambs, rams, and goats.

In that day I will cause a horn to sprout for the house of Israel, and I will open your mouth to speak among them. Then they will know that I am the LORD.”

“Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Woe to the shepherds of Israel, who only feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed their flock?

You eat the fat, wear the wool, and butcher the fattened sheep, but you do not feed the flock.

They were scattered for lack of a shepherd, and when they were scattered they became food for all the wild beasts.

Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD:

‘As surely as I live, declares the Lord GOD, because My flock lacks a shepherd and has become prey and food for every wild beast, and because My shepherds did not search for My flock but fed themselves instead,

therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD!’

This is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Behold, I am against the shepherds, and I will demand from them My flock and remove them from tending the flock, so that they can no longer feed themselves. For I will deliver My flock from their mouths, and it will no longer be food for them.’

As a shepherd looks for his scattered sheep when he is among the flock, so I will look for My flock. I will rescue them from all the places to which they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness.

I will bring them out from the peoples, gather them from the countries, and bring them into their own land. I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, in the ravines, and in all the settlements of the land.

I will feed them in good pasture, and the lofty mountains of Israel will be their grazing land. There they will lie down in a good grazing land; they will feed in rich pasture on the mountains of Israel.

I will tend My flock and make them lie down, declares the Lord GOD.

I will seek the lost, bring back the strays, bind up the broken, and strengthen the weak; but the sleek and strong I will destroy. I will shepherd them with justice.’

This is what the Lord GOD says to you, My flock: ‘I will judge between one sheep and another, between the rams and the goats.

Is it not enough for you to feed on the good pasture? Must you also trample the rest of the pasture with your feet? Is it not enough for you to drink the clear waters? Must you also muddy the rest with your feet?

Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says to them: ‘Behold, I Myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep.

Since you shove with flank and shoulder, butting all the weak ones with your horns until you have scattered them abroad,

I will save My flock, and they will no longer be prey. I will judge between one sheep and another.

I will appoint over them one shepherd, My servant David, and he will feed them. He will feed them and be their shepherd.

My servant David will be king over them, and there will be one shepherd for all of them. They will follow My ordinances and keep and observe My statutes.

You will eat the flesh of the mighty and drink the blood of the princes of the earth as though they were rams, lambs, goats, and bulls—all the fattened animals of Bashan.

When you have finished the purification, you are to present a young, unblemished bull and an unblemished ram from the flock.

For seven days you are to provide a male goat daily for a sin offering; you are also to provide a young bull and a ram from the flock, both unblemished.

And one sheep shall be given from each flock of two hundred from the well-watered pastures of Israel. These are for the grain offerings, burnt offerings, and peace offerings, to make atonement for the people, declares the Lord GOD.

Each day during the seven days of the feast, he shall provide seven bulls and seven rams without blemish as a burnt offering to the LORD, along with a male goat for a sin offering.

He shall also provide as a grain offering an ephah for each bull and an ephah for each ram, along with a hin of olive oil for each ephah of grain.

The burnt offering that the prince presents to the LORD on the Sabbath day shall be six unblemished male lambs and an unblemished ram.

The grain offering with the ram shall be one ephah, and the grain offering with the lambs shall be as much as he is able, along with a hin of oil per ephah.

On the day of the New Moon he shall offer a young, unblemished bull, six lambs, and a ram without blemish.

He is to provide a grain offering of an ephah with the bull, an ephah with the ram, and as much as he is able with the lambs, along with a hin of oil per ephah.

At the festivals and appointed feasts, the grain offering shall be an ephah with a bull, an ephah with a ram, and as much as one is able to give with the lambs, along with a hin of oil per ephah.

And you shall provide an unblemished year-old lamb as a daily burnt offering to the LORD; you are to offer it every morning.

Thus they shall provide the lamb, the grain offering, and the oil every morning as a regular burnt offering.’

After this, as I watched in my vision in the night, suddenly a fourth beast appeared, and it was terrifying—dreadful and extremely strong—with large iron teeth. It devoured and crushed; then it trampled underfoot whatever was left. It was different from all the beasts before it, and it had ten horns.

While I was contemplating the horns, suddenly another horn, a little one, came up among them, and three of the first horns were uprooted before it. This horn had eyes like those of a man and a mouth that spoke words of arrogance.

