First reading
Thus says the Lord God:
“I myself will search for my sheep,
and will seek them out.
As a shepherd seeks out his flock
when he is among his scattered sheep,
so I will seek out my sheep.
I will rescue them from all the places
to which they have been scattered
on a day of clouds and thick darkness.
“I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep,
and I will make them lie down,” says the Lord God.
“I will seek the lost,
and I will bring back the strayed,
and I will bind up the injured,
and I will strengthen the weak,
but the fat and the strong I will destroy.
I will feed my sheep with justice.
“As for you, my flock,” thus says the Lord God:
“I shall judge between one sheep and another,
between rams and goats.”