Zechariah 10-11
New American Standard Bible
God Will Bless Judah and Ephraim
10 Ask for (A)rain from the Lord at the time of the spring rain—
The Lord who (B)makes the [a]storm winds;
And He will give them (C)showers of rain, vegetation in the field to each person.
2 For the [b](D)household idols speak deception,
And the (E)diviners see [c]an illusion
And tell (F)deceitful dreams;
They comfort in vain.
Therefore the people [d]wander like (G)sheep,
They are wretched because there is no shepherd.
3 “My (H)anger is kindled against the shepherds,
And I will punish the [e]male goats;
For the Lord of armies has (I)visited His flock, the house of Judah,
And will make them like His majestic horse in battle.
4 From [f]them will come the (J)cornerstone,
From [g]them the tent peg,
From [h]them the bow of (K)battle,
From [i]them every tyrant, all of them together.
5 And they will be like warriors,
(L)Trampling down the enemy in the mud of the streets in battle;
And they will fight, because the Lord will be with them;
And the (M)riders on horses will be put to shame.
6 And I will (N)strengthen the house of Judah,
And I will (O)save the house of Joseph,
And I will [j](P)bring them back,
Because I have had (Q)compassion on them;
And they will be as though I had (R)not rejected them,
For I am the Lord their God and I will (S)answer them.
7 Ephraim will be like a warrior,
And their heart will be joyful as if from wine;
Indeed, their (T)children will see it and be joyful,
[k]Their heart will rejoice in the Lord.
8 I will (U)whistle for them and gather them together,
For I have redeemed them;
And they will be as (V)numerous as they [l](W)were before.
9 When I [m]scatter them among the peoples,
They will (X)remember Me in distant countries,
And they with their children will live and come back.
10 I will (Y)bring them back from the land of Egypt
And gather them from Assyria;
And I will bring them into the land of (Z)Gilead and Lebanon
[n]Until (AA)no room can be found for them.
11 And they will pass through the (AB)sea of distress
And He will strike the waves in the sea,
So that all the depths of the (AC)Nile will dry up;
And the pride of (AD)Assyria will be brought down,
And the scepter of (AE)Egypt will depart.
12 And I will (AF)strengthen them in the Lord,
And in His name (AG)they will walk,” declares the Lord.
The Doomed Flock
11 Open your doors, Lebanon,
So that a (AH)fire may feed on your (AI)cedars.
2 Wail, juniper, because the cedar has fallen,
For the magnificent trees have been destroyed;
Wail, oaks of Bashan,
Because the [o]impenetrable forest has come down.
3 There is a sound of the shepherds’ (AJ)wail,
For their splendor is ruined;
There is a (AK)sound of the young lions’ roar,
For the [p]pride of the Jordan is ruined.
4 This is what the Lord my God says: “Pasture the flock doomed to (AL)slaughter. 5 Those who buy them slaughter them and [q]go (AM)unpunished, and each of those who sell them says, ‘Blessed be the Lord, for (AN)I have become rich!’ And their (AO)own shepherds have no compassion for them. 6 For I will (AP)no longer have compassion for the inhabitants of the land,” declares the Lord; “but behold, I will (AQ)let the people fall, each into another’s [r]power and into the [s]power of his king; and they will crush the land, and I will (AR)not rescue them from their [t]power.”
7 So I (AS)pastured the flock doomed to slaughter, [u]therefore also the (AT)afflicted of the flock. And I took for myself two (AU)staffs: the one I called [v](AV)Favor, and the other I called (AW)Union; so I pastured the flock. 8 Then I did away with the three shepherds in (AX)one month, for my soul was impatient with them, and their soul also [w]was tired of me. 9 Then I said, “I will not pasture you. What is to (AY)die, [x]let it die, and what is to perish, [y]let it perish; and [z]let those who are left eat one another’s flesh.” 10 And I took my staff [aa](AZ)Favor and cut it in pieces, to [ab](BA)break my covenant which I had made with all the peoples. 11 So it was [ac]broken on that day, and [ad]so the (BB)afflicted of the flock who were watching me realized that it was the word of the Lord. 12 And I said to them, “If it is good in your sight, give me my (BC)wages; but if not, [ae]never mind!” So they weighed out (BD)thirty shekels of silver as my wages. 13 Then the Lord said to me, “Throw it to the (BE)potter, that magnificent price at which I was valued by them.” So I took the thirty shekels of silver and threw them to the potter in the house of the Lord. 14 Then I cut in pieces my second staff (BF)Union, to (BG)break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.
15 And the Lord said to me, “Take again for yourself the equipment of a (BH)foolish shepherd. 16 For behold, I am going to raise up a shepherd in the land who will (BI)not care for the perishing, seek the scattered, heal the broken, or provide for the one who is exhausted, but will (BJ)devour the flesh of the fat sheep and tear off their hoofs.
17 (BK)Woe to the worthless shepherd
Who abandons the flock!
A (BL)sword will be on his arm
And on his right eye!
His (BM)arm will be totally withered,
And his right eye will be [af]blind.”
