The Shepherd, the Two Staffs, and Israel's Rejection
Zechariah 11:4-17
Zec.11.4 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- כה: ADV
- אמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אלהי: NOUN,m,sg,cons
- רעה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- את: PRT,acc
- צאן: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- ההרגה: NOUN,f,sg,def
Parallels
- Ezek.34:2 (thematic): Condemns Israel’s shepherds for failing their flock and treating them as prey, paralleling Zechariah’s depiction of a flock doomed to slaughter and criticism of shepherding leadership.
- Jer.23:1-2 (thematic): ’Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture’—a direct prophetic denunciation of bad shepherds that echoes Zechariah’s concern for a flock facing slaughter and neglect.
- Isa.53:7 (verbal): ’He was led like a lamb to the slaughter’—uses the same slaughter/lamb imagery to depict innocent victims led to death, resonating with Zechariah’s image of a flock doomed to slaughter.
- John 10:11-13 (thematic): Jesus’ contrast between the good shepherd (who lays down his life) and the hireling (who abandons the sheep) picks up the prophetic theme of true versus false shepherding implicit in Zechariah’s command about a slaughtered flock.
Alternative generated candidates
- Thus says the LORD, the God who is a shepherd: Feed the flock doomed for slaughter.
- Thus says the LORD, the God of shepherds: Shepherd the flock doomed to slaughter.
Zec.11.5 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- אשר: PRON,rel
- קניהן: NOUN,m,pl,pr3mp
- יהרגן: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- ולא: CONJ
- יאשמו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- ומכריהן: CONJ,NOUN,m,pl,pr3mp
- יאמר: VERB,qal,imperfect,3,m,sg
- ברוך: ADJ,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- ואעשר: CONJ,VERB,qal,impf,1,sg
- ורעיהם: CONJ,NOUN,m,pl,pr3mp
- לא: PART_NEG
- יחמול: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- עליהן: PREP+PRON,3,pl,f
Parallels
- Ezek.34:1-10 (thematic): Both passages denounce 'shepherds' (leaders) who exploit, scatter, and feed themselves at the expense of the flock; God holds these shepherds culpable for the people's suffering.
- Jer.23:1-2 (verbal): Direct verbal and thematic echo—'woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture' parallels Zech.'s rebuke of shepherds who cause the ruin of the flock and profit from it.
- Micah 3:1-3 (thematic): Like Zech.11:5, Micah accuses civic and religious leaders of preying on the people for gain—'they eat the people's flesh, strip their skin'—highlighting corrupt leaders who grow rich through oppression.
- Matt.27:3-10 (allusion): The New Testament account of Judas' thirty pieces and the citation of Zechariah connects the prophetic action in Zech.11 (sale/trafficking and profit from betrayal of the flock) with later betrayal for financial gain—sharing the motif of profit through treachery.
Alternative generated candidates
- Their buyers will slay them and show no pity; those who sell them will say, ‘Blessed be the LORD, I shall grow rich,’ and their shepherds will have no compassion on them.
- Their buyers slay them and show no pity; those who sell them say, “Blessed be the LORD, I shall be rich,” and their shepherds have no compassion on them.
Zec.11.6 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- כי: CONJ
- לא: PART_NEG
- אחמול: VERB,qal,impf,1,m,sg
- עוד: ADV
- על: PREP
- ישבי: NOUN,m,pl,cons
- הארץ: NOUN,f,sg,def
- נאם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- והנה: ADV
- אנכי: PRON,1,sg
- ממציא: VERB,hiph,impf,1,m,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- האדם: NOUN,m,sg,def
- איש: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ביד: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- רעהו: NOUN,m,sg,abs+3ms
- וביד: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- מלכו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- וכתתו: VERB,qal,imf,3,m,pl
- את: PRT,acc
- הארץ: NOUN,f,sg,def
- ולא: CONJ
- אציל: VERB,qal,impf,1,m,sg
- מידם: PREP
Parallels
- Judges 2:14 (verbal): God delivers Israel into the hands of plunderers/enemies — language of being 'given/delivered into the hand' parallels Zechariah's handing over to neighbor and king.
- 2 Chronicles 36:16-17 (thematic): Because the people despised prophets God 'had no pity' and gave them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar — both the lack of pity and deliverance into an enemy's hand echo Zech.11:6.
