Zechariah 11:15-17
New English Translation
15 Again the Lord said to me, “Take up once more the equipment of a foolish shepherd.[a] 16 Indeed, I am about to raise up a shepherd in the land who will not take heed of the sheep headed to slaughter, will not seek the scattered, and will not heal the injured.[b] Moreover, he will not nourish the one that is healthy, but instead will eat the meat of the fat sheep[c] and tear off their hooves.
17 “Woe to the worthless shepherd
who abandons the flock!
May a sword fall on his arm and his right eye!
May his arm wither completely away,
and his right eye become completely blind!”
Footnotes
- Zechariah 11:15 sn The grammar (e.g., the incipient participle מֵקִים, meqim, “about to raise up,” v. 16) and overall sense of vv. 15-17 give the incident a future orientation. Zechariah once more is role-playing but this time he is a “foolish” shepherd, i.e., one who does not know God and who is opposed to him (cf. Prov 1:7; 15:5; 20:3; 27:22). The individual who best represents this eschatological enemy of God and his people is the Antichrist (cf. Matt 24:5, 24; 2 Thess 2:3-4; 1 John 2:18, 22; 4:3; 2 John 7).
- Zechariah 11:16 tn Heb “the broken” (so KJV, NASB; NRSV “the maimed”).
- Zechariah 11:16 tn Heb “the fat [ones].” Cf. ASV “the fat sheep”; NIV “the choice sheep.”
Zechariah 11:15-17
Lexham English Bible
15 And Yahweh said to me, “Take again the implements[a] 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,[b] 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[c] and tear apart even their hoofs.
17 “Woe, my worthless shepherd
who deserts the flock![d]
May a sword fall on his arm
and on his right eye![e]
May his arm wither completely
and his right eye[f] be utterly blinded!”
Footnotes
- 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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