Read Scripture ad-free with Bible Gateway Plus—trusted Study Bibles and commentaries beside every verse. Try it FREE for 7 days.
Log In/Sign Up

#
Zechariah 11
New King James Version

### Desolation of Israel

11 Open (A)your doors, O Lebanon,
That fire may devour your cedars.
2 Wail, O cypress, for the (B)cedar has fallen,
Because the mighty trees are ruined.
Wail, O oaks of Bashan,
(C)For the thick forest has come down.
3 There is the sound of wailing (D)shepherds!
For their glory is in ruins.
There is the sound of roaring lions!
For the [a]pride of the Jordan is in ruins.

### Prophecy of the Shepherds

4 Thus says the Lord my God, “Feed the flock for slaughter, 5 whose owners slaughter them and (E)feel no guilt; those who sell them (F)say, ‘Blessed be the Lord, for I am rich’; and their shepherds do (G)not pity them. 6 For I will no longer pity the inhabitants of the land,” says the Lord. “But indeed I will give everyone into his neighbor’s hand and into the hand of his king. They shall [b]attack the land, and I will not deliver them from their hand.”

7 So I fed the flock for slaughter, [c]in particular (H)the poor of the flock. I took for myself two staffs: the one I called [d]Beauty, and the other I called [e]Bonds; and I fed the flock. 8 I [f]dismissed the three shepherds (I)in one month. My soul loathed them, and their soul also abhorred me. 9 Then I said, “I will not feed you. (J)Let what is dying die, and what is perishing perish. Let those that are left eat each other’s flesh.” 10 And I took my staff, [g]Beauty, and cut it in two, that I might break the covenant which I had made with all the peoples. 11 So it was broken on that day. Thus (K)the[h] poor of the flock, who were watching me, knew that it was the word of the Lord. 12 Then I said to them, “If it is [i]agreeable to you, give me my wages; and if not, refrain.” So they (L)weighed out for my wages thirty pieces of silver.

13 And the Lord said to me, “Throw it to the (M)potter”—that princely price they set on me. So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the Lord for the potter. 14 Then I cut in two my other staff, [j]Bonds, that I might break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.

15 And the Lord said to me, (N)“Next, take for yourself the implements of a foolish shepherd. 16 For indeed I will raise up a shepherd in the land who will not care for those who are cut off, nor seek the young, nor heal those that are broken, nor feed those that still stand. But he will eat the flesh of the fat and tear their hooves in (O)pieces.

17 “Woe(P) to the worthless shepherd,
Who leaves the flock!
A sword shall be against his arm
And against his right eye;
His arm shall completely wither,
And his right eye shall be totally blinded.”

#### Footnotes

1. Zechariah 11:3 Or floodplain, thicket
2. Zechariah 11:6 Lit. strike
3. Zechariah 11:7 So with MT, Tg., Vg.; LXX for the Canaanites
4. Zechariah 11:7 Or Grace
5. Zechariah 11:7 Or Unity
6. Zechariah 11:8 Or destroyed, lit. cut off
7. Zechariah 11:10 Or Grace
8. Zechariah 11:11 So with MT, Tg., Vg.; LXX the Canaanites
9. Zechariah 11:12 good in your sight
10. Zechariah 11:14 Or Unity

#### Cross references

1. Zechariah 11:1 : Zech. 10:10
2. Zechariah 11:2 : Ezek. 31:3
3. Zechariah 11:2 : Is. 32:19
4. Zechariah 11:3 : Jer. 25:34–36
5. Zechariah 11:5 : [Jer. 2:3]; 50:7
6. Zechariah 11:5 : Deut. 29:19; Hos. 12:8; 1 Tim. 6:9
7. Zechariah 11:5 : Ezek. 34:2, 3
8. Zechariah 11:7 : Jer. 39:10; Zeph. 3:12; Matt. 11:5
9. Zechariah 11:8 : Hos. 5:7
10. Zechariah 11:9 : Jer. 15:2
11. Zechariah 11:11 : Zeph. 3:12; Matt. 27:50; Mark 15:37; Luke 23:46; Acts 8:32
12. Zechariah 11:12 : Gen. 37:28; Ex. 21:32; Matt. 26:15; 27:9, 10
13. Zechariah 11:13 : Matt. 27:3–10; Acts 1:18, 19
14. Zechariah 11:15 : Is. 56:11; Ezek. 34:2
15. Zechariah 11:16 : Ezek. 34:1–10; Mic. 3:1–3
16. Zechariah 11:17 : Jer. 23:1; Ezek. 34:2; Zech. 10:2; 11:15; John 10:12, 13

New King James Version (NKJV)

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

#### Bible Gateway Recommends

NKJV Study Bible, Full-Color, Comfort Print: The Complete Resource for Studying God’s Word
Retail: $59.99
Our Price: $41.99
Save: $18.00 (30%)
Buy Now
NKJV, The Everyday Bible, Red Letter, Comfort Print: 365 Daily Readings Through the Whole Bible
Retail: $29.99
Our Price: $20.99
Save: $9.00 (30%)
Buy Now
NKJV, The Bible Study Bible, Comfort Print: A Study Guide for Every Chapter of the Bible
Retail: $49.99
Our Price: $34.99
Save: $15.00 (30%)
Buy Now
NKJV, Gift and Award Bible, Red Letter Edition, Comfort Print: Holy Bible, New King James Version
Retail: $9.99
Our Price: $6.99
Save: $3.00 (30%)
Buy Now
NKJV, Charles F. Stanley Life Principles Bible, 2nd Edition, Comfort Print: Growing in Knowledge and Understanding of God Through His Word
Retail: $59.99
Our Price: $41.99
Save: $18.00 (30%)
Buy Now
NKJV, The Story: The Bible as One Continuing Story of God and His People
Retail: $19.98
Our Price: $13.99
Save: $5.99 (30%)
Buy Now
View more titles