Then I will give you shepherds who are dear to my heart. Their knowledge and understanding will help them lead you.

我也必将合我心的牧者赐给你们。他们必以知识和智慧牧养你们。’

“‘我必将合我心意的牧者赏赐给你们，他们要以知识和智慧牧养你们。

“‘我必将合我心意的牧者赏赐给你们，他们要以知识和智慧牧养你们。

“我要赐给你们合我心意的牧人，让他们用知识与智慧牧养你们。

“我必把合我心意的牧人赐给你们，他们要用知识和智慧牧养你们。

我也必將合我心的牧者賜給你們。他們必以知識和智慧牧養你們。」

「『我必將合我心意的牧者賞賜給你們，他們要以知識和智慧牧養你們。

「『我必將合我心意的牧者賞賜給你們，他們要以知識和智慧牧養你們。

「我要賜給你們合我心意的牧人，讓他們用知識與智慧牧養你們。

“我必把合我心意的牧人賜給你們，他們要用知識和智慧牧養你們。

「我也必將合我心意的牧民者賜給你們；他們必以知識和通達牧養你們。

以遂我心之牧者賜爾、使以智慧明哲養爾、

民牧若得我心者、我必立之、使以智慧、治理爾曹。

必為爾立合我心之牧人、俾以智慧明哲牧爾、

Then I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will lead you with knowledge and understanding.

“‘ And I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding.

And I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will guide you with knowledge and understanding.

I will give you shepherds who are loyal to me, and they will shepherd you with knowledge and skill.

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

And I will give you shepherds according to My heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding.

And I will give you shepherds according to my heart, who shall feed you with knowledge and understanding.

I will give you shepherds who are loyal to Me, and they will shepherd you with knowledge and skill.

And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding.

I will give you leaders who will be faithful to me. They will lead you with knowledge and insight.

I will give you shepherds according to my heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding.

I will place shepherds over them who will take good care of them. My sheep will not be afraid or terrified anymore. And none of them will be missing,” announces the Lord.

Keep watch over yourselves. Keep watch over all the believers. The Holy Spirit has made you leaders over them. Be shepherds of God’s church. He bought it with his own blood.

I will place one shepherd over them. He will belong to the family line of my servant David. He will take good care of them. He will look after them. He will be their shepherd.

So Christ himself gave the gift of the apostles to the church. He gave the prophets and those who preach the good news. And he also gave the pastors and teachers as a gift to the church.He gave all these people so that they might prepare God’s people to serve. Then the body of Christ will be built up.

When Jesus and the disciples had finished eating, Jesus spoke to Simon Peter. He asked,“ Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these others do?”“ Yes, Lord,” he answered.“ You know that I love you.” Jesus said,“ Feed my lambs.”Again Jesus asked,“ Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He answered,“ Yes, Lord. You know that I love you.” Jesus said,“ Take care of my sheep.”Jesus spoke to him a third time. He asked,“ Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter felt bad because Jesus asked him the third time,“ Do you love me?” He answered,“ Lord, you know all things. You know that I love you.” Jesus said,“ Feed my sheep.

Brothers and sisters, I couldn’t speak to you as people who live by the Holy Spirit. I had to speak to you as people who were still following the ways of the world. You aren’t growing as Christ wants you to. You are still like babies.The words I spoke to you were like milk, not like solid food. You weren’t ready for solid food yet. And you still aren’t ready for it.

He might treat you like prisoners. You might eat the bread of trouble. You might drink the water of suffering. But he will be your Teacher. He won’t hide himself anymore. You will see him with your own eyes.You will hear your Teacher’s voice behind you. You will hear it whether you turn to the right or the left. It will say,“ Here is the path I want you to take. So walk on it.”

“‘ “A man who belongs to the family line of my servant David will be their king. All of them will have one shepherd. They will obey my laws. And they will be careful to keep my rules.

The words of those who do right benefit many people. But those who are foolish die because they have no sense.

The Lord answered,“ Suppose a master puts one of his servants in charge of his other servants. The servant’s job is to give them the food they are to receive at the right time. The master wants a faithful and wise manager for this.

The words we speak to those who have grown in the faith are wise. Our words are different from the wisdom of this world. Our words are different from those of the rulers of this world. These rulers are becoming less and less powerful.

I’m speaking to the elders among you. I was a witness of Christ’s sufferings. And I will also share in the glory that is going to come. I’m making my appeal to you as one who is an elder together with you.Be shepherds of God’s flock, the believers under your care. Watch over them, though not because you have to. Instead, do it because you want to. That’s what God wants you to do. Don’t do it because you want to get money in dishonest ways. Do it because you really want to serve.Don’t act as if you were a ruler over those under your care. Instead, be examples to the flock.The Chief Shepherd will come again. Then you will receive the crown of glory. It is a crown that will never fade away.

That promised son will stand firm and be a shepherd for his flock. The Lord will give him the strength to do it. The Lord his God will give him the authority to rule. His people will live safely. His greatness will reach from one end of the earth to the other.And he will be our peace when the Assyrians attack our land. They will march through our forts. But we will raise up against them many shepherds. We’ll send out against them as many commanders as we need to.

But now your kingdom won’t last. The Lord has already looked for a man who is dear to his heart. He has appointed him king of his people. That’s because you haven’t obeyed the Lord’ s command.”

By this time you should be teachers. But in fact, you need someone to teach you all over again. You need even the simple truths of God’s word. You need milk, not solid food.Anyone who lives on milk is still a baby. That person does not want to learn about living a godly life.Solid food is for those who are grown up. They have trained themselves to tell the difference between good and evil. That shows they have grown up.

“ What I’m about to tell you Pharisees is true. What if someone does not enter the sheep pen through the gate but climbs in another way? That person is a thief and a robber.The one who enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep.The gatekeeper opens the gate for him. The sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.When he has brought out all his own sheep, he goes on ahead of them. His sheep follow him because they know his voice.But they will never follow a stranger. In fact, they will run away from him. They don’t recognize a stranger’s voice.”

What we have received is not the spirit of the world. We have received the Spirit who is from God. The Spirit helps us understand what God has freely given us.That is what we speak about. We don’t use words taught to us by people. We use words taught to us by the Holy Spirit. We use the words taught by the Spirit to explain spiritual truths.

Like newborn babies, you should long for the pure milk of God’s word. It will help you grow up as believers.