Then I kept watching because of the arrogant words the horn was speaking. As I continued to watch, the beast was slain, and its body was destroyed and thrown into the blazing fire.

I also wanted to know about the ten horns on its head and the other horn that came up, before which three of them fell—the horn whose appearance was more imposing than the others, with eyes and with a mouth that spoke words of arrogance.

As I watched, this horn was waging war against the saints and prevailing against them,

And the ten horns are ten kings who will rise from this kingdom. After them another king, different from the earlier ones, will rise and subdue three kings.

Then I lifted up my eyes and saw a ram with two horns standing beside the canal. The horns were long, but one was longer than the other, and the longer one grew up later.

I saw the ram charging toward the west and the north and the south. No animal could stand against him, and there was no deliverance from his power. He did as he pleased and became great.

As I was contemplating all this, suddenly a goat with a prominent horn between his eyes came out of the west, crossing the surface of the entire earth without touching the ground.

He came toward the two-horned ram I had seen standing beside the canal and rushed at him with furious power.

I saw him approach the ram in a rage against him, and he struck the ram and shattered his two horns. The ram was powerless to stand against him, and the goat threw him to the ground and trampled him, and no one could deliver the ram from his power.

Thus the goat became very great, but at the height of his power, his large horn was broken off, and four prominent horns came up in its place, pointing toward the four winds of heaven.

From one of these horns a little horn emerged and grew extensively toward the south and the east and toward the Beautiful Land.

The two-horned ram that you saw represents the kings of Media and Persia.

The shaggy goat represents the king of Greece, and the large horn between his eyes is the first king.

For Israel is as obstinate as a stubborn heifer. Can the LORD now shepherd them like lambs in an open meadow?

The threshing floor and winepress will not feed them, and the new wine will fail them.

He said: “The LORD roars from Zion and raises His voice from Jerusalem; the pastures of the shepherds mourn, and the summit of Carmel withers.”

This is what the LORD says: “As the shepherd snatches from the mouth of the lion two legs or a piece of an ear, so the Israelites dwelling in Samaria will be rescued having just the corner of a bed or the cushion of a couch.

You lie on beds inlaid with ivory, and lounge upon your couches. You dine on lambs from the flock and calves from the stall.

Rise and thresh, O Daughter of Zion, for I will give you horns of iron and hooves of bronze to break to pieces many peoples. Then you will devote their gain to the LORD, their wealth to the Lord of all the earth.

Therefore Israel will be abandoned until she who is in labor has given birth; then the rest of His brothers will return to the children of Israel.

He will stand and shepherd His flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majestic name of the LORD His God. And they will dwell securely, for then His greatness will extend to the ends of the earth.

Would the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I present my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?

Shepherd with Your staff Your people, the flock of Your inheritance. They live alone in a woodland, surrounded by pastures. Let them graze in Bashan and Gilead, as in the days of old.

O king of Assyria, your shepherds slumber; your officers sleep. Your people are scattered on the mountains with no one to gather them.

So the seacoast will become a land of pastures, with wells for shepherds and folds for sheep.

Then I lifted up my eyes and saw a man with a measuring line in his hand.

“Where are you going?” I asked. “To measure Jerusalem,” he replied, “and to determine its width and length.”

and said to him, “Run and tell that young man: ‘Jerusalem will be a city without walls because of the multitude of men and livestock within it.

For idols speak deceit and diviners see illusions; they tell false dreams and offer empty comfort. Therefore the people wander like sheep, oppressed for lack of a shepherd.

“My anger burns against the shepherds, and I will punish the leaders. For the LORD of Hosts attends to His flock, the house of Judah; He will make them like His royal steed in battle.

Listen to the wailing of the shepherds, for their glory is in ruins. Listen to the roaring of the young lions, for the thickets of the Jordan are destroyed.

This is what the LORD my God says: “Pasture the flock marked for slaughter,

whose buyers slaughter them without remorse. Those who sell them say, ‘Blessed be the LORD, for I am rich!’ Even their own shepherds have no compassion on them.

So I pastured the flock marked for slaughter, especially the afflicted of the flock. Then I took for myself two staffs, calling one Favor and the other Union, and I pastured the flock.

And in one month I dismissed three shepherds. My soul grew impatient with the flock, and their souls also detested me.

