Zechariah 11

1 Let your doors be open, O Lebanon, so that fire may be burning among your cedars.

Open thy doores, O Lebanon, and the fire shall deuoure thy cedars.

2 Give a cry of grief, O fir-tree, for the fall of the cedar, because the great ones have been made low: give cries of grief, O you oaks of Bashan, for the strong trees of the wood have come down.

Houle, firre trees: for the cedar is fallen, because all the mightie are destroyed: houle ye, O okes of Bashan, for ye defesed forest is cut downe.

3 The sound of the crying of the keepers of the flock! for their glory is made waste: the sound of the loud crying of the young lions! for the pride of Jordan is made waste.

There is the voyce of the houling of the shepherdes: for their glorie is destroyed: the voyce of ye roaring of lyons whelpes: for the pride of Iorden is destroyed.

4 This is what the Lord my God has said: Take care of the flock of death;

Thus sayeth the Lord my God, Feede the sheepe of the slaughter.

5 Whose owners put them to death and have no sense of sin; and those who get a price for them say, May the Lord be praised for I have much wealth: and the keepers of the flock have no pity for them.

They that possesse them, slay them and sinne not: and they that sell them, say, Blessed be the Lord: for I am riche, and their owne shepherds spare them not.

6 For I will have no more pity for the people of the land, says the Lord; but I will give up everyone into his neighbour's hand and into the hand of his king: and they will make the land waste, and I will not keep them safe from their hands.

Surely I wil no more spare those that dwell in the land, sayth the Lord: but loe, I will deliuer the men euery one into his neighbours hand, and into the hand of his King: and they shall smite the land, and out of their hands I wil not deliuer them.

7 So I took care of the flock of death, for those who made profit out of the flock; and I took for myself two rods, naming one Beautiful, and the other Bands; and I took care of the flock.

For I fed the sheepe of slaughter, euen the poore of the flocke, and I tooke vnto me two staues: the one I called Beautie, and the other I called Bandes, and I fed the sheepe.

8 And in one month I put an end to the three keepers of the flock; for my soul was tired of them, and their souls were disgusted with me.

Three shepherdes also I cut off in one moneth, and my soule lothed them, and their soule abhorred me.

9 And I said, I will not take care of you: If death comes to any, let death be its fate; if any is cut off, let it be cut off; and let the rest take one another's flesh for food.

Then said I, I will not feede you: that that dyeth, let it dye: and that that perisheth, let it perish: and let the remnant eate, euery one the flesh of his neighbour.

10 And I took my rod Beautiful, cutting it in two, so that the Lord's agreement, which he had made with all the peoples, might be broken.

And I tooke my staffe, euen Beautie, and brake it, that I might disanull my couenant, which I had made with all people.

11 And it was broken on that day: and the sheep-traders, who were watching me, were certain that it was the word of the Lord.

And it was broken in that day: and so the poore of the sheepe that waited vpon me, knew that it was the worde of the Lord.

12 And I said to them, If it seems good to you, give me my payment; and if not, do not give it. So they gave me my payment by weight, thirty shekels of silver.

And I said vnto them, If ye thinke it good, giue me my wages: and if no, leaue off: so they weighed for my wages thirtie pieces of siluer.

13 And the Lord said to me, Put it into the store-house, the price at which I was valued by them. And I took the thirty shekels of silver and put them into the store-house in the house of the Lord.

And the Lord said vnto me, Cast it vnto the potter: a goodly price, that I was valued at of them. And I tooke the thirtie pieces of siluer, and cast them to the potter in the house of the Lord.

14 Then I took my other rod, the one named Bands, cutting it in two, so that the relation of brothers between Judah and Israel might be broken.

Then brake I mine other staffe, euen the Bandes, that I might dissolue the brotherhood betweene Iudah and Israel.

15 And the Lord said to me, Take again the instruments of a foolish keeper of sheep.

And the Lord said vnto me, Take to thee yet the instruments of a foolish shepheard.

16 For see, I will put a sheep-keeper over the land, who will have no care for that which is cut off, and will not go in search of the wanderers, or make well what is broken, and he will not give food to that which is ill, but he will take for his food the flesh of the fat, and let their feet be broken.

For loe, I will rayse vp a shepheard in the land, which shall not looke for the thing, that is lost, nor seeke the tender lambes, nor heale that that is hurt, nor feede that that standeth vp: but he shall eate the flesh of the fat, and teare their clawes in pieces.

17 A curse on the foolish keeper who goes away from the flock! the sword will be on his arm and on his right eye: his arm will become quite dry and his eye will be made completely dark.

O idole shepheard that leaueth the flocke: the sword shalbe vpon his arme, and vpon his right eye. His arme shall be cleane dryed vp, and his right eye shall be vtterly darkened.