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
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”
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