Zechariah 11
Lexham English Bible
11 Open your doors, O Lebanon,
so that fire will devour your cedars!
2 Wail, O juniper,[a] for the cedar has fallen,
for the magnificent trees are ruined!
Wail, oaks of Bashan,
for the impenetrable forest has come down!
3 Listen to the wailing of the shepherds,
for their splendor is ruined!
Listen to the roar of the young lions,
for the thickets of the Jordan are ruined!
The Two Shepherds
4 Thus says Yahweh my God: “Shepherd the flock[b] doomed to slaughter. 5 The ones buying them kill them and go unpunished, and the ones selling them say, ‘Blessed be Yahweh, for I have become rich.’ Their own shepherds have no compassion for them. 6 For I will no longer have compassion on the inhabitants of the land,” declares[c] Yahweh. “Look, I am going to cause humankind to fall, each into the hand of his neighbor, and into the hand of his king; and they will devastate the land, and I will not deliver anyone from their hand.”
7 And I shepherded the flock[d] doomed to slaughter, even[e] the afflicted[f] of the flock.[g] I took two staffs, one I called Kindness, and the other I called Unity, and I shepherded the flock.[h] 8 And I got rid of three shepherds in one month, for I grew impatient[i] with them, and they also became tired of me.[j] 9 So I said, “I will not shepherd you! The one dying will die, and the one to be destroyed will be destroyed. And the ones remaining, let them devour the flesh of each other.”[k] 10 And I took my staff Kindness and broke it, to break my covenant that I had made[l] with all the peoples. 11 And it was broken on that day. Then the afflicted[m] of the flock,[n] the ones who were watching me, knew that it was the word of Yahweh. 12 And I said to them, “If it seems right to you,[o] give me my wages, but if not, keep them.”[p] And they weighed out my wages, thirty silver shekels. 13 And Yahweh said to me, “Throw it to the potter,”[q] this noble price[r] at which I was valued by them!” So I took the thirty silver shekels and I threw them to the potter[s] in the house of Yahweh. 14 Then I broke my second staff Unity to break the family ties between Judah and Israel.
15 And Yahweh said to me, “Take again the implements[t] of a foolish shepherd. 16 For look, I am raising up a shepherd in the land who will not attend to the ones that are perishing; he will not seek the young man,[u] he will not heal the ones that are crushed and he will not sustain the healthy ones; he will devour the flesh of the fattened ones[v] and tear apart even their hoofs.
17 “Woe, my worthless shepherd
who deserts the flock![w]
May a sword fall on his arm
and on his right eye![x]
May his arm wither completely
and his right eye[y] be utterly blinded!”
Footnotes
- Zechariah 11:2 Or “cypress”
- Zechariah 11:4 The Hebrew term refers collectively to both sheep and goats (small livestock animals)
- Zechariah 11:6 Literally “declaration of”
- Zechariah 11:7 The Hebrew term refers collectively to both sheep and goats (small livestock animals)
- Zechariah 11:7 Hebrew “therefore”
- Zechariah 11:7 LXX reads “merchants of the flock” which is reflected in some English translations
- Zechariah 11:7 The Hebrew term refers collectively to both sheep and goats (small livestock animals)
- Zechariah 11:7 The Hebrew term refers collectively to both sheep and goats (small livestock animals)
- Zechariah 11:8 Literally “my soul became short”
- Zechariah 11:8 Literally “also their soul detested me”
- Zechariah 11:9 Literally “each the flesh of her neighbor”
- Zechariah 11:10 Literally “had cut”
- Zechariah 11:11 LXX reads “merchants (of the flock)” which is reflected in some English translations
- Zechariah 11:11 The Hebrew term refers collectively to both sheep and goats (small livestock animals)
- Zechariah 11:12 Literally “it is good in your eyes”
- Zechariah 11:12 Literally “refrain”
- Zechariah 11:13 Syriac reads “treasury,” followed by NAB, NRSV, TEV
- Zechariah 11:13 Literally “the price of honor”
- Zechariah 11:13 Syriac reads “treasury,” followed by NAB, NRSV, TEV
- Zechariah 11:15 Hebrew “implement”
- Zechariah 11:16 Syriac and other ancient versions read “the wandering” or “the scattered,” as do several English translations
- Zechariah 11:16 Literally “the stall-fed”
- Zechariah 11:17 The Hebrew term refers collectively to both sheep and goats (small livestock animals)
- Zechariah 11:17 Literally “the eye of his right”
- Zechariah 11:17 Literally “the eye of his right”
Zechariah 11
International Standard Version
Destruction of Lebanon and Bashan
11 Open your doors, Lebanon,
and fire will consume your cedars.[a]
2 Wail, cypress tree,
for the cedar has fallen
while the stately trees are destroyed.
