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.

12 Then I said to them, “If it is¹ agreeable to you, give me my wages; and if not, refrain.” So they ^aweighed out for my wages thirty pieces of silver.

13 And the Lord said to me, “Throw it to the ^apotter”—that princely price they set on me. So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the Lord for the potter.

14 Then I cut in two my other staff,¹ Bonds, that I might break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.

15 And the Lord said to me, ^a“Next, take for yourself the implements of a foolish shepherd.

16 For indeed I will raise up a shepherd in the land who will not care for those who are cut off, nor seek the young, nor heal those that are broken, nor feed those that still stand. But he will eat the flesh of the fat and tear their hooves in ^apieces.

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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Prophecy of the Shepherds

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