Zechariah 11:4 - Forerunner Commentary

Zechariah 11:4

2 Wail, O cypress, for the ^acedar has fallen,
Because the mighty trees are ruined.
Wail, O oaks of Bashan,
^bFor the thick forest has come down.

3 There is the sound of wailing ^ashepherds!
For the¹ir glory is in ruins.
There is the sound of roaring lions!
For the pride of the Jordan is in ruins.

Prophecy of the Shepherds

4 Thus says the Lord my God, “Feed the flock for slaughter,

5 whose owners slaughter them and ^afeel no guilt; those who sell them ^bsay, ‘Blessed be the Lord, for I am rich’; and their shepherds do ^cnot pity them.

6 For I will no longer pity the inhabitants of the land,” says the Lord. “But indeed I will give everyone into his neighbor’s hand and into the hand of his king. They shall¹ attack the land, and I will not deliver them from their hand.”

7 So I fed the flock for slaughter,¹ in particular ^athe poor of the flock. I took for myself two staffs: the one I called² Beauty, and the other I called³ Bonds; and I fed the flock.

8 I¹ dismissed the three shepherds ^ain one month. My soul loathed them, and their soul also abhorred me.

9 Then I said, “I will not feed you. ^aLet what is dying die, and what is perishing perish. Let those that are left eat each other’s flesh.”

10 And I took my staff,¹ Beauty, and cut it in two, that I might break the covenant which I had made with all the peoples.

11 So it was broken on that day. Thus ^athe poor of the flock, who were watching me, knew that it was the word of the Lord.

Verse Comparison: Zechariah 11:4

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Zechariah 11:5 >>

American Standard Version
Thus said Jehovah my God: Feed the flock of slaughter;

Amplified® Bible
Thus says the Lord my God: Shepherd the flock [destined] for slaughter,

Contemporary English Version
The LORD my God said to me: Tend those sheep doomed for slaughter!

Darby English Version
Thus saith Jehovah my God: Feed the flock of slaughter,

Good News Bible
The LORD my God said to me, "Act the part of the shepherd of a flock of sheep that are going to be butchered.

King James Version
Thus saith the LORD my God; Feed the flock of the slaughter;

New American Standard Bible
Thus says the LORD my God, "Pasture the flock {doomed} to slaughter.

New International Version
This is what the LORD my God says: "Pasture the flock marked for slaughter.

New King James Version
Thus says the LORD my God, “Feed the flock for slaughter,

N.A.S.B. in E-Prime
Thus says the LORD my God, "Pasture the flock doomed to slaughter.

Revised Standard Version
Thus said the LORD my God: "Become shepherd of the flock doomed to slaughter.

Young's Literal Translation
Thus said Jehovah my God: `Feed the flock of the slaughter,

New English Translation
The Lord my God says this: “Shepherd the flock set aside for slaughter.

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