11 Open thy doors, O Lebanon, that the fire may devour thy cedars.

Howl, fir tree; for the cedar is fallen; because the mighty are spoiled: howl, O ye oaks of Bashan; for the forest of the vintage is come down.

There is a voice of the howling of the shepherds; for their glory is spoiled: a voice of the roaring of young lions; for the pride of Jordan is spoiled.

Thus saith the Lord my God; Feed the flock of the slaughter;

Whose possessors slay them, and hold themselves not guilty: and they that sell them say, Blessed be the Lord; for I am rich: and their own shepherds pity them not.

For I will no more pity the inhabitants of the land, saith the Lord: but, lo, I will deliver the men every one into his neighbour's hand, and into the hand of his king: and they shall smite the land, and out of their hand I will not deliver them.

And I will feed the flock of slaughter, even you, O poor of the flock. And I took unto me two staves; the one I called Beauty, and the other I called Bands; and I fed the flock.

Three shepherds also I cut off in one month; and my soul lothed them, and their soul also abhorred me.

Then said I, I will not feed you: that that dieth, let it die; and that that is to be cut off, let it be cut off; and let the rest eat every one the flesh of another.

10 And I took my staff, even Beauty, and cut it asunder, that I might break my covenant which I had made with all the people.

11 And it was broken in that day: and so the poor of the flock that waited upon me knew that it was the word of the Lord.

12 And I said unto them, If ye think good, give me my price; and if not, forbear. So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver.

13 And the Lord said unto me, Cast it unto the potter: a goodly price that I was prised at of them. And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them to the potter in the house of the Lord.

14 Then I cut asunder mine other staff, even Bands, that I might break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.

15 And the Lord said unto me, Take unto thee yet the instruments of a foolish shepherd.

16 For, lo, I will raise up a shepherd in the land, which shall not visit those that be cut off, neither shall seek the young one, nor heal that that is broken, nor feed that that standeth still: but he shall eat the flesh of the fat, and tear their claws in pieces.

17 Woe to the idol shepherd that leaveth the flock! the sword shall be upon his arm, and upon his right eye: his arm shall be clean dried up, and his right eye shall be utterly darkened.

11 ¡Abre tus puertas, monte Líbano,
    para que el fuego devore tus cedros!
¡Gime tú, ciprés, porque los cedros se han caído
    y los majestuosos árboles se han derrumbado!
¡Gemid, robles de Basán!
    ¡Los tupidos bosques han sido derribados!
Escuchad el gemido de los pastores;
    ¡sus ricos pastizales han sido destruidos!
Escuchad el rugido de los leones;
    ¡la espesura del Jordán ha quedado devastada!

Los dos pastores

Así dice el Señor mi Dios: «Cuida de las ovejas destinadas al matadero. Quienes las compran las matan impunemente, y quienes las venden dicen: “¡Bendito sea el Señor, porque me he enriquecido!” Ni sus propios pastores se compadecen de ellas. Pero ya no tendré piedad de los que habitan este país —afirma el Señor—, sino que los entregaré en manos de su prójimo y de su rey. Aunque devasten el país, no los rescataré de sus manos».

Así que me dediqué a cuidar las ovejas que los mercaderes habían destinado al matadero. Tomé dos varas de pastor: a una le puse por nombre Gracia, y a la otra, Unión, y me dediqué a cuidar del rebaño. En un solo mes me deshice de tres pastores.

Pero me cansé de las ovejas, y ellas se cansaron de mí. Así que les dije:[a] «Ya no voy a ser vuestro pastor. Las que se vayan a morir, que se mueran; las que vayan a perecer, que perezcan; y las que queden con vida, que se devoren unas a otras».

10 Tomé entonces la vara a la que había llamado Gracia, y la quebré. De ese modo anulé el pacto que había hecho con todas las naciones. 11 Ese mismo día quedó anulado, y los mercaderes de ovejas que me observaban supieron que se trataba de la palabra del Señor.

12 Les dije: «Si os parece bien, pagadme mi jornal; de lo contrario, quedaos con él». Y me pagaron solo treinta monedas de plata.[b] 13 ¡Valiente precio el que me pusieron!

Entonces el Señor me dijo: «Entrégaselas al fundidor». Así que tomé las treinta monedas de plata y se las di al fundidor del templo del Señor.

14 Quebré luego la segunda vara, a la que había llamado Unión, y anulé el vínculo fraternal entre Judá e Israel. 15 El Señor me dijo entonces: «Vístete ahora como uno de esos pastores insensatos, 16 porque voy a poner sobre el país a un pastor que no se preocupará por las ovejas moribundas, ni buscará a las ovejas pequeñas, ni curará a las ovejas heridas ni dará de comer a las ovejas sanas, sino que devorará a las más gordas y les arrancará las pezuñas».

17 ¡Ay del pastor inútil
    que abandona su rebaño!
¡Que la espada le hiera el brazo,
    y el puñal le saque el ojo derecho!
¡Que del brazo quede tullido,
    y del ojo derecho, ciego!

Footnotes

  1. 11:8-9 me cansé … les dije. Alt. me cansé de los pastores, y ellos se hastiaron de mí. Así que les dije a las ovejas.
  2. 11:12 treinta monedas de plata. Lit. treinta [siclos] de plata.

11 Open your doors, Lebanon,(A)
    so that fire(B) may devour your cedars!
Wail, you juniper, for the cedar has fallen;
    the stately trees are ruined!
Wail, oaks(C) of Bashan;
    the dense forest(D) has been cut down!(E)
Listen to the wail of the shepherds;
    their rich pastures are destroyed!
Listen to the roar of the lions;(F)
    the lush thicket of the Jordan is ruined!(G)

Two Shepherds

This is what the Lord my God says: “Shepherd the flock marked for slaughter.(H) Their buyers slaughter them and go unpunished. Those who sell them say, ‘Praise the Lord, I am rich!’ Their own shepherds do not spare them.(I) For I will no longer have pity on the people of the land,” declares the Lord. “I will give everyone into the hands of their neighbors(J) and their king. They will devastate the land, and I will not rescue anyone from their hands.”(K)

So I shepherded the flock marked for slaughter,(L) particularly the oppressed of the flock. Then I took two staffs and called one Favor and the other Union, and I shepherded the flock. In one month I got rid of the three shepherds.

The flock detested(M) me, and I grew weary of them and said, “I will not be your shepherd. Let the dying die, and the perishing perish.(N) Let those who are left eat(O) one another’s flesh.”

10 Then I took my staff called Favor(P) and broke it, revoking(Q) the covenant I had made with all the nations. 11 It was revoked on that day, and so the oppressed of the flock who were watching me knew it was the word of the Lord.

12 I told them, “If you think it best, give me my pay; but if not, keep it.” So they paid me thirty pieces of silver.(R)

13 And the Lord said to me, “Throw it to the potter”—the handsome price at which they valued me! So I took the thirty pieces of silver(S) and threw them to the potter at the house of the Lord.(T)

14 Then I broke my second staff called Union, breaking the family bond between Judah and Israel.

15 Then the Lord said to me, “Take again the equipment of a foolish shepherd. 16 For I am going to raise up a shepherd over the land who will not care for the lost, or seek the young, or heal the injured, or feed the healthy, but will eat the meat of the choice sheep, tearing off their hooves.

17 “Woe to the worthless shepherd,(U)
    who deserts the flock!
May the sword strike his arm(V) and his right eye!
    May his arm be completely withered,
    his right eye totally blinded!”(W)