Zechariah — Chapter 11
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1Open your doors, O Lebanon, that the fire may consume your cedars!
2Wail, O cypress, for the cedar has fallen; the majestic trees are ruined! Wail, O oaks of Bashan, for the dense forest has been cut 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.
4This is what the LORD my God says: “Pasture the flock marked for 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.
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.”
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.
8And in one month I dismissed three shepherds. My soul grew impatient with the flock, and their souls also detested 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.”
10Next I took my staff called Favor and cut it in two, revoking the covenant I had made with all the nations.
11It was revoked on that day, and so the afflicted of the flock who were watching me knew that it was the word of the LORD.
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.
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.
14Then I cut in two my second staff called Union, breaking the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.
15And the LORD said to me: “Take up once more the equipment 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.
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!”
1Open thy doors, O Lebanon, that the fire may devour thy cedars.
2Howl, fir tree; for the cedar is fallen; because the mighty are spoiled: howl, O ye oaks of Bashan; for the forest of the vintage is come down.
3There is a voice of the howling of the shepherds; for their glory is spoiled: a voice of the roaring of young lions; for the pride of Jordan is spoiled.
4Thus saith the LORD my God; Feed the flock of the slaughter;
5Whose possessors slay them, and hold themselves not guilty: and they that sell them say, Blessed be the LORD; for I am rich: and their own shepherds pity them not.
6For I will no more pity the inhabitants of the land, saith the LORD: but, lo, I will deliver the men every one into his neighbour’s hand, and into the hand of his king: and they shall smite the land, and out of their hand I will not deliver them.
7And I will feed the flock of slaughter, even you, O poor of the flock. And I took unto me two staves; the one I called Beauty, and the other I called Bands; and I fed the flock.
8Three shepherds also I cut off in one month; and my soul lothed them, and their soul also abhorred me.
9Then said I, I will not feed you: that that dieth, let it die; and that that is to be cut off, let it be cut off; and let the rest eat every one the flesh of another.
10And I took my staff, even Beauty, and cut it asunder, that I might break my covenant which I had made with all the people.
11And it was broken in that day: and so the poor of the flock that waited upon me knew that it was the word of the LORD.
12And I said unto them, If ye think good, give me my price; and if not, forbear. So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver.
13And the LORD said unto me, Cast it unto the potter: a goodly price that I was prised at of them. And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them to the potter in the house of the LORD.
14Then I cut asunder mine other staff, even Bands, that I might break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.
15And the LORD said unto me, Take unto thee yet the instruments of a foolish shepherd.
16For, lo, I will raise up a shepherd in the land, which shall not visit those that be cut off, neither shall seek the young one, nor heal that that is broken, nor feed that that standeth still: but he shall eat the flesh of the fat, and tear their claws in pieces.
17Woe to the idol shepherd that leaveth the flock! the sword shall be upon his arm, and upon his right eye: his arm shall be clean dried up, and his right eye shall be utterly darkened.
1Open thy doors, O Lebanon, that the fire may devour thy cedars.
2Wail, O fir-tree, for the cedar is fallen, because the goodly ones are destroyed: wail, O ye oaks of Bashan, for the strong forest is 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 laid waste.
4Thus said Jehovah my God: Feed the flock of slaughter;
5whose possessors slay them, and hold themselves not guilty; and they that sell them say, Blessed be Jehovah, for I am rich; and their own shepherds pity them not.
6For I will no more pity the inhabitants of the land, saith Jehovah; but, lo, I will deliver the men every one into his neighbor`s hand, and into the hand of his king; and they shall smite the land, and out of their hand I will not deliver them.
7So I fed the flock of slaughter, verily the poor of the flock. And I took unto me two staves; the one I called Beauty, and the other I called Bands; and I fed the flock.
8And I cut off the three shepherds in one month; for my soul was weary of them, and their soul also loathed me.
9Then said I, I will not feed you: that which dieth, let it die; and that which is to be cut off, let it be cut off; and let them that are left eat every one the flesh of another.
10And I took my staff Beauty, and cut it asunder, that I might break my covenant which I had made with all the peoples.
