Zechariah 11

Open thy doors, O Lebanon, that the fire may devour thy cedars.

1Open your doors, Lebanon. Let fire come in and burn up your tall cedar trees.

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.

2Cry out loud, cypress tree, because the cedar tree has fallen. The great trees are wrecked. Cry out, oak trees of Bashan, because the thick forest has been chopped 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.

3Listen to the shepherds crying. The rich land they cared for is ruined. Listen to the young lions roaring. The thick bushes along the Jordan River are gone.

4Thus saith the LORD my God; Feed the flock of the slaughter;

4This is what the LORD my God said to me: "Take care of the sheep that are going to be killed."

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.

5The people who buy these sheep kill them and do not feel bad at all. The people who sell them say, "Thank the LORD, I am rich!" Even their own shepherds do not care about them.

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.

6The LORD says, "I will not feel sorry for the people of this land anymore. I will let each man fall into the hands of his neighbor and his king. They will wreck the land, and I will not save it from 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.

7So I took care of the sheep that were headed for killing, especially the hurting ones. I picked up two shepherd sticks. I named one Favor and the other Union. Then I took care of the sheep.

NoteThe KJV calls the two sticks "Beauty" and "Bands." Those old words mean God's kindness and the tie that holds people together, so they are given here as Favor and Union.

8Three shepherds also I cut off in one month; and my soul lothed them, and their soul also abhorred me.

8In one month I sent away three shepherds. I ran out of patience with the sheep, and they hated me too.

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.

9Then I said, "I will not take care of you anymore. Let the dying ones die. Let the lost ones be lost. Let the rest fight and eat each other."

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.

10Then I took my stick named Favor and broke it in two. This ended the promise I had made with all the nations.

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.

11The promise ended that very day. The hurting sheep who were watching me knew this message came from 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.

12I said to them, "If it seems right to you, pay me what I earned. If not, then keep it." So they weighed out my pay: 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.

13The LORD said to me, "Throw it to the potter." That was the grand price they thought I was worth. So I took the thirty pieces of silver. I threw them to the potter at the LORD's house.

NoteA potter is someone who makes pots out of clay. Thirty pieces of silver was the price paid for a slave in the law of Moses (Exodus 21:32).

14Then I cut asunder mine other staff, even Bands, that I might break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.

14Then I broke my other stick, the one named Union. This ended the family bond between Judah and Israel, the two parts of God's people.

15And the LORD said unto me, Take unto thee yet the instruments of a foolish shepherd.

15The LORD said to me, "Now pick up the tools of a foolish shepherd again."

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.

16The LORD said, "I am going to raise up a shepherd in the land. He will not care for the sheep that are lost. He will not look for the young ones. He will not help the hurt ones. He will not feed the healthy ones. Instead he will eat the best sheep and tear off their hooves."

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.

17How terrible for the worthless shepherd who walks away and leaves the sheep! May a sword strike his arm and his right eye. May his arm dry up and stop working. May his right eye go completely blind.

NoteThe KJV says "idol shepherd." In 1611 that meant a worthless or useless shepherd, not one who worships idols.