Zechariah 11

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

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

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.

[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.

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

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

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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

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

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 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.

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 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.

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 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.

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 pieces my second staff, namely, Concord, to annul 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 unto me, Take unto thee yet the instruments 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, 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.

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 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.