Zechariah 11

1 Open [swing wide, to engrave or carve] your doors [gates, entrances], O Lebanon [a mountain range in Israel, named for its white snow or limestone peaks], that the fire [burning, flame] may consume [devour, eat] your cedars [strong and durable trees, known for their strength and longevity]! word study 2 Wail [howl, mourn], O cypress [fir tree, evergreen], for the cedar [a cedar tree, strong and durable] has fallen; the majestic [great, powerful] trees are ruined [destroyed, devastated]! Wail [howl, lament], O oaks [strong trees] of Bashan [a fertile region], for the dense [thick, old-growth] forest has been cut down [come down, fallen]! word study 3 Listen to the wailing [howling, crying out] of the shepherds [those who care for and tend to the flock], for their glory [honor, excellence, adornment] is in ruins [destroyed, laid waste]. Listen to the roaring [fierce cry, loud shouting] of the young lions [fierce animals], for the thickets [pride, majestic places] of the Jordan [the river, a key location] are destroyed [ruined, devastated]. word study 4 This is what the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God] my God [Elohim, the supreme God] says: “Pasture [feed, care for, tend to] the flock [sheep, people] marked for [destined for, appointed to] slaughter [killing, destruction], word study 5 whose buyers [those who possess, owners] slaughter them [kill without remorse, slay with intent] without remorse [no sense of guilt, not feeling guilty]. Those who sell them [their owners, the sellers] say, ‘Blessed be the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God], for I am rich [enriched, financially prosperous]!’ Even their own shepherds [caretakers, rulers] have no compassion [pity, spare] on them. word study 6 For I will no longer have [stop showing, cease to feel] compassion [pity, mercy, or kindness] on the people [inhabitants, dwellers] of the land [earth, territory], declares the LORD [Yehovah, the supreme God], but behold [look, see], I will cause each man [individual, person] to fall [be given, be delivered] into the hands [power, control] of his neighbor [fellow, companion] and his king [ruler, sovereign], who will devastate [destroy, lay waste] the land [country, region], and I will not deliver [rescue, save] it from their hands [power, grasp].” word study 7 So I pastured [cared for, tended to] the flock [sheep, people of God] marked for slaughter [to be killed, destroyed], especially the afflicted [poor, humble, weak] of the flock [those in need, oppressed]. Then I took for myself two staffs [rods, walking sticks], calling one Favor [pleasantness, kindness, beauty] and the other Union [cord, bond, unity], and I pastured [fed, guided] the flock [God’s people]. word study 8 And in [a single] one month I dismissed [cut off, removed] three [a trio, thrice] shepherds [rulers, caretakers]. My soul [the essence of my being, my inner self] grew impatient [weary, loathed] with the flock [the people, the congregation], and their souls [their inner beings, their hearts] also detested [abhorred, loathed] me. word study 9 Then I said, “I will no longer [refuse to, abandon] shepherd [care for, tend to] you. Let the dying [those perishing, coming to an end] die, and the perishing [those being cut off, destroyed] perish; and let those who remain [are left, spared] devour [eat, consume] one another’s [each other’s, neighbor’s] flesh [body, physical being].” word study 10 Next I took my staff [rod, walking stick] called Favor [Beauty, Pleasantness, Kindness] and cut it in two [asunder, broke it], revoking [to break, to split apart] the covenant [promise, agreement, treaty] I had made [cut, established] with all [every, the whole of] the nations [people, peoples, Amaw]. word study 11 It was revoked [broken, made void] on that day, and so the afflicted [poor, humble] of the flock [sheep, people] who were watching me knew that it was the word [message, thing] of the LORD [Yehovah, the Lord God]. word study 12 Then I told them, “If [if you think good] it seems right to you, give me my wages [my price, my hire]; but if [it does not seem right to you] not, keep them [forbear, do not give it].” So they weighed out my wages [my price, my hire], thirty [thirtieth] pieces of silver [money, payment]. word study 13 And the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God] said to me, “Throw [cast away, discard] it to the potter [the one who forms and shapes, the craftsman]”—this magnificent [goodly, handsome] price [value, worth] at which they valued [prized, esteemed] me. So I took [got, received] the thirty [thirtieth] pieces of silver [money, payment] and threw [cast, flung] them to the potter [the one who molds and shapes] in the house [temple, dwelling place] of the LORD [Yehovah, the supreme God]. word study 14 Then I cut [asunder] in two my second [again, another] staff called Union [a cord, Bands], breaking [to split, violate] the brotherhood [fraternity, bond] between Judah [the tribe, the region] and Israel [the descendants]. word study 15 And the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God] said to me: “Take up [get, acquire] once more [still, again] the equipment [instruments, articles] of a foolish [silly, impious] shepherd [one who cares for or tends to, a ruler]. word study 16 For behold [look, see], I will raise up a shepherd [ruler, caretaker] in the land who will neither care for [visit, oversee] the lost [those cut off, forsaken], nor seek [search for, look after] the young [newborn, vulnerable ones], nor heal [mend, cure] the broken [shattered, hurt], nor sustain [support, nourish] the healthy [sound, whole], but he will devour [eat, consume] the flesh [body, meat] of the choice [fat, plump] sheep and tear off [break, crunch] their hooves [claws, feet]. word study 17 Woe [a cry of sorrow, a lament] to the worthless [idol, without value] shepherd, who deserts [forsakes, abandons] the flock [the people, the congregation]! May a sword [a cutting instrument] strike his arm [the source of strength, the means of power] and his right eye [the seat of insight]! May his arm [the instrument of action, the means of provision] be completely withered [dried up, without vitality] and his right eye [the source of vision, the means of perception] utterly blinded [darkened, without sight]!” word study