Isaiah 53:6—Litany of Confession "We All, Like Sheep, Have Gone Astray"

Published October 22, 2026

Updated October 22, 2026

Shepherd_and_Sheep'_by_Anton_Mauve
By David Koll

This litany originally appeared in "The Lord, Our Shepherd," a series for Lent based on Psalm 23.

Litany of Confession

This litany for two leaders and a congregation is based on Isaiah 53 and weaves together scripture passages about the Lord as the Good Shepherd and people as sheep.

Reader 1: 

 Israel is a scattered flock that lions have chased away. 
—Jeremiah 50:17

Reader 2: 

 My people have been lost sheep; 
their shepherds have led them astray and caused them to roam on the mountains.
—Jeremiah 50:6

People: 

 We all, like sheep, have gone astray. 
—Isaiah. 53:6

Reader 1: 

 Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. 
Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country 
and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? 
—Luke 15:4

Reader 2: 

 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, 
because they were harassed and helpless, 
like sheep without a shepherd. 
—Matthew 9:36

People: 

 We all, like sheep, have gone astray, 
each of us has turned to his own way. 
—Isaiah. 53:6

Reader 1: 

 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, 
so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; 
by his wounds we have been healed. 
—1 Peter 2:24

Reader 2: 

 For you were like sheep going astray, 
but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls. 
—1 Peter 2:25

People: 

 We all, like sheep, have gone astray, 
each of us has turned to his own way, 
and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. 
—Isaiah 53:6
Revised Common Lectionary

Year B: Season after Pentecost—Proper 24 (29)