Zechariah 11

1 Thou Liban, opene thi yatis, and fier schal ete thi cedris.

Open your doors, O Lebanon, that the fire may consume your cedars!

2 Yelle, thou fir tre, for the cedre felle doun, for grete men ben distried; yelle, ye okis of Basan, for the stronge welde wode is kit doun.

Wail, O cypress, for the cedar has fallen; the majestic trees are ruined! Wail, O oaks of Bashan, for the dense forest has been cut down!

3 Vois of yellyng of schepherdis, for the greet worschip of hem is distried; vois of roryng of liouns, for the pride of Jordan is wastid.

Listen to the wailing of the shepherds, for their glory is in ruins. Listen to the roaring of the young lions, for the thickets of the Jordan are destroyed.

4 My Lord God seith these thingis, Fede thou beestis of slauyter,

This is what the LORD my God says: “Pasture the flock marked for slaughter,

5 whiche thei that weldiden slowen; and `sorewiden not, and selden hem, and seiden, Blessid be the Lord, we ben maad riche. And schepherdis of hem spariden not hem,

whose buyers slaughter them without remorse. Those who sell them say, ‘Blessed be the LORD, for I am rich!’ Even their own shepherds have no compassion on them.

6 and Y schal no more spare on `men enhabitynge the erthe, seith the Lord. Lo! Y schal bitake men, ech in hond of his neiybour, and in hoond of his kyng, and thei schulen to-reende togidere the lond; and Y schal not delyuere fro the hond of hem,

For I will no longer have compassion on the people of the land, declares the LORD, but behold, I will cause each man to fall into the hands of his neighbor and his king, who will devastate the land, and I will not deliver it from their hands.”

7 and Y schal fede the beeste of sleyng. For this thing, ye pore men of the floc, here. And Y took to me twei yerdis; oon Y clepide Fairnesse, and the tother Y clepide Litil Corde; and Y fedde the floc.

So I pastured the flock marked for slaughter, especially the afflicted of the flock. Then I took for myself two staffs, calling one Favor and the other Union, and I pastured the flock.

8 And Y kittide doun thre scheepherdis in o monethe, and my soule is drawun togidere in hem; for also the soule of hem variede in me.

And in one month I dismissed three shepherds. My soul grew impatient with the flock, and their souls also detested me.

9 And Y seide, Y schal not fede you; that that dieth, die; and that that is kit doun, be kit doun; and the residues deuoure, ech the fleisch of his neiybore.

Then I said, “I will no longer shepherd you. Let the dying die, and the perishing perish; and let those who remain devour one another’s flesh.”

10 And Y took my yerde, that was clepid Fairnesse, and Y kittide doun it, that Y schulde make void my couenaunt, that Y smoot with alle puplis.

Next I took my staff called Favor and cut it in two, revoking the covenant I had made with all the nations.

11 And it `is led forth voide in that dai; and the pore of floc that kepen to me, knewen thus, for it is the word of the Lord.

It was revoked on that day, and so the afflicted of the flock who were watching me knew that it was the word of the LORD.

12 And Y seide to hem, If it is good in youre iyen, brynge ye my meede; and if nai, reste ye. And thei weieden my meede, thretti platis of siluer.

Then I told them, “If it seems right to you, give me my wages; but if not, keep them.” So they weighed out my wages, thirty pieces of silver.

13 And the Lord seide to me, Caste awei it to a makere of ymagis, the fair prijs, bi which Y am preisid of hem. And Y took thritti platis of siluer, and Y castide forth hem in the hous of the Lord, to the makere of ymagis.

And the LORD said to me, “Throw it to the potter”—this magnificent price at which they valued me. So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them to the potter in the house of the LORD.

14 And Y kittide doun my secunde yerde, that was clepide Litil Corde, that Y schulde departe the brotherhed bitwixe Juda and Israel.

Then I cut in two my second staff called Union, breaking the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.

15 And the Lord seide to me, Yit take to thee vessels of a fonned scheepherde;

And the LORD said to me: “Take up once more the equipment of a foolish shepherd.

16 for lo! Y schal reise a scheepherde in erthe, which schal not visite forsakun thingis, schal not seke scatered thingis, and schal not heele `the brokun togidere, and schal not nurische forth that that stondith. And he schal ete fleischis of the fat, and schal vnbynde the clees of hem.

For behold, I will raise up a shepherd in the land who will neither care for the lost, nor seek the young, nor heal the broken, nor sustain the healthy, but he will devour the flesh of the choice sheep and tear off their hooves.

17 A! the scheepherd, and ydol, forsakynge the floc; swerd on his arm, and on his riyt iye; the arm of hym schal be dried with drynesse, and his riyt iye wexynge derk schal be maad derk.

Woe to the worthless shepherd, who deserts the flock! May a sword strike his arm and his right eye! May his arm be completely withered and his right eye utterly blinded!”