11 Open thy doors, O Lebanon, that the fire may devour thy cedars.

Howl, fir tree; for the cedar is fallen; because the mighty are spoiled: howl, O ye oaks of Bashan; for the forest of the vintage is come down.

There is a voice of the howling of the shepherds; for their glory is spoiled: a voice of the roaring of young lions; for the pride of Jordan is spoiled.

Thus saith the Lord my God; Feed the flock of the slaughter;

Whose possessors slay them, and hold themselves not guilty: and they that sell them say, Blessed be the Lord; for I am rich: and their own shepherds pity them not.

For I will no more pity the inhabitants of the land, saith the Lord: but, lo, I will deliver the men every one into his neighbour's hand, and into the hand of his king: and they shall smite the land, and out of their hand I will not deliver them.

And I will feed the flock of slaughter, even you, O poor of the flock. And I took unto me two staves; the one I called Beauty, and the other I called Bands; and I fed the flock.

Three shepherds also I cut off in one month; and my soul lothed them, and their soul also abhorred me.

Then said I, I will not feed you: that that dieth, let it die; and that that is to be cut off, let it be cut off; and let the rest eat every one the flesh of another.

10 And I took my staff, even Beauty, and cut it asunder, that I might break my covenant which I had made with all the people.

11 And it was broken in that day: and so the poor of the flock that waited upon me knew that it was the word of the Lord.

12 And I said unto them, If ye think good, give me my price; and if not, forbear. So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver.

13 And the Lord said unto me, Cast it unto the potter: a goodly price that I was prised at of them. And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them to the potter in the house of the Lord.

14 Then I cut asunder mine other staff, even Bands, that I might break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.

15 And the Lord said unto me, Take unto thee yet the instruments of a foolish shepherd.

16 For, lo, I will raise up a shepherd in the land, which shall not visit those that be cut off, neither shall seek the young one, nor heal that that is broken, nor feed that that standeth still: but he shall eat the flesh of the fat, and tear their claws in pieces.

17 Woe to the idol shepherd that leaveth the flock! the sword shall be upon his arm, and upon his right eye: his arm shall be clean dried up, and his right eye shall be utterly darkened.

The Doomed Flock

11 Open your doors, Lebanon,

So that a (A)fire may feed on your (B)cedars.
Wail, juniper, because the cedar has fallen,
For the magnificent trees have been destroyed;
Wail, oaks of Bashan,
Because the [a]impenetrable forest has come down.
There is a sound of the shepherds’ (C)wail,
For their splendor is ruined;
There is a (D)sound of the young lions’ roar,
For the [b]pride of the Jordan is ruined.

This is what the Lord my God says: “Pasture the flock doomed to (E)slaughter. Those who buy them slaughter them and [c]go (F)unpunished, and each of those who sell them says, ‘Blessed be the Lord, for (G)I have become rich!’ And their (H)own shepherds have no compassion for them. For I will (I)no longer have compassion for the inhabitants of the land,” declares the Lord; “but behold, I will (J)let the people fall, each into another’s [d]power and into the [e]power of his king; and they will crush the land, and I will (K)not rescue them from their [f]power.”

So I (L)pastured the flock doomed to slaughter, [g]therefore also the (M)afflicted of the flock. And I took for myself two (N)staffs: the one I called [h](O)Favor, and the other I called (P)Union; so I pastured the flock. Then I did away with the three shepherds in (Q)one month, for my soul was impatient with them, and their soul also [i]was tired of me. Then I said, “I will not pasture you. What is to (R)die, [j]let it die, and what is to perish, [k]let it perish; and [l]let those who are left eat one another’s flesh.” 10 And I took my staff [m](S)Favor and cut it in pieces, to [n](T)break my covenant which I had made with all the peoples. 11 So it was [o]broken on that day, and [p]so the (U)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 (V)wages; but if not, [q]never mind!” So they weighed out (W)thirty shekels of silver as my wages. 13 Then the Lord said to me, “Throw it to the (X)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 (Y)Union, to (Z)break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.

15 And the Lord said to me, “Take again for yourself the equipment of a (AA)foolish shepherd. 16 For behold, I am going to raise up a shepherd in the land who will (AB)not care for the perishing, seek the scattered, heal the broken, or provide for the one who is exhausted, but will (AC)devour the flesh of the fat sheep and tear off their hoofs.

