Zechariah 11
New American Standard Bible
The Doomed Flock
11 Open your doors, Lebanon,
So that a (A)fire may feed on your (B)cedars.
2 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.
3 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.
4 This is what the Lord my God says: “Pasture the flock doomed to (E)slaughter. 5 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. 6 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.”
7 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. 8 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. 9 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
- 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 11
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Israel’s Shepherds: Good and Bad
11 Open your gates, Lebanon,
and fire will consume your cedars.(A)
2 Wail, cypress,(B) for the cedar has fallen;
the glorious trees are destroyed!
Wail, oaks of Bashan,(C)
for the stately forest has fallen!
3 Listen to the wail(D) of the shepherds,
for their glory is destroyed.
Listen to the roar of young lions,(E)
for the thickets of the Jordan(F) are[a] destroyed.
4 Yahweh my God says this: “Shepherd the flock intended for slaughter. 5 Those who buy them slaughter them but are not punished.(G) Those who sell them say: Praise the Lord because I have become rich! Even their own shepherds have no compassion for them. 6 Indeed, I will no longer have compassion on the inhabitants of the land”—this is the Lord’s declaration. “Instead, I will turn everyone over to his neighbor and his king. They will devastate the land, and I will not deliver it from them.”(H)
7 So I shepherded the flock intended for slaughter, the afflicted of the flock.[b] I took two staffs, calling one Favor(I) and the other Union, and I shepherded the flock. 8 In one month I got rid of three shepherds. I became impatient with them, and they also detested me. 9 Then I said, “I will no longer shepherd you. Let what is dying die, and let what is going astray go astray; let the rest devour each other’s flesh.” 10 Next I took my staff called Favor and cut it in two, annulling the covenant I had made with all the peoples. 11 It was annulled on that day, and so the afflicted of the flock[c] who were watching me knew that it was the word of the Lord. 12 Then I said to them, “If it seems right to you, give me my wages; but if not, keep them.” So they weighed my wages, 30 pieces of silver.(J)
13 “Throw it to the potter,”[d] the Lord said to me—this magnificent price I was valued by them. So I took the 30 pieces of silver and threw it into the house of the Lord, to the potter.[e](K) 14 Then I cut in two my second staff, Union, annulling the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.
15 The Lord also said to me: “Take the equipment of a foolish shepherd. 16 I am about to raise up a shepherd in the land who will not care for those who are going astray, and he will not seek the lost[f] or heal the broken. He will not sustain the healthy,[g] but he will devour the flesh of the fat sheep(L) and tear off their hooves.
17 Woe to the worthless shepherd
who deserts the flock!(M)
May a sword strike[h] his arm
and his right eye!
May his arm wither away
and his right eye go completely blind!”
Footnotes
- Zechariah 11:3 Lit for the majesty of the Jordan is
- Zechariah 11:7 LXX reads slaughter that belonged to the sheep merchants
- Zechariah 11:11 LXX reads and the sheep merchants
- Zechariah 11:13 Syr reads treasury
- Zechariah 11:13 One Hb ms, Syr read treasury
- Zechariah 11:16 Lit young
- Zechariah 11:16 Or exhausted
- Zechariah 11:17 Lit be against
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