Zechariah 11

¹Let your doors be open, O Lebanon, so that fire may be burning among your cedars.

²Give a cry of grief, O fir-tree, for the fall of the cedar, because the great ones have been made low: give cries of grief, O you oaks of Bashan, for the strong trees of the wood have come down.

³The sound of the crying of the keepers of the flock! for their glory is made waste: the sound of the loud crying of the young lions! for the pride of Jordan is made waste.

⁴This is what the Lord my God has said: Take care of the flock of death;

⁵Whose owners put them to death and have no sense of sin; and those who get a price for them say, May the Lord be praised for I have much wealth: and the keepers of the flock have no pity for them.

⁶For I will have no more pity for the people of the land, says the Lord; but I will give up everyone into his neighbour's hand and into the hand of his king: and they will make the land waste, and I will not keep them safe from their hands.

⁷So I took care of the flock of death, for those who made profit out of the flock; and I took for myself two rods, naming one Beautiful, and the other Bands; and I took care of the flock.

⁸And in one month I put an end to the three keepers of the flock; for my soul was tired of them, and their souls were disgusted with me.

⁹And I said, I will not take care of you: If death comes to any, let death be its fate; if any is cut off, let it be cut off; and let the rest take one another's flesh for food.

¹⁰And I took my rod Beautiful, cutting it in two, so that the Lord's agreement, which he had made with all the peoples, might be broken.

¹¹And it was broken on that day: and the sheep-traders, who were watching me, were certain that it was the word of the Lord.

¹²And I said to them, If it seems good to you, give me my payment; and if not, do not give it. So they gave me my payment by weight, thirty shekels of silver.

¹³And the Lord said to me, Put it into the store-house, the price at which I was valued by them. And I took the thirty shekels of silver and put them into the store-house in the house of the Lord.

¹⁴Then I took my other rod, the one named Bands, cutting it in two, so that the relation of brothers between Judah and Israel might be broken.

¹⁵And the Lord said to me, Take again the instruments of a foolish keeper of sheep.

¹⁶For see, I will put a sheep-keeper over the land, who will have no care for that which is cut off, and will not go in search of the wanderers, or make well what is broken, and he will not give food to that which is ill, but he will take for his food the flesh of the fat, and let their feet be broken.

¹⁷A curse on the foolish keeper who goes away from the flock! the sword will be on his arm and on his right eye: his arm will become quite dry and his eye will be made completely dark.

Zechariah 11

¹Open your doors, Lebanon, that the fire may devour your cedars.

²Wail, fir tree, for the cedar has fallen, because the stately ones are destroyed. Wail, you oaks of Bashan, for the strong forest has come down.

³A voice of the wailing of the shepherds! For their glory is destroyed: a voice of the roaring of young lions! For the pride of the Jordan is ruined.

⁴Thus says the Lord my God: "Feed the flock of slaughter.

⁵Their buyers slaughter them, and go unpunished. Those who sell them say, 'Blessed be the Lord, for I am rich;' and their own shepherds do not pity them.

⁶For I will no more pity the inhabitants of the land," says the Lord; "but, behold, I will deliver the men everyone into his neighbor's hand, and into the hand of his king. They will strike the land, and out of their hand I will not deliver them."

⁷So I fed the flock of slaughter, especially the oppressed of the flock. I took for myself two staffs. The one I called "Favor," and the other I called "Union," and I fed the flock.

⁸I cut off the three shepherds in one month; for my soul was weary of them, and their soul also loathed me.

⁹Then I said, "I will not feed you. That which dies, let it die; and that which is to be cut off, let it be cut off; and let those who are left eat each other's flesh."

¹⁰I took my staff Favor, and cut it apart, that I might break my covenant that I had made with all the peoples.

¹¹It was broken in that day; and thus the poor of the flock that listened to me knew that it was the word of the Lord.

¹²I said to them, "If you think it best, give me my wages; and if not, keep them." So they weighed for my wages thirty pieces of silver.

¹³The Lord said to me, "Throw it to the potter, the handsome price that I was valued at by them!" I took the thirty pieces of silver, and threw them to the potter, in the house of the Lord.

¹⁴Then I cut apart my other staff, even Union, that I might break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.

¹⁵The Lord said to me, "Take for yourself yet again the equipment of a foolish shepherd.

¹⁶For, behold, I will raise up a shepherd in the land, who will not visit those who are cut off, neither will seek those who are scattered, nor heal that which is broken, nor feed that which is sound; but he will eat the flesh of the fat sheep, and will tear their hoofs in pieces.

¹⁷Woe to the worthless shepherd who leaves the flock! The sword will be on his arm, and on his right eye. His arm will be completely withered, and his right eye will be totally blinded!"