Zacharia 11
1 Libanon, open uw poorten, Opdat het vuur uw ceders verteert;
[You people of] [APO] Lebanon [should] open your gates, [because you will not be able to stop] fire from burning your cedar [trees]!
2 Jammer, cypres, want de ceder is gevallen, De machtigen liggen geveld; Huilt, gij eiken van Basjan, Want het ondoordringbare woud ligt tegen de grond!
Your cypress/pine [trees] [APO] should [also] wail because the cedar [trees] have been cut down. Those glorious/great trees have been destroyed. The oak trees in the Bashan [region] should also wail, because the other trees in the forest have been cut down.
3 Hoor, het klagen der herders, Want hun lustoord is vernield; Hoor, het brullen der leeuwen, Want de pracht van de Jordaan ligt verwoest!
And listen to the shepherds crying because the fertile pastures have been ruined. Listen to the lions roar; they roar because the delightful forest [where they live] near the Jordan [River] has been ruined.
4 Zo spreekt Jahweh, mijn God! Weid de schapen, ter slachting bestemd;
This is what Yahweh my God said [to me]: “[I want you to] become a shepherd for a flock [of sheep that are about] to be slaughtered.
5 die de kopers straffeloos doden; waarvan de verkopers zeggen: Geprezen zij Jahweh, ik ben er rijk mee geworden; waarmee de herders geen medelijden hebben.
The people who are going to buy the sheep will kill the sheep, and they will not be punished. Those who are selling the sheep say, ‘[I] praise Yahweh, [because] I will become rich!’ Even the shepherds do not feel sorry for the sheep.
6 Want Ik zal de bewoners van het land niet meer sparen, is de godsspraak van Jahweh; neen, Ik lever al die lieden aan hun herder over, en aan hun verkoper; die zullen het land verdrukken, en Ik zal ze niet uit hun greep verlossen.
And similarly, I no longer feel sorry for the people of this country. I am going to allow many of them [HYP] to be captured by other people or by their king. Those who capture them will ruin this country, and I will not rescue any [of the people].”
7 Zo werd ik de herder der kudde, ter slachting bestemd, voor de schapenkopers. Ik koos mij twee herdersstokken uit; de ene noemde ik: "Goedheid", de andere: "Band". Toen begon ik de kudde te weiden.
So I became the shepherd of a flock [of sheep that were about] to be slaughtered [for their meat to be sold] to the dealers. [I took good care of the sheep, even the ones that were the weakest sheep. Then] I took two [shepherds’] /walking sticks). I named the one [staff] ‘Kindness’ and the other [staff] ‘Union’. And I took good care of the sheep.
8 In één maand liet ik de drie herders verdwijnen. Toen werd ik ook met de schapen ongeduldig, en zij kregen afkeer van mij.
But the three shepherds [who had been working with me] detested me, and I became impatient with them. Within one month I (dismissed/got rid of) those shepherds.
9 En ik sprak: Ik weid u niet meer; laat sterven wat dood moet, verdwijnen wat weg moet, en de rest kan elkander verslinden!
So I said [to the dealers], “I will no [longer] be the shepherd. I will allow the ones that are dying to die. I will allow the ones that are getting lost to get lost. And I will not prevent those that remain from destroying each other.”
10 Ik nam dus mijn stok "Goedheid", en brak hem aan stukken, om het verbond te verbreken, dat ik met heel het volk had gesloten.
Then I took the staff that I had named ‘Kindness’ and I broke it. [That showed that Yahweh] was annulling/canceling the agreement that he had made with all the people-groups.
11 Op diezelfde dag werd het verbroken; en de schapenkopers, die acht op mij sloegen, begrepen, dat het een woord van Jahweh was.
So that agreement was ended immediately. And the men who bought and sold sheep who were watching me knew [by seeing what I was doing] that I was giving them a message from Yahweh.
12 Ik zeide hun: Zo het u goeddunkt, geef me mijn loon; zo niet, dan kunt ge het laten. Zij gaven mij dertig zilverlingen als loon.
I told them, “If you think it is what you should do, pay me [for taking care of the sheep]. If you do not think that is what you should do, do not pay me.” So they paid me [only] 30 pieces of silver.
13 Maar Jahweh zeide tot mij: Werp het weg voor den pottenbakker; een mooie prijs, waarop gij door hen wordt geschat! Ik nam dus de dertig zilverlingen, en wierp ze in het huis van Jahweh voor den pottenbakker.
Then Yahweh said to me, “[That is a ridiculously small amount of money that they have paid you]! [So] throw it to the man who makes clay pots!” So I took the silver to the temple of Yahweh, and I threw it in the chest where the offerings/money is kept.
14 Vervolgens brak ik mijn tweede stok "Band" in stukken: om de broederschap tussen Juda en Israël te verbreken.
Then I broke my second staff, [the one that I named] ‘Union’. That [indicated that] Judah and Israel would no longer be united.
15 Nu sprak Jahweh tot mij: Rust u nu uit als een dwaze herder!
Then Yahweh said to me, “Take again the things that a foolish shepherd uses,
16 Want zie, Ik ga over het land een herder stellen, die niet omziet naar wat verdwijnt, het ver-verstrooide niet opzoekt, het gewonde niet heelt, het gezonde niet voedt, maar het vlees verslindt van de vetten, en hun de poten breekt.
because I am going to appoint a new king for the people, [one who will not take care of my people. He will be like a foolish shepherd]: [MET] He will not take care of those who are dying, those who are very young, those who have been injured, or those who do not have enough food. Instead, he will [treat them very cruelly, like a shepherd who would] [MET] kill and eat the best sheep and tear off their hoofs.
17 Maar wee dien dwazen herder van Mij, die de schapen verlaat! Het zwaard zal zijn arm en rechteroog treffen; zijn arm zal verdorren, zijn rechteroog wordt helemaal blind.
But terrible things will happen to that foolish/useless king who abandons the people [MET] over whom he rules. [His enemies] will strike his arm and his right eye with their swords. [The result will be that] he will have no strength in his arm, and his right eye will become completely blind.”