Wail, oak trees of Bashan,
for the old growth forest has been cut down.
3 Hear[b] the wailing of the shepherds,
for the magnificence of the forest[c] is ruined!
Hear[d] the roar of the lions,
for the Jordan’s arrogance is ruined!
The Shepherd
4 This is what the Lord my God says: “Shepherd the flock marked for[e] slaughter. 5 Their buyers slaughter them without being punished, continuing to sell them as they say, ‘Bless the Lord!’ and, ‘I’m rich!’ Meanwhile, their shepherds show them no compassion. 6 Therefore I will no longer show compassion upon those who live in the land,” declares the Lord. “Look! I will deliver every single person into the control[f] of his neighbor and into the control[g] of the king. Even though they assault the land, I will not deliver it from their control.”[h]
7 So I became shepherd of the flock marked for[i] slaughter, paying attention to the oppressed of the flock. I took two staffs—naming one “Pleasant” and the other one “Union”—and then I pastured the flock. 8 In a single month I got rid of three shepherds because I grew tired of them, and they despised me. 9 So I said, “I will no longer be your shepherd. Let those who are about to die perish, and let what is about to be destroyed be destroyed. As for the survivors, let them devour each other.”
10 Then I took the staff that I had named “Pleasant” and broke it, showing I was breaking my covenant that I had made with all of the people. 11 It was broken at that time[j] so the oppressed of the flock who were observing me would know that it had been a message from the Lord.
12 I told them, “If it’s alright with you, pay me what I’ve earned. But if it isn’t, don’t.”
So they paid out what I had earned—30 pieces of silver.[k]
13 Then the Lord told me, “Throw the money[l] into the treasury[m]—that magnificent value they placed on me!”
So I took the 30 shekels of[n] silver and threw them into the treasury[o] of the Temple of the Lord. 14 Then I broke my second staff—the one I had named “Union”—breaking the union between the house of Judah and the house of Israel.
God’s Curse on the Worthless Shepherd
15 The Lord told me, “Pick up the tools of a worthless shepherd again, 16 for I am now raising up a shepherd in the land who will neither search for the lost, nor care for the young, nor fix the broken, nor sustain the healthy. Instead, he will devour the meat of the best of the sheep, tearing off their hoofs.”
17 “Woe to the worthless shepherd,
who deserts the flock!
May the sword strike his arm
and his right eye.
May his arm wither
and his right eye be completely blind.”
Footnotes
- Zechariah 11:1 I.e. a genus of coniferous evergreen in the family Pinaceae; and so throughout the chapter
- Zechariah 11:3 The Heb. lacks Hear
- Zechariah 11:3 The Heb. lacks of the forest
- Zechariah 11:3 The Heb. lacks Hear
- Zechariah 11:4 Lit. flock of the
- Zechariah 11:6 Lit. hand
- Zechariah 11:6 Lit. hand
- Zechariah 11:6 Lit. hand
- Zechariah 11:7 Lit. flock of the
- Zechariah 11:11 Lit. day
- Zechariah 11:12 The Heb. lacks a specific unit of measurement
- Zechariah 11:13 The Syr reads Throw it
- Zechariah 11:13 According to Syr
- Zechariah 11:13 The Heb. lacks a specific unit of measurement
- Zechariah 11:13 According to Syr
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