Zechariah 11

Modern

Literal

The Doomed Flock

¹Open your doors, O Lebanon,

that the fire may consume your cedars!

¹Open, O Lebanon, your doors, that fire may devour your cedars!

²Wail, O cypress,^a for the cedar has fallen;

the majestic trees are ruined!

Wail, O oaks of Bashan,

for the dense forest has been cut down!

²Wail, O cypress, for the cedar has fallen, for the mighty ones are ruined! Wail, O oaks of Bashan, for forest the dense has gone down.

³Listen to the wailing of the shepherds,

for their glory is in ruins.

Listen to the roaring of the young lions,

for the thickets of the Jordan are destroyed.

³A voice of wailing is among the shepherds, for their glory is in ruins a voice of the roaring of lions, for the height of the Jordan has been devastated.

⁴This is what the LORD my God says: “Pasture the flock marked for slaughter,

⁴Thus says YHWH my God: “Shepherd the flock of the slaughter.

⁵whose buyers slaughter them without remorse. Those who sell them say, ‘Blessed be the LORD, for I am rich!’ Even their own shepherds have no compassion on them.

⁵Those who are buying them will slaughter them, and they will not be held guilty; and those selling them will say, ‘Blessed be YHWH, for I have become rich.’ And their own shepherds have no compassion on them.

⁶For I will no longer have compassion on the people of the land, declares the LORD, but behold, I will cause each man to fall into the hands of his neighbor and his king, who will devastate the land, and I will not deliver it from their hands.”

⁶So I will not have compassion any longer on those dwelling in the land, a declaration of YHWH, and behold, I am causing to come forth mankind—each man into the hand of his neighbor, and into the hand of his king—and they will crush the land, and I will not deliver from their hand.”

⁷So I pastured the flock marked for slaughter, especially the afflicted of the flock. Then I took for myself two staffs, calling one Favor and the other Union, and I pastured the flock.

⁷And I pastured the flock of slaughter, the afflicted of the flock, and I took for myself two staffs—to one I called Favor, and to one I called Union—and I pastured the flock.

⁸And in one month I dismissed three shepherds.

My soul grew impatient with the flock, and their souls also detested me.

⁸And I cut off the three shepherds in one month, and My soul became short with them, and also their soul felt loathing for me.

⁹Then I said, “I will no longer shepherd you. Let the dying die, and the perishing perish; and let those who remain devour one another’s flesh.”

⁹And I said, “I will not shepherd you. The one dying, let die, and the one cut off, let it be cut off. And those remaining, let each one eat the flesh of its neighbor!”

Thirty Pieces of Silver

¹⁰Next I took my staff called Favor and cut it in two,^a revoking the covenant I had made with all the nations.

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

¹¹It was revoked on that day, and so the afflicted of the flock who were watching me knew that it was the word of the LORD.

¹¹And it was broken on that day, so the afflicted of the flock watching me knew that it was the word of YHWH.

¹²Then I told them, “If it seems right to you, give me my wages; but if not, keep them.” So they weighed out my wages, thirty pieces of silver.

¹²And I said to them, “If it is good to you, give me my wage; and if not, forgo it.” And they weighed out my wage, thirty of silver.

¹³And the LORD said to me, “Throw it to the potter”—this magnificent price at which they valued me. So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them to the potter in the house of the LORD.

¹³And YHWH said to me, “Throw it to the potter,” the magnificent price at which I was valued by them. And I took the thirty of silver, and I threw it into the house of YHWH, to the potter.

¹⁴Then I cut in two my second staff called Union, breaking the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.

¹⁴And I cut in two my second staff, Union, to break the brotherhood between Judah and between Israel.

¹⁵And the LORD said to me: “Take up once more the equipment of a foolish shepherd.

¹⁵And YHWH said to me, “Again take for yourself the implement of a foolish shepherd.

¹⁶For behold, I will raise up a shepherd in the land who will neither care for the lost, nor seek the young, nor heal the broken, nor sustain the healthy, but he will devour the flesh of the choice sheep and tear off their hooves.

¹⁶For behold, I am raising up a shepherd in the land: Those being cut off he will not attend to; the young one he will not seek, and the one being broken he will not heal. The one standing still he will not sustain, and the flesh of the fat one he will devour, and their hooves he will tear off!

¹⁷Woe to the worthless shepherd,

who deserts the flock!

May a sword strike his arm

and his right eye!

May his arm be completely withered

and his right eye utterly blinded!”

¹⁷Woe to the worthless shepherd, leaving behind the flock. May a sword be against his arm and against his right eye. May his arm completely wither, and his right eye be exceedingly!”