11And it was broken in that day; and thus the poor of the flock that gave heed unto me knew that it was the word of Jehovah.
12And I said unto them, If ye think good, give me my hire; and if not, forbear. So they weighed for my hire thirty [pieces] of silver.
13And Jehovah said unto me, Cast it unto the potter, the goodly price that I was prized at by them. And I took the thirty [pieces] of silver, and cast them unto the potter, in the house of Jehovah.
14Then I cut asunder mine other staff, even Bands, that I might break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.
15And Jehovah said unto me, Take unto thee yet again the instruments of a foolish shepherd.
16For, lo, I will raise up a shepherd in the land, who will not visit those that are cut off, neither will seek those that 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 that leaveth the flock! the sword shall be upon his arm, and upon his right eye: his arm shall be clean dried up, and his right eye shall be utterly darkened.
1Open your gates, Lebanon, so that the fire may consume your cedars.
2Howl, fir tree, because the cedar has fallen; the majestic trees have been destroyed. Howl, oaks of Bashan, because the impenetrable forest has fallen.
3Listen to the howling of shepherds, because their magnificence has been destroyed. Listen to the roaring of young lions, because the thickets of the Jordan have been devastated.
4The Lord my God says this: “Shepherd the flock set aside for slaughter.
5Those who buy them slaughter them and are not held guilty; those who sell them say, ‘Blessed be the Lord, for I am rich.’ Their own shepherds have no compassion for them.
6Indeed, I will no longer have compassion on the people of the land,” says the Lord, “but instead I will turn every last person over to his neighbor and his king. They will devastate the land, and I will not deliver it from them.”
7So I began to shepherd the flock destined for slaughter, the most afflicted of all the flock. Then I took two staffs, calling one “Pleasantness” and the other “Union,” and I tended the flock.
8Next I eradicated the three shepherds in one month, for I ran out of patience with them and, indeed, they detested me as well.
9I then said, “I will not shepherd you. What is to die, let it die, and what is to be eradicated, let it be eradicated. As for those who survive, let them eat each other’s flesh!”
10Then I took my staff “Pleasantness” and cut it in two to annul my covenant that I had made with all the people.
11So it was annulled that very day, and then the most afflicted of the flock who kept faith with me knew that it was the Lord’s message.
12Then I said to them, “If it seems good to you, pay me my wages, but if not, forget it.” So they weighed out my payment—30 pieces of silver.
13The Lord then said to me, “Throw to the potter that exorbitant sum at which they valued me!” So I took the 30 pieces of silver and threw them to the potter at the temple of the Lord.
14Then I cut the second staff “Union” in two in order to annul the covenant of brotherhood between Judah and Israel.
15Again the Lord said to me, “Take up once more the equipment of a foolish shepherd.
16Indeed, 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. Moreover, he will not nourish the one that is healthy, but instead will eat the meat of the fat sheep 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!”
1Open your doors, Lebanon, that the fire may devour your cedars.
2Wail, cypress 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.
4Yahweh my God says: “Feed the flock of slaughter.
5Their buyers slaughter them, and go unpunished. Those who sell them say, ‘Blessed be Yahweh, for I am rich;’ and their own shepherds don’t pity them.
6For I will no more pity the inhabitants of the land,” says Yahweh; “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 Yahweh’s word.
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.
13Yahweh 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 Yahweh’s house.
14Then I cut apart my other staff, even Union, that I might break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.
15Yahweh 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 meat 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!”
Summary
A cry of lament opens the chapter as Lebanon's cedars, Bashan's oaks, and the shepherds themselves are told to wail over coming devastation on the land's rulers and glory (vv. 1-3). The Lord commands Zechariah to shepherd a flock marked for slaughter, mistreated by greedy buyers and careless shepherds, since God will no longer pity the land and will let its people fall into each other's hands (vv. 4-6). Zechariah takes up two staffs, Favor and Union, to tend the flock, but grows weary of the people and breaks the first staff, ending the covenant God had made with them (vv. 7-11). Paid a mere thirty pieces of silver for his labor, he throws the money to the potter in the Lord's house, then breaks the second staff, severing the brotherhood between Judah and Israel (vv. 12-14). The chapter closes with a warning about a worthless shepherd who abandons the flock instead of caring for it, bringing judgment on his own arm and eye (vv. 15-17).
