Zechariah 11

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

Open, O Lebanon, thy doors, —that a fire, may devour, thy cedar,

2 Howl, fir tree; for the cedar is fallen; because the mighty are spoiled: howl, O ye oaks of Bashan; for the forest of the vintage is come down.

Howl, fir-tree, for fallen is the cedar, because, the majestic ones, are spoiled: howl, ye oaks of Bashan, for the inaccessible forest, hath come down.

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

The noise of the howling of the shepherds, for spoiled is their majesty, —The noise of the roaring of the young lions, for spoiled are the proud banks of the Jordan.

4 Thus saith Yhwh my God; Feed the flock of the slaughter;

Thus, saith Yahweh my God, —Tend thou the flock doomed to slaughter:

5 Whose possessors slay them, and hold themselves not guilty: and they that sell them say, Blessed be Yhwh; for I am rich: and their own shepherds pity them not.

Whose, buyers, slay them, and are not held guilty, and whose, sellers, say—Blessed be Yahweh, that I am become rich, And so, their own shepherds, have no pity upon them.

6 For I will no more pity the inhabitants of the land, saith Yhwh: but, lo, I will deliver the men every one into his neighbour’s hand, and into the hand of his king: and they shall smite the land, and out of their hand I will not deliver them.

Surely I will have pity no longer upon the inhabitants of the earth, Declareth Yahweh, —Therefore lo! I am delivering up mankind, every man into the hand of his neighbour, and into the hand of his king, and they will crush the earth, nor will I deliver out of their hand.

7 And I will feed the flock of slaughter, even you, O poor of the flock. And I took unto me two staves; the one I called Grace, and the other I called Union; and I fed the flock.

So I tended the flock doomed to slaughter, for the sheep-merchants, —and took unto me two staves, the one, I called Grace, and, the other, I called Union, thus I tended the sheep,

8 Three shepherds also I cut off in one month; and my soul lothed them, and their soul also abhorred me.

And I sent off three shepherds, in one month, —for impatient was my soul with them, moreover also, their soul, felt a loathing against me.

9 Then said I, I will not feed you: that that dieth, let it die; and that that is to be cut off, let it be cut off; and let the rest eat every one the flesh of another.

Then said I—I will not tend you, —the dying, may die, and, the disappearing, may disappear, and, the remainder, may devour one another.

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

So I took my staff Grace, and cut it in two, —that I might set aside my covenant which I had solemnised with all the peoples.

11 And it was broken in that day: and so the poor of the flock that waited upon me knew that it was the word of Yhwh.

When it was broken, on that day, then did the sheep- merchants who were watching me, know, that, the word of Yahweh, it was.

12 And I said unto them, If ye think good, give me my price; and if not, forbear. So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver.

Then said I unto them, If it be good in your eyes, give me my wage, and, if not, forbear. So they weighed out my wage, thirty pieces of silver.

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

Then said Yahweh unto me, Cast it into the treasury, the magnificent price at which I had been valued by them! So I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them, in the house of Yahweh, into the treasury.

14 Then I cut asunder mine other staff, even Union, that I might break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.

Then cut I in two my second staff, even Union, —that I might break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.

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

Then said Yahweh unto me, —Yet further take thee the implements of a worthless shepherd.

16 For, lo, I will raise up a shepherd in the land, which shall not visit those that be cut off, neither shall seek the young one, nor heal that that is broken, nor feed that that standeth still: but he shall eat the flesh of the fat, and tear their claws in pieces.

For lo! I am raising up a shepherd in the land, the disappearing, will he not visit, the straying, will he not seek, and, the fractured, will he not bind up, —the weak, will he not nourish, but, the flesh of the fat, will he eat, and, their hoofs, will he break in pieces.

17 Woe to the vain 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 shall be utterly darkened.

Alas! for my worthless shepherd, who forsaketh the flock, A sword upon his arm, and upon his right eye!—his arm, shall be, utterly withered, and, his right eye, shall be, wholly darkened.