Zechariah 11

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

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

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.

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] 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.

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

Thus saith the LORD my God; Feed the flock of 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,

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.

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 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].

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 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.

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.

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

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

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 in that day: and so the poor of the flock that waited upon 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.

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.

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, 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.

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 asunder my other staff, [even] Bands, that I might break 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 to 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 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.

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 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.