- Psalm 106:41 (verbal): 'He gave them into the hand of the nations' — a direct verbal/thematic parallel about God handing his people over to hostile powers.
- Isaiah 1:7-8 (thematic): The land is desolate and 'strangers devour it... and none shall save' — captures the result of divine abandonment and violence on the land like Zech.11:6.
- Ezekiel 34:5 (thematic): The flock is scattered because there is no shepherd; the theme of abandonment leading to vulnerability and scattering parallels Zechariah's picture of people handed over to enemies.
Alternative generated candidates
- For I will no longer have mercy on the inhabitants of the land, declares the LORD. Behold, I will set men against one another—each man against his neighbor and against his king—and they will crush the land; I will not rescue anyone from their hand.
- For I will no longer have pity on the inhabitants of the land, declares the LORD. Behold, I will set a man against his neighbor and a man against his companion; they will strike the land, and I will not rescue from their hand.
Zec.11.7 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- וארעה: VERB,qal,impf,1,m,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- צאן: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- ההרגה: NOUN,f,sg,def
- לכן: ADV
- עניי: NOUN,m,pl,abs,poss,1,sg
- הצאן: NOUN,m,sg,def
- ואקח: VERB,qal,impf,1,sg
- לי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
- שני: NUM,m,pl,construct
- מקלות: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- לאחד: PREP
- קראתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,_,sg
- נעם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ולאחד: CONJ+PREP+NUM,card,m,sg
- קראתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,_,sg
- חבלים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- וארעה: VERB,qal,impf,1,m,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- הצאן: NOUN,m,sg,def
Parallels
- Zechariah 11:4-6 (structural): Immediate context: instructions to shepherd the doomed flock and the pastoral role that the speaker assumes, setting up the imagery continued in v.7.
- Zechariah 11:10-14 (verbal): Direct continuation of the two-staff motif: the naming, later breaking/casting of the staffs (Favor/Union), and symbolic actions that interpret the pastoral imagery of v.7.
- Ezekiel 34:11-16 (thematic): God as shepherd who cares for a scattered or mistreated flock and judges negligent or destructive shepherds—shared pastoral imagery and concern for ‘the flock.’
- Jeremiah 23:1-4 (thematic): Prophetic denunciation of bad shepherds and promise of a righteous shepherd to tend the remnant; parallels Zechariah’s critique and symbolic shepherding actions.
- John 10:11-16 (thematic): New Testament development of the shepherd motif (the good shepherd who lays down his life and cares for the sheep), offering a Christological reading of prophetic shepherd imagery like Zechariah’s.
Alternative generated candidates
- So I fed the flock doomed for slaughter. Then I took for myself two staffs; to one I gave the name Noam, and to the other the name Habbelim, and I shepherded the flock.
- So I shepherded the flock doomed to slaughter; and I took two staffs for myself—one I named No'am, and the other I named Bands—and I shepherded the flock.
Zec.11.8 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ואכחד: VERB,qal,impf,1,m,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- שלשת: NUM,m,pl,abs
- הרעים: ADJ,m,pl,def
- בירח: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אחד: NUM,card,m,sg
- ותקצר: VERB,qal,impf,3,f,sg
- נפשי: NOUN,f,sg,abs+1cs
- בהם: PREP+PRON,3,m,pl
- וגם: CONJ
- נפשם: NOUN,f,sg,abs+3,m,pl
- בחלה: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- בי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
Parallels
- Ezekiel 34:10 (thematic): God pronounces judgment against shepherds who have failed the flock—He will punish and remove them, echoing Zech.11:8’s cutting off of shepherds.
- Jeremiah 23:1-2 (thematic): Condemnation of shepherds who scatter and destroy the flock; like Zech.11:8 it portrays God’s anger and removal of unfaithful leaders.
- Zechariah 13:7 (structural): A later Zechariah passage describing the striking of the shepherd and the scattering of the sheep; thematically parallels the fate and judgment of shepherds in 11:8.
- Zechariah 11:17 (verbal): Within the same chapter the poet pronounces woe on the worthless shepherd—an internal restatement/expansion of the condemnation found in 11:8.
- Isaiah 56:10-11 (thematic): Imagery of blind/dull shepherds who fail to care for the flock and lead them astray, comparable to Zech.11:8’s denunciation and removal of faulty shepherds.
Alternative generated candidates
- I cut off the three shepherds in a single month; my soul grew weary of them, and their soul was sickened by me.
