David replied to Saul, “Your servant has been a shepherd for his father’s flock. Whenever a lion or bear would come and carry off a sheep from the flock,

Yet he protected ¹  the needy from oppression, and cared for his families like a flock of sheep.

And you, my sheep, the sheep of my pasture, are my people, ¹  and I am your God, declares the sovereign Lord.’”

They lie around on beds decorated with ivory, ¹  and sprawl out on their couches. They eat lambs from the flock, and calves from the middle of the pen.

The Lover to His Beloved: Oh, ²  you are beautiful, my darling! ³  Oh, you are beautiful! Your eyes behind your veil are like doves. ⁴  Your hair is like a flock of female goats descending ⁵  from Mount Gilead.

Like a shepherd he tends his flock; he gathers up the lambs with his arm; he carries them close to his heart; ¹  he leads the ewes along.

Hear what the Lord has to say, O nations. Proclaim it in the faraway lands along the sea. Say, “The one who scattered Israel will regather them. He will watch over his people like a shepherd watches over his flock.”

“For seven days you will provide every day a goat for a sin offering; a young bull and a ram from the flock, both without blemish, will be provided.

Shepherd your people with your shepherd’s rod, ¹  the flock that belongs to you, ²  the one that lives alone in a thicket, in the midst of a pastureland. ³  Allow them to graze in Bashan and Gilead, ⁴  as they did in the old days. ⁵ 

As surely as I live, declares the sovereign Lord, my sheep have become prey and have become food for all the wild beasts. There was no shepherd, and my shepherds did not search for my flock, but fed themselves and did not feed my sheep,

So it was annulled that very day, and then the most afflicted of the flock who kept faith with me knew that that was the word of the Lord.

Go to the flock and get me two of the best young goats. I’ll prepare ¹  them in a tasty way for your father, just the way he loves them.

“Once ¹  during breeding season I saw ²  in a dream that the male goats mating with ³  the flock were streaked, speckled, and spotted.

“Speak to the Israelites and tell them, ‘When ¹  someone ²  among you presents an offering ³  to the Lord, ⁴  you ⁵  must present your offering from the domesticated animals, either from the herd or from the flock. ⁶ 

You must supply them generously ¹  from your flock, your threshing floor, and your winepress – as the Lord your God has blessed you, you must give to them.

You must sacrifice the Passover animal ¹  (from the flock or the herd) to the Lord your God in the place where he ²  chooses to locate his name.

For the music director; according to the shushan-eduth style; ²  a psalm of Asaph. O shepherd of Israel, pay attention, you who lead Joseph like a flock of sheep! You who sit enthroned above the winged angels, ³  reveal your splendor! ⁴ 

His people remembered the ancient times. ¹  Where is the one who brought them up out of the sea, along with the shepherd of ²  his flock? Where is the one who placed his holy Spirit among them, ³ 

But if you will not pay attention to this warning, ¹  I will weep alone because of your arrogant pride. I will weep bitterly and my eyes will overflow with tears ²  because you, the Lord’s flock, ³  will be carried ⁴  into exile.”

Wail and cry out in anguish, you rulers! Roll in the dust, you who shepherd flocks of people! ¹  The time for you to be slaughtered has come. You will lie scattered and fallen like broken pieces of fine pottery. ²