Two Shepherds

This is what the Lord my God says: “Shepherd the flock marked for slaughter.(A) 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.(B) 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(C) and their king. They will devastate the land, and I will not rescue anyone from their hands.”(D)

So I shepherded the flock marked for slaughter,(E) 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(F) me, and I grew weary of them and said, “I will not be your shepherd. Let the dying die, and the perishing perish.(G) Let those who are left eat(H) one another’s flesh.”

10 Then I took my staff called Favor(I) and broke it, revoking(J) the covenant I had made with all the nations. 11 It was revoked on that day, and so the oppressed of the flock who were watching me knew it was the word of the Lord.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

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(L) and threw them to the potter at the house of the Lord.(M)

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

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The shepherd’s two staffs

This is what the Lord my God says:
    Shepherd the flock intended for slaughter.
        Those who buy them will kill them,
            but they will go unpunished.
        Those who sell them will say,
            “Blessed is the Lord, for I have become rich.”
                And their own shepherds won’t spare them.
                In fact, I will no longer spare the inhabitants of the land, says the Lord.
        But look what I am about to bring upon humanity,
            upon each of them by their neighbor’s hand and by the hand of their king:
        They will beat the land to pieces,
            but I won’t rescue anyone from their hand.
So I shepherded the flock intended for slaughter,
            the afflicted of the flock.[a]
I took two staffs for myself.
        I named one Delight;
            the other I named Harmony.
I shepherded the flock.
I removed three shepherds in one month
        when I grew impatient with them.
        Moreover, they detested me.
Then I said, “I won’t shepherd you.
    Let the dying die,
                and let what is to be removed be removed.
    Let those who are left devour the flesh of their neighbor.”

10 Then I took the staff Delight,
        and I chopped it up in order to break my covenant that I had made with all the peoples.
11         It was broken on that day.
            As a result, the afflicted[b] of the flock knew that it was the Lord’s word.
12 And I said to them,
        “If it appears good to you, give me my wages;
        but if not, then stop.”
        So they weighed out my wages, thirty shekels of silver.
13 The Lord said to me,
        “Put it in the treasury.[c]
        They value me at too magnificent a price.”
So I took the thirty shekels[d] of silver
        and put them in the treasury of the Lord’s house.

14 Then I chopped up my second staff Harmony,
        to break the alliance between Judah and Israel.

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Footnotes

  1. Zechariah 11:7 Heb uncertain
  2. Zechariah 11:11 Cf Zech 11:7
  3. Zechariah 11:13 Syr; MT to the potter
  4. Zechariah 11:13 Heb lacks shekels.