Zechariah 11
1 Open thy doors, O Libanus, and let
the fire devour thy cedars. 2 Let the
pine howl, because the cedar has fallen; for the mighty men have been greatly
afflicted: howl, ye oaks of the land of Basan; for the thickly planted forest
has been torn down.
3 There is a
voice of the shepherds mourning; for their greatness is
aGr. distressed.brought low: a voice of roaring lions; for the
bOr, roaring.pride of Jordan is brought down.
4 Thus saith the Lord Almighty, Feed
the sheep of the slaughter; 5 which
their possessors have slain, and have not repented: and they that sold them
said, Blessed be the Lord; for we have become rich: and their shepherds have
suffered no sorrow for them.
6 Therefore I will no longer have
mercy upon the inhabitants of the land, saith the Lord: but, behold, I will
deliver up the men every one into the hand of his neighbour, and into the hand
of his king; and they shall destroy the land, and I will not rescue out of
their hand.
7 And I will tend the flock of
slaughter in the land of Chanaan: and I will take for myself two rods; the one
I called Beauty, and the other I called Line; and I will tend the flock.
8 And I will cut off three shepherds
in one month; and my soul shall
cOr, be sorely displeased with them. Gr. be weighed down upon them.grieve over them, for their souls cried out against me.
9 And I said, I will not tend you:
that which dies, let it die; and that which
dOr, fails.falls off, let it fall off; and let the rest eat every one the flesh of his
neighbour.
10 And I will take my beautiful
staff, and cast it away, that I may break my covenant which I made with all
the people. 11 And it shall be broken
in that day; and the Chananites, the sheep that are kept for me, shall know
that it is the word of the Lord.
12 And I will say to them, If it be
good in your eyes, give me my price, or refuse it.
And they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver.
13 And the Lord said to me, Drop them
into the furnace, and I will see if it is good metal,
as I was proved for their sakes.
eMat. 27. 9,10.
And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them into the furnace in the
house of the Lord.
14 And I cast away
my second rod, even Line,
that I might break the
fCompare Heb. Alex. διαθήκην covenant.possession between Juda and Israel.
15 And the Lord said to me, Take yet
to thee shepherd's implements belonging to an unskilful shepherd.
16 For, behold, I
will raise up a shepherd against the land: he shall
not visit that which is perishing, and he shall not seek that which is
scattered, and he shall not heal that which is bruised, nor guide that which
is whole: but he shall devour the flesh of the choice
ones, and shall
gOr, wring their necks.dislocate the joints of their necks.
17 Alas for the vain shepherds that
have forsaken the sheep! the sword shall be upon
hGr. his arms.the arms of such a one, and upon his right eye: his arm shall be completely
withered, and his right eye shall be utterly darkened.