< Zechariah 11 >
1 Open thy doors, O Lebanon, that the fire may devour thy cedars.
2 Wail, O fir tree, for the cedar is fallen, because the fine ones are destroyed. Wail, O ye oaks of Bashan, for the strong forest has come down.
3 A 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.
4 Thus said Jehovah my God: Feed the flock of slaughter,
5 whose possessors kill them, and hold themselves not guilty. And those who sell them say, Blessed be Jehovah, for I am rich, and their own shepherds pity them not.
6 For I will no more pity the inhabitants of the land, says Jehovah. But, lo, I will deliver the men each one into his neighbor's hand, and into the hand of his king. And they shall smite the land, and I will not deliver them out of their hand.
7 So I fed the flock of slaughter, truly the poor of the flock. And I took to me two staves, the one I called Beauty, and the other I called Bands, and I fed the flock.
8 And I cut off the three shepherds in one month, for my soul was weary of them, and their soul also loathed me.
9 Then 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 one the flesh of another.
10 And I took my staff Beauty, and cut it apart, that I might break my covenant which I had made with all the peoples.
11 And it was broken in that day, and thus the poor of the flock who gave heed to me knew that it was the word of Jehovah.
12 And I said to them, If ye think good, give me my wage, and if not, forbear. So they weighed for my wage thirty pieces of silver.
13 And Jehovah said to me, Cast it to the potter, the good price that I was valued by them. And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them to the potter in the house of Jehovah.
14 Then I cut apart my other staff, even Bands, that I might break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.
15 And Jehovah said to me, Take to thee yet again the instruments of a foolish shepherd.
16 For, lo, I will raise up a shepherd in the land, who will not visit those who are cut off, nor will he seek those who are scattered, nor heal that which is broken, nor feed that which is sound, but he will eat the flesh of the fat, and will tear their hoofs in pieces.
17 Woe to the worthless shepherd who leaves the flock! The sword shall be upon his arm, and upon his right eye. His arm shall be entirely dried up, and his right eye shall be utterly darkened.
