Zechariah 11
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
11 Open your doors, O Lebanon,
so that fire may devour your cedars!(A)
2 Wail, O cypress, for the cedar has fallen,
for the glorious trees are ruined!
Wail, oaks of Bashan,
for the thick forest has been felled!(B)
3 Listen, the wail of the shepherds,
for their glory is despoiled!
Listen, the roar of the lions,
for the thickets of the Jordan are destroyed!(C)
Two Kinds of Shepherds
4 “Thus says the Lord my God: Be a shepherd of the flock doomed to slaughter.(D) 5 Those who buy them kill them and go unpunished, and those who sell them say, ‘Blessed be the Lord, for I have become rich,’ and their own shepherds have no pity on them.(E) 6 For I will no longer have pity on the inhabitants of the earth, says the Lord. I will cause them, every one, to fall each into the hand of a neighbor and each into the hand of the king, and they shall devastate the earth, and I will deliver no one from their hand.”(F)
7 So on behalf of the sheep merchants,[a] I became the shepherd of the flock doomed to slaughter. I took two staffs; one I named Favor, the other I named Unity, and I tended the sheep.(G) 8 In one month I disposed of the three shepherds, for I had become impatient with them, and they also detested me.(H) 9 So I said, “I will not be your shepherd. What is to die, let it die; what is to be destroyed, let it be destroyed; and let those that are left devour the flesh of one another!” 10 I took my staff Favor and broke it, annulling the covenant that I had made with all the peoples.(I) 11 So it was annulled on that day, and the sheep merchants[b] who were watching me knew that it was the word of the Lord.(J) 12 I then said to them, “If it seems right to you, give me my wages, but if not, keep them.” So they weighed out as my wages thirty shekels of silver.(K) 13 Then the Lord said to me, “Throw it into the treasury”[c]—this lordly price at which I was valued by them. So I took the thirty shekels of silver and threw them into the treasury[d] in the house of the Lord.(L) 14 Then I broke my second staff Unity, annulling the family ties between Judah and Israel.
15 Then the Lord said to me: “Take once more the implements of a worthless shepherd.(M) 16 For I am now raising up in the land a shepherd who does not care for the perishing, or seek the wandering,[e] or heal the maimed, or nourish the healthy,[f] but devours the flesh of the fat ones, tearing off even their hoofs.
17 Oh, my worthless shepherd,
who deserts the flock!
May the sword strike his arm
and his right eye!
Let his arm be completely withered,
his right eye utterly blinded!”(N)
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
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
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