The Shepherds
Zechariah 11, verse 1. Open your doors, O Lebanon, and let the fire devour your cedars. Zechariah 11, verse 2. Let the pine wail, for the cedar has fallen; because the mighty men have been greatly afflicted. Wail, oak trees of the Basanite land, for the thickly wooded forest has fallen. Zechariah 11, verse 3. The sound of wailing is from the shepherds, for their greatness has been brought low; the sound of roaring lions, the arrogance of the Jordan has languished. Zechariah 11, verse 4. Thus says the Lord Almighty: “Tend the sheep of the slaughter like a shepherd, Zechariah 11, verse 5. the ones whose possessors have slaughtered and did not repent, and those selling them said, ‘Blessed be the Lord, for we have become rich and the shepherds themselves suffered nothing because of them.’ Zechariah 11, verse 6. Therefore I will no longer spare the inhabitants of the land,” says the Lord, “but behold, I will deliver men up, each one into the hand of his neighbor and into the hand of his king. They shall cut the land into pieces, and I will not deliver them from their hand.”
The Two Staffs
Zechariah 11, verse 7. But I shall tend the sheep of the slaughter in the land of Canaan, and I will take to myself two staffs: the one I called Beauty and the other one I called Line, and I shall tend the flock. Zechariah 11, verse 8. And I shall cut off three shepherds in one month, and my soul shall be weighed down by them, for their souls have roared against me. Zechariah 11, verse 9. And I said, “I will not tend to you; that which dies, let it die, and that which perishes, let it perish, and let the rest of them devour the flesh each of his neighbor.” Zechariah 11, verse 10. And I shall take my staff Beauty, and I shall cast it away, to break my covenant which I made with all the people. Zechariah 11, verse 11. And in that day they will be scattered about. And the Canaanites shall know the flock is kept safe, for this is the word of the Lord. Zechariah 11, verse 12. And I shall say to them, “If it is fitting in your judgment, give me my payment, or refuse it.” And they established my wage at thirty pieces of silver. Zechariah 11, verse 13. And the Lord said to me, “Drop them into the smelting furnace and see if it is proven, as in the same manner I was proven for their sake.” And I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the smelting furnace in the house of the Lord. Zechariah 11, verse 14. And I threw aside the second staff, the Line, to disband the possessions between Judah and Israel. Zechariah 11, verse 15. And the Lord further said to me, “Take even for yourself the equipment of a shepherd, of an unskilled shepherd. Zechariah 11, verse 16. For behold! I raise up a shepherd against the land, one who will not care for the sheep who are abandoned, nor seek the scattered ones, nor heal the injured, nor even guide the healthy. But instead, he will devour the flesh of the choice ones, and he will tear them apart joint by joint. Zechariah 11, verse 17. Woe to you shepherding the flock carelessly, forsaking the flock! The sword shall be against his arms, and against his right eye; his right arm shall be completely withered, and his right eye shall become totally blind!”