“So now, say this to my servant David: ‘This is what the Lord of hosts says: I took you from the pasture and from your work as a shepherd ¹  to make you leader of my people Israel.

The men whose names are listed came during the time of King Hezekiah of Judah and attacked the Hamites’ settlements, ¹  as well as the Meunites they discovered there, and they wiped them out to this very day. They dispossessed them, ²  for they found pasture for their sheep there.

These were the sons of Zibeon: Aiah and Anah (who discovered the hot springs ¹  in the wilderness as he pastured the donkeys of his father Zibeon).

From the half-tribe of Manasseh they assigned Taanach and Gath Rimmon, ¹  along with the grazing areas of each – a total of two cities.

Within the territory of the half-tribe of Manasseh, the rest of Kohath’s descendants received Aner and its pasturelands and Bileam and its pasturelands. ¹ 

The Lover to His Beloved: If you do not know, O most beautiful of women, simply follow the tracks of my flock, and pasture your little lambs beside the tents of the shepherds.

Kings will come against it with their armies. ¹  They will encamp in siege all around it. ²  Each of them will devastate the portion assigned to him. ³ 

But I will restore the flock of Israel to their own pasture. They will graze on Mount Carmel and the land of Bashan. They will eat until they are full ¹  on the hills of Ephraim and the land of Gilead. ² 

“So now, say this to my servant David: ‘This is what the Lord who commands armies ¹  says: “I took you from the pasture and from your work as a shepherd ²  to make you a leader of my people Israel.

For the land is full of people unfaithful to him. ¹  They live wicked lives and they misuse their power. ²  So the land is dried up ³  because it is under his curse. ⁴  The pastures in the wilderness are withered.

I said, ¹  “I will weep and mourn ²  for the grasslands on the mountains, ³  I will sing a mournful song for the pastures in the wilderness because they are so scorched no one travels through them. The sound of livestock is no longer heard there. Even the birds in the sky and the wild animals in the fields have fled and are gone.”

Then Jacob ¹  said, “Since it is still the middle of the day, ²  it is not time for the flocks to be gathered. You should water the sheep and then go and let them graze some more.” ³ 

The descendants of Aaron were also allotted as cities ¹  of refuge Hebron, Libnah and its pasturelands, Jattir, Eshtemoa and its pasturelands,

The following belonged to Gershom’s descendants: ¹  Within the territory of the half-tribe of Manasseh: Golan in Bashan and its pasturelands and Ashtaroth and its pasturelands.

The following belonged to the rest of Merari’s descendants: ¹  Within the territory of the tribe of Zebulun: Rimmono ²  and its pasturelands, and Tabor and its pasturelands.

The Beloved about Her Lover: My lover is mine and I am his; he grazes among the lilies. ¹ 

They assigned to the Gershonite clans of the Levites the following cities: ¹  from the half-tribe of Manasseh: Golan in Bashan (a city of refuge for one who committed manslaughter) and Beeshtarah, along with the grazing areas of each – a total of two cities;

and one sheep from each flock of two hundred, from the watered places of Israel, for a grain offering, burnt offering, and peace offering, to make atonement for them, declares the sovereign Lord.

Those who are left from the kingdom of Judah ¹  will take possession of it. ²  By the sea ³  they ⁴  will graze, in the houses of Ashkelon they will lie down in the evening, for the Lord their God will intervene for them ⁵  and restore their prosperity. ⁶ 

The Lord my God says this: “Shepherd the flock set aside for slaughter.