Footnotes
- Zechariah 10:1 Or thunderbolts
- Zechariah 10:2 Heb teraphim
- Zechariah 10:2 Lit a lie
- Zechariah 10:2 Lit journey
- Zechariah 10:3 I.e., leaders
- Zechariah 10:4 Lit him
- Zechariah 10:4 Lit him
- Zechariah 10:4 Lit him
- Zechariah 10:4 Lit him
- Zechariah 10:6 Another reading is have them dwell
- Zechariah 10:7 Or Let their heart rejoice
- Zechariah 10:8 Lit were numerous
- Zechariah 10:9 Lit sow
- Zechariah 10:10 Lit And
- Zechariah 11:2 Another reading is forest of the vintage
- Zechariah 11:3 Or thicket
- Zechariah 11:5 Lit are not held guilty
- Zechariah 11:6 Lit hand
- Zechariah 11:6 Lit hand
- Zechariah 11:6 Lit hand
- Zechariah 11:7 Another reading is for the sheep dealers
- Zechariah 11:7 Or Pleasantness
- Zechariah 11:8 Or detested
- Zechariah 11:9 Or will die
- Zechariah 11:9 Or will perish
- Zechariah 11:9 Or those...will eat
- Zechariah 11:10 Or Pleasantness
- Zechariah 11:10 Or annul
- Zechariah 11:11 Or annulled
- Zechariah 11:11 Another reading is the sheep dealers who
- Zechariah 11:12 Lit cease
- Zechariah 11:17 Lit completely dimmed
Zechariah 10-11
New Living Translation
The Lord Will Restore His People
10 Ask the Lord for rain in the spring,
for he makes the storm clouds.
And he will send showers of rain
so every field becomes a lush pasture.
2 Household gods give worthless advice,
fortune-tellers predict only lies,
and interpreters of dreams pronounce
falsehoods that give no comfort.
So my people are wandering like lost sheep;
they are attacked because they have no shepherd.
3 “My anger burns against your shepherds,
and I will punish these leaders.[a]
For the Lord of Heaven’s Armies has arrived
to look after Judah, his flock.
He will make them strong and glorious,
like a proud warhorse in battle.
4 From Judah will come the cornerstone,
the tent peg,
the bow for battle,
and all the rulers.
5 They will be like mighty warriors in battle,
trampling their enemies in the mud under their feet.
Since the Lord is with them as they fight,
they will overthrow even the enemy’s horsemen.
6 “I will strengthen Judah and save Israel[b];
I will restore them because of my compassion.
It will be as though I had never rejected them,
for I am the Lord their God, who will hear their cries.
7 The people of Israel[c] will become like mighty warriors,
and their hearts will be made happy as if by wine.
Their children, too, will see it and be glad;
their hearts will rejoice in the Lord.
8 When I whistle to them, they will come running,
for I have redeemed them.
From the few who are left,
they will grow as numerous as they were before.
9 Though I have scattered them like seeds among the nations,
they will still remember me in distant lands.
They and their children will survive
and return again to Israel.
10 I will bring them back from Egypt
and gather them from Assyria.
I will resettle them in Gilead and Lebanon
until there is no more room for them all.
11 They will pass safely through the sea of distress,[d]
for the waves of the sea will be held back,
and the waters of the Nile will dry up.
The pride of Assyria will be crushed,
and the rule of Egypt will end.
12 By my power[e] I will make my people strong,
and by my authority they will go wherever they wish.
I, the Lord, have spoken!”
11 Open your doors, Lebanon,
so that fire may devour your cedar forests.
2 Weep, you cypress trees, for all the ruined cedars;
the most majestic ones have fallen.
Weep, you oaks of Bashan,
for the thick forests have been cut down.
3 Listen to the wailing of the shepherds,
for their rich pastures are destroyed.
Hear the young lions roaring,
for their thickets in the Jordan Valley are ruined.
The Good and Evil Shepherds
4 This is what the Lord my God says: “Go and care for the flock that is intended for slaughter. 5 The buyers slaughter their sheep without remorse. The sellers say, ‘Praise the Lord! Now I’m rich!’ Even the shepherds have no compassion for them. 6 Likewise, I will no longer have pity on the people of the land,” says the Lord. “I will let them fall into each other’s hands and into the hands of their king. They will turn the land into a wilderness, and I will not rescue them.”
7 So I cared for the flock intended for slaughter—the flock that was oppressed. Then I took two shepherd’s staffs and named one Favor and the other Union. 8 I got rid of their three evil shepherds in a single month.
But I became impatient with these sheep, and they hated me, too. 9 So I told them, “I won’t be your shepherd any longer. If you die, you die. If you are killed, you are killed. And let those who remain devour each other!”
10 Then I took my staff called Favor and cut it in two, showing that I had revoked the covenant I had made with all the nations. 11 That was the end of my covenant with them. The suffering flock was watching me, and they knew that the Lord was speaking through my actions.
12 And I said to them, “If you like, give me my wages, whatever I am worth; but only if you want to.” So they counted out for my wages thirty pieces of silver.
13 And the Lord said to me, “Throw it to the potter[f]”—this magnificent sum at which they valued me! So I took the thirty coins and threw them to the potter in the Temple of the Lord.
14 Then I took my other staff, Union, and cut it in two, showing that the bond of unity between Judah and Israel was broken.
15 Then the Lord said to me, “Go again and play the part of a worthless shepherd. 16 This illustrates how I will give this nation a shepherd who will not care for those who are dying, nor look after the young, nor heal the injured, nor feed the healthy. Instead, this shepherd will eat the meat of the fattest sheep and tear off their hooves.
17 “What sorrow awaits this worthless shepherd
who abandons the flock!
The sword will cut his arm
and pierce his right eye.
His arm will become useless,
and his right eye completely blind.”
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