Authorship & Background
Map & Geography
- Lebanon (v.1): Region north of Israel known for its cedar forests.
- Bashan (v.2): Fertile region east of the Sea of Galilee.
- Jordan (v.3): River flowing from the Sea of Galilee to the Dead Sea; Israel's boundary.
Places on this map
- LebanonMount Lebanon range, LebanonIn the Bible this is the mountain range, not the modern country: a snow-capped wall rising over 10,000 feet behind the Phoenician coast. Its cedar was the prestige timber of the ancient Near East and both the tabernacle's successors and Solomon's temple were built from it. Wikipedia
- BashanGolan and Hauran, SyriaThe volcanic tableland north-east of the Sea of Galilee, deep in basalt soil and famous for cattle and oak. The bulls of Bashan in the Psalms are a compliment to the pasture before they are an insult to anyone. Wikipedia
- Sea of GalileeLake Kinneret, IsraelA freshwater lake 13 miles by 8, sunk 700 feet below sea level in a bowl of hills. Cold air spilling over the rim onto warm water is what produces the sudden violent squalls the Gospels keep describing. Wikipedia
- Jordan RiverIsrael / Jordan borderRuns about 65 miles as the crow flies from the Sea of Galilee to the Dead Sea, dropping from 700 to 1,400 feet below sea level. Narrow enough to wade at most fords, it was still the boundary that divided wilderness from inheritance. Wikipedia
- Dead SeaIsrael / JordanThe lowest exposed ground on earth, about 1,400 feet below sea level, and roughly ten times saltier than the ocean because water leaves only by evaporation. Nothing lives in it, which is the image Ezekiel 47 overturns when he has it filled with fish. Wikipedia
Towns sit on their excavated or traditional site. Regions, rivers and seas are ringed rather than dotted, because for those a single point is only an anchor. Coastlines from Natural Earth.
Commentary
- Enduring Word (David Guzik): enduringword.com Verse-by-verse commentary on this chapter, written for the everyday reader and freely available online.
- Jamieson-Fausset-Brown (1871): blueletterbible.org A critical and explanatory commentary on the whole Bible, more concise than Matthew Henry and closer to the Hebrew and Greek, with attention to historical and geographical detail. Public domain.
- Matthew Henry's Exposition (1710): blueletterbible.org A devotional verse-by-verse commentary in the Puritan tradition, still among the most widely read three centuries on. Public domain.
Videos
Articles
- GotQuestions.org: gotquestions.org The thirty pieces of silver, and how Matthew reads this passage.
- GotQuestions.org: gotquestions.org On the whole book: an overview of the book of Zechariah -- who wrote it, when, why, and how it fits the rest of Scripture.
Links open on the publisher's own site. Nothing here is reproduced on this page.
Reflection
- Rejecting the Good Shepherd (vv.8-10) — The flock despises the shepherd sent to care for them, leading him to give up on them in turn. Have you ever pushed away someone genuinely looking out for you, and ended up under something worse instead?
- The Breaking of Favor (v.10) — The shepherd breaks the staff called Favor to signify God's covenant of protection being annulled because of the people's rejection. Do you sometimes assume God's patience and protection are unconditional, regardless of how you respond to Him?
- Valued at a Slave's Price (v.12) — The shepherd's wages are set at thirty pieces of silver, the price of a gored slave, a bitter irony later fulfilled in the price paid to betray Christ. How do you actually value Christ in your daily life — as an afterthought, or as worth everything?
- The Breaking of Unity (v.14) — The second staff, Bands, is broken to show the brotherhood between Judah and Israel dissolving. Where might rejecting Christ's leadership, even subtly, be contributing to division in your own relationships or community?
- The Danger of a False Shepherd (v.16) — God warns of a foolish shepherd who neglects the flock's needs and instead consumes them. Are you discerning about who you let shepherd your life and beliefs, or do you follow whoever is loudest or most convenient?