Zechariah 11
Complete Jewish Bible
11 Open your doors, L’vanon,
so that fire can consume your cedars.
2 Wail, cypress, because the cedar has fallen,
those splendid trees are ruined.
Wail, oaks of Bashan,
because the thick forest has been felled.
3 Listen to the wail of the shepherds,
because their glory is spoiled.
Listen to the roaring of young lions,
because the Yarden’s thickets are plundered.
4 Adonai my God says this: “Shepherd the flock for slaughter. 5 Their buyers kill them and go unpunished; while those who sell them say, ‘Barukh Adonai! Now I’m rich!’ Even their own shepherds show them no pity. 6 I will no longer show pity to the inhabitants of the land,” says Adonai. “No, I will hand every one of them over to the power of a neighbor and to the power of his king; they will crush the land; and I won’t rescue them from their power.”
7 So I shepherded the flock for slaughter, truly the most miserable of the sheep; and I took two staffs for myself. I called the one No‘am [pleasantness], the other I called Hovalim [bound together], and I shepherded the flock. 8 “In a single month I got rid of three shepherds, because I grew impatient with them; and besides, they detested me. 9 I said, ‘I’m not going to shepherd you. Whichever one is going to die, let it die; whichever is going to be destroyed, let it be destroyed; and the rest can all devour each other.’”
10 I took my staff No‘am and snapped it in two, “in order to break my covenant, which I made with all the peoples.” 11 On that day when it was broken, the most miserable of the sheep who paid attention to me knew that this was indeed a message from Adonai. 12 I said to them, “If it seems good to you, give me my wages; if not, don’t.” So they weighed out my wages, thirty silver [shekels, that is, twelve ounces]. 13 Concerning that “princely sum” at which they valued me, Adonai said, “Throw it into the treasury!” So I took the thirty silver [shekels] and threw them into the treasury in the house of Adonai.
14 Then I snapped in two my other staff Hovalim [bound together], in order to break up the brotherhood between Y’hudah and Isra’el. 15 Adonai said to me, “This time, take the equipment of a worthless shepherd. 16 For I am going to raise up a shepherd in the land who won’t bother about the ones who have been destroyed, won’t seek out the young, won’t heal the broken and won’t feed those standing still; on the contrary, he will eat the meat of the fat ones and break their hoofs in pieces.
17 “Woe to the worthless shepherd
who abandons the sheep!
May a sword strike his arm
and his right eye.
May his arm be completely withered
and his right eye totally blinded.”
Zechariah 11
Easy-to-Read Version
God Will Punish the Other Nations
11 Lebanon, open your gates so that the fire will come
and burn your cedar trees.[a]
2 The cypress trees will cry because the cedar trees have fallen.
Those powerful trees will be taken away.
Oak trees in Bashan will cry
for the forest that was cut down.
3 Listen to the crying shepherds.
Their powerful leaders were taken away.
Listen to the roaring of the young lions.
Their thick bushes near the Jordan River have all been taken away.
4 The Lord my God says, “Care for the sheep that have been raised to be killed. 5 Buyers kill their sheep and are not punished. Those who sell the sheep say, ‘Praise the Lord, I am rich!’ The shepherds don’t feel sorry for their sheep. 6 And I don’t feel sorry for the people who live in this country.” This is what the Lord said: “Look, I will let everyone be under the control of their neighbor and king. I will let them destroy the country—I will not stop them!”
7 So I took care of the sheep that had been raised to be killed—those poor sheep. I found two sticks. I called one stick Favor, and I called the other stick Union. Then I began caring for the sheep. 8 I fired the three shepherds all in one month. I got angry at the sheep, and they began to hate me. 9 Then I said, “I quit! I will not take care of you! I will let those who want to die, die. I will let those who want to be destroyed, be destroyed, and those who are left will destroy each other.” 10 Then I took the stick named Favor, and I broke it. I did this to show that God’s agreement with his people was broken. 11 So that day the agreement was finished, and those poor sheep watching me knew that this message was from the Lord.
12 Then I said, “If you want to pay me, pay me. If not, don’t!” So they paid me 30 pieces of silver. 13 Then the Lord told me, “So that’s how much they think I’m worth. Throw that large amount of money[b] into the Temple treasury.” So I took the 30 pieces of silver and threw them into the treasury at the Lord’s Temple. 14 Then I cut the stick named Union into two pieces. I did this to show that the union between Judah and Israel had been broken.
15 Then the Lord said to me, “Now, get the things a foolish shepherd might use. 16 This will show that I will get a new shepherd for this country. But this young man will not be able to take care of the sheep that are being destroyed. He will not be able to heal the hurt sheep or feed those that are left alive. And the healthy ones will be eaten completely—only their hoofs will be left.”
17 Too bad for you, you worthless shepherd!
You abandoned my sheep.
Punish him!
Strike his arm and right eye with a sword.
His arm will be useless.
His right eye will be blind.
Notas al pie
- Zechariah 11:1 cedar trees In this poem, the trees, bushes, and animals are symbols for the leaders of the countries around Judah.
- Zechariah 11:13 large amount of money The Lord was making fun of the people. This was only the amount of money a person paid for a slave.
Copyright © 1998 by David H. Stern. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International