Zechariah 11

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

Open, O Lebanon, thy doors, And fire doth devour among thy cedars.

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

Howl, O fir, for fallen hath the cedar, For their honourable ones were destroyed, Howl, ye oaks of Bashan, For come down hath the fenced forest,

3 [There is] a voice of the howling of the shepherds; for their glory is destroyed: a voice of the roaring of young lions; for the pride of Jordan is laid waste.

A voice of the howling of the shepherds! For destroyed was their robe of honour, A voice of the roaring of young lions! For destroyed was the excellency of Jordan.

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

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

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

Whose buyers slay them, and are not guilty, And their sellers say, Blessed [is] Jehovah, And I am rich, And their shepherds have no pity on them.

6 For I will no more pity the inhabitants of the land, saith the LORD: but lo, I will deliver the men every one into his neighbor'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].

For I have pity no more on inhabitants of the land, An affirmation of Jehovah, And lo, I am causing man to come forth, Each into the hand of his neighbour, And into the hand of his king, And they have beaten down the land, And I do not deliver out of their hand.'

7 And I will feed the flock of slaughter, [even] you, O poor of the flock. And I took to me two staffs; the one I called Beauty, and the other I called Bands; and I fed the flock.

And I feed the flock of slaughter, even you, ye afflicted of the flock; and I take to me two staves, the one I have called Pleasantness, and the other I have called Bands, and I feed the flock.

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

And I cut off the three shepherds in one month, and my soul is grieved with them, and also their soul hath abhorred me.

9 Then said I, 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, every one the flesh of another.

And I say, 'I do not feed you, the dying, let die; and the cut off, let be cut off; and the remaining ones, let each eat the flesh of its neighbour.'

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

And I take My staff Pleasantness, and cut it asunder, to make void My covenant that I had made 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 the LORD.

and it is broken in that day, and know well do the afflicted of the flock who are observing me, that it [is] a word of Jehovah.

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

And I say unto them: 'If good in your eyes, give my hire, and if not, forbear;' and they weigh out my hire — thirty silverlings.

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

And Jehovah saith unto me, 'Cast it unto the potter;' the goodly price that I have been prized at by them, and I take the thirty silverlings, and cast them [to] the house of Jehovah, unto the potter.

14 Then I cut asunder my other staff, [even] Bands, that I might break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.

And I cut asunder my second staff, Bands, to break the unity between Judah and Israel.

15 And the LORD said to me, Take to thee yet the instruments of a foolish shepherd.

And Jehovah saith unto me, 'Again take to thee the instrument of a foolish shepherd.

16 For lo, I will raise up a shepherd in the land, [who] shall not visit those that are cut off, neither shall seek the young one, nor heal that which is broken, nor feed that which 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 cut off he doth not inspect, The shaken off he doth not seek, And the broken he doth not heal, The standing he doth not sustain, And the flesh of the fat he doth eat, And their hoofs he doth break off.

17 Woe to the idle shepherd that leaveth the flock! the sword [shall be] upon his arm, and upon his right eye: his arm shall be wholly dried up, and his right eye shall be utterly darkened.

Woe [to] the worthless shepherd, forsaking the flock, A sword [is] on his arm, and on his right eye, His arm is utterly dried up, And his right eye is very dim!'