Zechariah 11

1 Open thy doors, O Lebanon, and the fire shall eat on thy cedars.

Open thy doors, O Lebanon, That the fire may devour thy cedars!

2 Wail, fir-tree; for fallen is the cedar; those that were mighty are despoiled: wail, O ye oaks of Bashan; for the impervious forest is come down.

Howl, O cypress, for the cedar falleth! For the lofty ones are destroyed! Howl, O ye oaks of Bashan, For the high forest is come down!

3 [There is] the noise of the wailing of the shepherds; for wasted is their glory: [there is] the noise of the roaring of young lions; for wasted is the pride of the Jordan.

Hark! the voice of the howling of the shepherds, Because their glory is destroyed! The voice of the roaring of young lions, Because the pride of Jordan is destroyed!

4 Thus hath said the Lord my God, Feed the flocks [that are destined for] the slaughter;

Thus said Jehovah, my God: Feed thou the flock of slaughter,

5 Whom their buyers slay, and hold themselves guiltless; and whose sellers say, Blessed be the Lord, for I am rich: and none of whose shepherds have pity on them.

Whose possessors slay them, and hold themselves not guilty, And which they who sell say, “Blessed be Jehovah, for I am rich!” And whose shepherds spare them not.

6 For I will no more have pity on the inhabitants of the land, saith the Lord: but, lo, I will deliver the men every one into the hand of his neighbor, and into the hand of his king: and they shall beat down the land, and I will not deliver out of their hand.

For I will no longer spare The inhabitants of the land, saith Jehovah; But, behold, I will deliver the men Every one into the hand of his neighbor, And into the hand of his king; And they shall smite the land, And I will not deliver out of their hand.

7 And I had fed the flocks [that were destined for] the slaughter, —indeed, the poorest of the flocks; and I had taken unto me two staves; the one I called Mildness [[No'am]], and the other I called Concord [[Choblim]]: and I fed the flocks.

So I fed the flock of slaughter, truly a miserable flock. And I took to me two crooks; the one I called Favor, and the other I called Bands; and I fed the flock.

8 And I removed the three shepherds in one month; and my soul was tired of them, and also their soul abhorred me.

And I cut off three shepherds in one month; for I was weary of them, and they also abhorred me.

9 Then said I, I will not feed you: what is dying may die; and what is to be lost may be lost; and those that are left may eat every one the flesh of the other.

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

10 And I took my staff, namely, Mildness, and cut it to pieces, to annul my covenant which I had made with all the tribes.

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

11 And when it was annulled on that day, then knew they well, truly the poorest of the flocks that waited for me, that it was the word of the Lord.

And it was broken in that day; and so the poor of the flock, who had regard to me, knew that it was the word of Jehovah.

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

Then I said to them, If it seem good in your eyes, give me my wages; if not, keep them. And they weighed for my wages thirty shekels of silver.

13 And the Lord said unto me, Cast it unto the treasurer, the precious price which I am prized at by them. And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them in the house of the Lord unto the treasurer.

And Jehovah said to me, Cast it into the treasury, the goodly price at which I was valued by them. And I took the thirty shekels of silver, and cast them into the house of Jehovah, into the treasury.

14 Then I cut in pieces my second staff, namely, Concord, to annul the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.

Then I broke my other crook, even Bands, to break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.

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

And Jehovah said to me: Take to thee yet the instruments of a foolish shepherd.

16 For, lo, I raise up a shepherd in the land, who will not think of those that are lost, nor seek for that which is gone astray, nor heal that which hath [a limb] broken; who will not care for that which hath stood still; but who will eat the flesh of the fat, and devour all even to their claws.

For lo, I will raise up a shepherd in the land Who shall not care for those that are perishing, Nor seek that which is gone astray, Nor heal that which is wounded, Nor support that which cannot go; But he shall eat the flesh of the fat, And consume it even to the hoofs.

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 utterly wither, and his right eye shall be completely blinded.

Woe to the foolish shepherd that leaveth the flock! The sword is upon his arm, and upon his right eye; His arm shall surely be withered, And his right eye shall surely be darkened!