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
Expanded Bible
15 Then the Lord said to me, “·Get the things used by a foolish shepherd again, 16 because [L look; T behold] I am going to ·get [raise up] a new shepherd for the country. He will not care for the ·dying sheep [lost; perishing], or look for the young ones, or heal the injured ones, or feed the healthy. But he will ·eat [devour the flesh of] the ·best [fat] sheep and tear off their hoofs.
17 “·How terrible it will be for [L Woe to] the ·useless [worthless] shepherd
who abandoned the flock.
A sword will strike his arm and his right eye.
His arm will ·lose all its strength [wither away],
and his right eye will go blind.”
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