Then I said, “I will no longer shepherd you. Let the dying die, and the perishing perish; and let those who remain devour one another’s flesh.”

And the LORD said to me: “Take up once more the equipment of a foolish shepherd.

For behold, I will raise up a shepherd in the land who will neither care for the lost, nor seek the young, nor heal the broken, nor sustain the healthy, but he will devour the flesh of the choice sheep and tear off their hooves.

Woe to the worthless shepherd, who deserts the flock! May a sword strike his arm and his right eye! May his arm be completely withered and his right eye utterly blinded!”

Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd, against the man who is My Companion, declares the LORD of Hosts. Strike the Shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered, and I will turn My hand against the little ones.

Beware of false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.

When He saw the crowds, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.

Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel.

Behold, I am sending you out like sheep among wolves; therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.

He replied, “If one of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will he not take hold of it and lift it out?

How much more valuable is a man than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”

He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”

What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go out to search for the one that is lost?

All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate the people one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.

He will place the sheep on His right and the goats on His left.

On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Where do You want us to prepare for You to eat the Passover?”

Then Jesus said to them, “This very night you will all fall away on account of Me. For it is written: ‘I will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’

When Jesus stepped ashore and saw a large crowd, He had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And He began to teach them many things.

On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover lamb was to be sacrificed, Jesus’ disciples asked Him, “Where do You want us to prepare for You to eat the Passover?”

Then Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away, for it is written: ‘I will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.’

they will pick up snakes with their hands, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not harm them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will be made well.”

And there were shepherds residing in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks by night.

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.”

And all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.

The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, which was just as the angel had told them.

Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves.

“What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the pasture and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it?

comes home, and calls together his friends and neighbors to tell them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my lost sheep!’

Which of you whose servant comes in from plowing or shepherding in the field will say to him, ‘Come at once and sit down to eat’?

Then came the day of Unleavened Bread on which the Passover lamb was to be sacrificed.

and say to the owner of that house, ‘The Teacher asks: Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with My disciples?’

And He said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before My suffering.

The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!

When he saw Jesus walking by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!”

In the temple courts He found men selling cattle, sheep, and doves, and money changers seated at their tables.

So He made a whip out of cords and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle. He poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables.

“Truly, truly, I tell you, whoever does not enter the sheepfold by the gate, but climbs in some other way, is a thief and a robber.

But the one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep.

The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen for his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.

When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.

So He said to them again, “Truly, truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep.

All who came before Me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them.

I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.

The hired hand is not the shepherd, and the sheep are not his own. When he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf pounces on them and scatters the flock.

The man runs away because he is a hired servant and is unconcerned for the sheep.

I am the good shepherd. I know My sheep and My sheep know Me,

just as the Father knows Me and I know the Father. And I lay down My life for the sheep.

I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them in as well, and they will listen to My voice. Then there will be one flock and one shepherd.

But because you are not My sheep, you refuse to believe.

My sheep listen to My voice; I know them, and they follow Me.

When they had finished eating, Jesus asked Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love Me more than these?” “Yes, Lord,” he answered, “You know I love You.” Jesus replied, “Feed My lambs.”

Jesus asked a second time, “Simon son of John, do you love Me?” “Yes, Lord,” he answered, “You know I love You.” Jesus told him, “Shepherd My sheep.”

Jesus asked a third time, “Simon son of John, do you love Me?” Peter was deeply hurt that Jesus had asked him a third time, “Do you love Me?” “Lord, You know all things,” he replied. “You know I love You.” Jesus said to him, “Feed My sheep.

The eunuch was reading this passage of Scripture: “He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before the shearer is silent, so He did not open His mouth.

As it is written: “For Your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”

Get rid of the old leaven, that you may be a new unleavened batch, as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.

Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat of its fruit? Who tends a flock and does not drink of its milk?

And it was He who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers,

Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep,

but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or spot.

For “you were like sheep going astray,” but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

Be shepherds of God’s flock that is among you, watching over them not out of compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not out of greed, but out of eagerness;

And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.

Then I saw another beast rising out of the earth. This beast had two horns like a lamb, but spoke like a dragon.

of cinnamon, spice, incense, myrrh, and frankincense; of wine, olive oil, fine flour, and wheat; of cattle, sheep, horses, and carriages; of bodies and souls of slaves.