Zechariah 11:4-14
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Two Kinds of Shepherds
4 “Thus says the Lord my God: Be a shepherd of the flock doomed to slaughter.(A) 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.(B) 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.”(C)
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.(D) 8 In one month I disposed of the three shepherds, for I had become impatient with them, and they also detested me.(E) 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.(F) 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.(G) 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.(H) 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.(I) 14 Then I broke my second staff Unity, annulling the family ties between Judah and Israel.
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Zechariah 11:4-14
Christian Standard Bible
4 The Lord my God says this: “Shepherd the flock intended for slaughter. 5 Those who buy them slaughter them but are not punished.(A) Those who sell them say, ‘Blessed be the Lord because I have become rich!’ Even their own shepherds have no compassion for them. 6 Indeed, I will no longer have compassion on the inhabitants of the land”—this is the Lord’s declaration. “Instead, I will turn everyone over to his neighbor and his king. They will devastate the land, and I will not rescue it from their hand.”(B)
7 So I shepherded the flock intended for slaughter, the oppressed of the flock.[a] I took two staffs, calling one Favor(C) and the other Union, and I shepherded the flock. 8 In one month I got rid of three shepherds. I became impatient with them, and they also detested me. 9 Then I said, “I will no longer shepherd you. Let what is dying die, and let what is perishing perish; let the rest devour each other’s flesh.” 10 Next I took my staff called Favor and cut it in two, annulling the covenant I had made with all the peoples. 11 It was annulled on that day, and so the oppressed of the flock[b] who were watching me knew that it was the word of the Lord. 12 Then I said to them, “If it seems right to you, give me my wages; but if not, keep them.” So they weighed my wages, thirty pieces of silver.(D)
13 “Throw it to the potter,”[c] the Lord said to me—this magnificent price I was valued by them. So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw it into the house of the Lord, to the potter.[d](E) 14 Then I cut in two my second staff, Union, annulling the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.
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