Zechariah 11
1 Thou Liban, opene thi yatis, and fier schal ete thi cedris.
Let your doors be open, O Lebanon, so that fire may be burning among 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.
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 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.
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 My Lord God seith these thingis, Fede thou beestis of slauyter,
This is what the Lord my God has said: Take care of the flock of death;
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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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.
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 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.
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 `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.
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 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.
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 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, 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 Y kittide doun my secunde yerde, that was clepide Litil Corde, that Y schulde departe the brotherhed bitwixe Juda 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 the Lord seide to me, Yit take to thee vessels of a fonned scheepherde;
And the Lord said to me, Take again the instruments of a foolish keeper of sheep.
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 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 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.
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.
