THE PROPHET
ZECHARIAH
Zechariah 11 ©
A prophecy of the destruction of the city of Jerusalem and the Jewish nation, v. 1. Because of their great unthankfulness to Christ, Who had fed them as a good shepherd, 4. But they have sold Him for thirty pieces of silver, 12. Wherefore God would give them wicked leaders, for their destruction, 15.
OPEN thy 1doors, 2O Lebanon, 3that the fire may devour 4thy cedars.
Howl, 5fir tree; for 6the cedar is fallen; because the 7mighty are spoiled: howl, O 8ye oaks of Bashan; for 9the forest of the vintage 10is come down.
¶ 11There is a voice of the howling of the shepherds; for 12their glory is spoiled: a voice of the roaring 13of young lions; for 14the pride 15of Jordan is spoiled.
Thus saith the LORD my God; 16Feed 17the flock of the slaughter;
Whose 18possessors 19slay them, and 20hold themselves not guilty: and 21they that sell them say, 22Blessed be the LORD; for I am rich: and 23their own shepherds pity them not.
For I will no more pity 24the inhabitants of the land, saith the LORD: but, lo, 25I will deliver 26the men 27every one into his neighbour’s hand, 28and into the hand of his king: and 29they shall 30smite the land, and out of their hand I will not deliver 31them.
32And I will feed 33the flock of slaughter, 34even you, O poor of the flock. And I took unto me two staves; the one I called 35Beauty, and the other I called 36Bands; and I fed 37the flock.
38Three shepherds also I 39cut off 40in one month; and 41my soul 42lothed 43them, and their soul 44also abhorred me.
Then said 45I, 46I will not feed you: that 47that dieth, let it die; and that that is to be cut off, let it be cut off; and 48let the rest eat every one the flesh of another.
¶And 49I took my staff, even 50Beauty, and 51cut it asunder, that I 52might break my covenant which I 53had made 54with all the people.
And it was broken in that day: and so 55the poor of the flock that waited upon me knew 56that it was the word of the LORD.
57And I said unto them, If ye think good, give me my price; and if not, forbear. So theya58weighed for 59my price thirty pieces of silver.
And the LORD said unto me, Cast it 60unto the potter: 61a goodly price that I was prisedb at of them. And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them 62to the potter 63in the house of the LORD.
Then I cut asunder mine other staff, even 64Bands, that I 65might break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.
¶And the LORD said unto me, Take unto thee 66yet the 67instruments of a foolish shepherd.
For, lo, I will raise up 68a shepherd in the land, which shall not visit those 69that be cut off, neither shall seek 70the young one, nor heal that that is 71broken, 72nor feed that 73that standeth still: but he shall eat the flesh of 74the fat, and 75tear 76their claws in pieces.
77Woec to the idol shepherd that leaveth the flock! 78the sword shall be 79upon his arm, and upon his right eye: his arm 80shall be clean dried up, and his right eye 81shall be utterly darkened.