Zechariah 11:4-14

Modern English Version

Two Kinds of Shepherds

⁴ Thus says the Lord my God: Shepherd the flock of slaughter. ⁵ The ones who buy them then slaughter them and have no guilt, and those who sell them say, “Blessed is the Lord because I am rich.” Their own shepherds do not take pity on them. ⁶ For I will no longer have pity on those who dwell in the land, says the Lord. But I will cause each of them to fall into the hands of his neighbor, even into the hands of his king. They will crush the land, and I will not deliver any from their hands.

⁷ So I shepherded the flock that was for slaughter, even the afflicted of the flock. And I took for myself two staffs. One I called Favor and the other I gave the name Union. So I pastured the flock. ⁸ I destroyed the three shepherds in the span of one month.

For my soul was impatient with them, and their souls detested me. ⁹ Then I said, “I will not shepherd you. What is to die, let it die. What is to be destroyed, let it be destroyed. Let those who are left devour each other’s flesh.”

¹⁰ I took the staff named Favor and cut it into pieces, to break the covenant that I made with all the peoples. ¹¹ So it was broken that day, and the afflicted of the flock were watching me and knew that this was the word of the Lord.

¹² Then I said to them, “If this is good in your eyes, then give my wages to me, but if not, then keep it.” They weighed my wages at thirty pieces of silver.

¹³ Then the Lord said to me, “Throw it to the potter, the splendid price by which I was valued by them.” So I took the thirty silver pieces and threw them to the house of the Lord to the potter.

¹⁴ Then I cut up the second staff, Union, to break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.