Zechariah 11

1 Open thy doors, O Lebanon, that the fire may devour thy cedars.

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

2 Howl, cypress, for the cedar is fallen; because the noble ones are spoiled. Howl, ye oaks of Bashan; for the strong forest is come down.

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.

3 A voice of howling of the shepherds; for their glory is spoiled: a voice of roaring of young lions; for the pride of Jordan is spoiled.

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.

4 Thus saith Jehovah my God: Feed the flock of slaughter,

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

5 whose possessors slay them without being held guilty; and they that sell them say, Blessed be Jehovah! for I am become rich; and their own shepherds pity them not.

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.

6 For I will no more pity the inhabitants of the land, saith Jehovah, and behold, I will deliver men, every one into his neighbour's hand, and into the hand of his king; and they shall smite the land, and I will not deliver out of their hand.

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.

7 So I fed the flock of slaughter, truly the poor of the flock. And I took unto me two staves; the one I called Beauty, and the other I called Bands; and I fed the flock.

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.

8 And I destroyed three shepherds in one month; and my soul was vexed with them, and their soul also loathed me.

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.

9 And I said, I will not feed you: that which dieth, let it die; and that which perisheth let it perish; and let them which are left eat every one the flesh of another.

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.

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

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.

11 And it was broken in that day; and so the poor of the flock that gave heed to me knew that it was the word of Jehovah.

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.

12 And I said unto them, If ye think good, give [me] my hire; and if not, forbear. And they weighed for my hire thirty silver-pieces.

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.

13 And Jehovah said unto me, Cast it unto the potter: a goodly price that I was prized at by them. And I took the thirty silver-pieces, and cast them to the potter in the house of Jehovah.

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.

14 And I cut asunder mine other staff, Bands, to break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.

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.

15 And Jehovah said unto me, Take unto thee yet the instruments of a foolish shepherd.

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

16 For behold, I will raise up a shepherd in the land, who shall not visit those that are about to perish, neither shall seek that which is strayed away, nor heal that which is wounded, nor feed that which is sound; but he will eat the flesh of the fat, and tear their hoofs in pieces.

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.

17 Woe to the worthless shepherd that leaveth the flock! The sword shall be upon his arm, and upon his right eye; his arm shall be clean dried up, and his right eye utterly darkened.

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.