‘And the word of Yahweh came to me saying, “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, and say to them, even to the shepherds, Thus says the Lord Yahweh, Woe to the shepherds of Israel who feed themselves. Should the shepherds not feed the sheep?” '
We need not doubt that this has a backward reference to the shepherds of the past, the kings, priests and prophets who had failed His people, but it also very much included the present shepherds who now had responsibility for the people's spiritual life and teaching in exile, as the later warnings make clear. And the charge was serious. They were guilty of looking after themselves, whereas a true shepherd would be looking after the sheep.
The idea of kings and leaders as shepherds to their people is a common one (1 Kings 22:17; Isaiah 44:28; Isaiah 63:11; Jeremiah 2:8, linked with the priests and the prophets; Jeremiah 10:21; Jeremiah 23:1-6; Jeremiah 25:34-38 - more general; Micah 5:4-5 see also Psalms 78:70-71). Also see more generally Isaiah 56:10-11; Jeremiah 50:6; Nahum 3:18; Zechariah 10:2-3; Zechariah 11:8.