Jeremiah 23:1-2

The Righteous Branch

1 aWoe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture!” declares the Lord. 2Therefore thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning bthe shepherds who care for my people: “You have scattered my flock and have driven them away, and you have not attended to them. cBehold, I will attend to you for your evil deeds, declares the Lord.

Ezekiel 22:25-27

25 dThe conspiracy of her prophets in her midst is elike a roaring lion ftearing the prey; they have devoured human lives; they have taken treasure and precious things; they have made many widows in her midst. 26 gHer priests hhave done violence to my law and ihave profaned my holy things. jThey have made no distinction between the holy and the common, neither have they taught the difference between the unclean and the clean, and kthey have disregarded my Sabbaths, lso that I am profaned among them. 27 mHer princes in her midst are like wolves ntearing the prey, oshedding blood, destroying lives to get dishonest gain.

Ezekiel 34:2-3

2 pSon of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy, and say to them, even to the shepherds, Thus says the Lord God: qAh, shepherds of Israel rwho have been feeding yourselves! sShould not shepherds feed the sheep? 3 tYou eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, uyou slaughter the fat ones, but you do not feed the sheep.

Ezekiel 34:10

10Thus says the Lord God, vBehold, I am against the shepherds, and wI will require my sheep at their hand and xput a stop to their feeding the sheep. yNo longer shall the shepherds feed themselves. zI will rescue my sheep from their mouths, that they may not be food for them.

Micah 3:1-3

Rulers and Prophets Denounced

1 And I said:
aaHear, you heads of Jacob
and rulers of the house of Israel!
abIs it not for you to know justice?—
2you acwho hate the good and love the evil,
adwho tear the skin from off my people
Hebrew  from off them

and their flesh from off their bones,
3 afwho eat the flesh of my people,
and flay their skin from off them,
and break their bones in pieces
and chop them up like meat in a pot,
like flesh in a cauldron.

Micah 3:9-12

9 agHear this, you heads of the house of Jacob
and rulers of the house of Israel,
ahwho detest justice
and make crooked all that is straight,
10 aiwho build Zion with blood
and Jerusalem with iniquity.
11 ajIts heads give judgment for a bribe;
akits priests teach for a price;
alits prophets practice divination for money;
amyet they lean on the Lord and ansay,
“Is not the Lord in the midst of us?
aoNo disaster shall come upon us.”
12Therefore because of you
apZion shall be plowed as a field;
Jerusalem aqshall become a heap of ruins,
and arthe mountain of the house asa wooded height.

Matthew 23:14

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