17 (AD)Woe to the worthless shepherd
Who abandons the flock!
A (AE)sword will be on his arm
And on his right eye!
His (AF)arm will be totally withered,
And his right eye will be [r]blind.”

Footnotes

  1. Zechariah 11:2 Another reading is forest of the vintage
  2. Zechariah 11:3 Or thicket
  3. Zechariah 11:5 Lit are not held guilty
  4. Zechariah 11:6 Lit hand
  5. Zechariah 11:6 Lit hand
  6. Zechariah 11:6 Lit hand
  7. Zechariah 11:7 Another reading is for the sheep dealers
  8. Zechariah 11:7 Or Pleasantness
  9. Zechariah 11:8 Or detested
  10. Zechariah 11:9 Or will die
  11. Zechariah 11:9 Or will perish
  12. Zechariah 11:9 Or those...will eat
  13. Zechariah 11:10 Or Pleasantness
  14. Zechariah 11:10 Or annul
  15. Zechariah 11:11 Or annulled
  16. Zechariah 11:11 Another reading is the sheep dealers who
  17. Zechariah 11:12 Lit cease
  18. Zechariah 11:17 Lit completely dimmed

11 Open thy doors, O Lebanon, that the fire may devour thy cedars. Wail, O fir-tree, for the cedar is fallen, because the [a]goodly ones are destroyed: wail, O ye oaks of Bashan, for the [b]strong forest is come down. A voice of the wailing of the shepherds! for their glory is destroyed: a voice of the roaring of young lions! for the pride of the Jordan is laid waste.

Thus said Jehovah my God: Feed the flock of slaughter; whose [c]possessors slay them, and hold themselves not guilty; and they that sell them say, Blessed be Jehovah, for I am rich; and [d]their own shepherds pity them not. For I will no more pity the inhabitants of the land, saith Jehovah; but, lo, I will deliver the men every one into his neighbor’s hand, and into the hand of his king; and they shall smite the land, and out of their hand I will not deliver them. So I fed the flock of slaughter, verily [e]the poor of the flock. And I took unto me two staves; the one I called [f]Beauty, and the other I called [g]Bands; and I fed the flock. And I cut off the three shepherds in one month; for my soul was weary of them, and their soul also loathed me. Then said I, I will not feed you: that which dieth, let it die; and [h]that which is to be cut off, let it be cut off; and let them that are left eat every one the flesh of another. 10 And I took my staff Beauty, and cut it asunder, that I might break my covenant which I had made with all the peoples. 11 And it was broken in that day; and [i]thus [j]the poor of the flock that gave heed unto me knew that it was the word of Jehovah. 12 And I said unto them, If ye think good, give me my hire; and if not, forbear. So they weighed for my hire thirty pieces of silver. 13 And Jehovah said unto me, Cast it unto the potter, the goodly price that I was prized at by them. And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them unto the potter, in the house of Jehovah. 14 Then I cut asunder mine other staff, even Bands, that I might break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.

15 And Jehovah said unto me, Take unto thee yet again the instruments of a foolish shepherd. 16 For, lo, I will raise up a shepherd in the land, who will not [k]visit those that are [l]cut off, neither will seek [m]those that are scattered, nor heal that which is broken, nor feed that which [n]is sound; but he will eat the flesh of the fat sheep, and will tear their hoofs in pieces. 17 Woe to the worthless shepherd that leaveth the flock! the sword shall be upon his arm, and upon his right eye: his arm shall be clean dried up, and his right eye shall be utterly darkened.

Footnotes

  1. Zechariah 11:2 Or, glorious
  2. Zechariah 11:2 Or, fortified
  3. Zechariah 11:5 Or, buyers
  4. Zechariah 11:5 Or, their shepherd pitieth
  5. Zechariah 11:7 Or, the most miserable of sheep
  6. Zechariah 11:7 Or, Graciousness
  7. Zechariah 11:7 Or, Binders. Or, Union
  8. Zechariah 11:9 Or, that which is lost, let it be lost
  9. Zechariah 11:11 Or, the poor of the flock . . . knew of a truth
  10. Zechariah 11:11 Or, the most miserable of sheep
  11. Zechariah 11:16 Or, miss
  12. Zechariah 11:16 Or, lost
  13. Zechariah 11:16 Or, the young
  14. Zechariah 11:16 Hebrew standeth.