- I cut off the three shepherds in one month; my soul grew impatient with them, and their soul also loathed me.
Zec.11.9 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ואמר: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- לא: PART_NEG
- ארעה: VERB,qal,impf,1,?,sg
- אתכם: PRT+PRON,2,m,pl
- המתה: NOUN,f,sg,def
- תמות: VERB,qal,yiqtol,2,m,sg
- והנכחדת: PARTCP,niphal,ptcp,f,sg
- תכחד: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- והנשארות: PARTCP,qal,ptcp,f,pl
- תאכלנה: VERB,qal,imperfect,3,f,pl
- אשה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- את: PRT,acc
- בשר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- רעותה: NOUN,f,sg,abs+PRON,3,f,sg
Parallels
- Ezekiel 34:2-10 (thematic): Condemnation of shepherds who fail the flock and divine withdrawal of care — parallels Zechariah’s refusal to shepherd and the resulting abandonment/judgment of the flock.
- Ezekiel 5:10 (verbal): Speaks of fathers eating sons and sons eating fathers as a judgment on Jerusalem — directly parallels the cannibalistic imagery (“eat the flesh of one another”) in Zech 11:9.
- Jeremiah 19:9 (verbal): Declares God will make people eat the flesh of their sons and daughters as punishment — a near-verbal echo of the horrific eating‑one‑another motif in Zech 11:9.
- Lamentations 4:10 (thematic): Describes mothers boiling/feeding on their own children in the city’s destruction — another poignant literary instance of siege‑induced cannibalism akin to the image in Zech 11:9.
Alternative generated candidates
- I said, ‘I will not shepherd you. Let the dying die, let the perishing perish, and let those who remain eat the flesh of one another.’
- And I said, “I will not shepherd you. Let the dying die, and the perishing perish; let those who are left eat the flesh of one another.”
Zec.11.10 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ואקח: VERB,qal,impf,1,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- מקלי: NOUN,m,sg,abs,suff:1,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- נעם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ואגדע: VERB,qal,imperf,1,m,sg
- אתו: PRON,3,m,sg,acc
- להפיר: VERB,hiph,inf
- את: PRT,acc
- בריתי: NOUN,f,sg,abs,poss1,sg
- אשר: PRON,rel
- כרתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- כל: DET
- העמים: NOUN,m,pl,def
Parallels
- Zech.11.14 (verbal): Same prophetic action—breaking a second shepherd's staff (the two staffs symbolically represent covenant/bonds). Both verses depict the prophet breaking a staff to signify annulling a bond between peoples.
- Jer.34.18-20 (thematic): God declares judgment for breaking a covenant (the return/enslavement of freed servants), using the language of annulled covenant and punitive consequence—paralleling Zech.'s theme of covenant being broken and its consequences.
- Ezek.34.11-16,23-24 (thematic): Shepherd imagery and divine judgment on human shepherds/leaders recur: Ezekiel promises to judge bad shepherds and to establish a covenantal shepherd (God or Davidic shepherd), providing a thematic counterpart to Zech.'s symbolic rejection of shepherding and annulment of covenant.
- Matt.27.9-10 (cf. Matt.26.14-16) (allusion): The New Testament cites Zechariah's scene (the thirty pieces/treasury) in connection with Judas' betrayal. Though Matthew quotes chapter 11:12–13 directly, this citation ties the chapter's shepherd/covenant-rejection motif (including the breaking of the staff) to the rejection of the messianic shepherd.
Alternative generated candidates
- Then I took my staff Noam and broke it, in order to annul the covenant that I had made with all the peoples.
- Then I took my staff No'am and broke it, to break my covenant that I had made with all the peoples.
Zec.11.11 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ותפר: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- ביום: PREP
- ההוא: DEM,ms,sg
- וידעו: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,pl
- כן: ADV
- עניי: NOUN,m,pl,abs,poss,1,sg
- הצאן: NOUN,m,sg,def
- השמרים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- אתי: PRON,1,sg
- כי: CONJ
- דבר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- הוא: PRON,3,m,sg
Parallels
- Ezek.34:11-16 (thematic): Shared shepherd imagery: God judges false shepherds and promises to seek, gather, and care for the scattered flock—parallels Zechariah’s concern for the flock and critique of shepherds.
- Jer.23:1-4 (thematic): Condemnation of irresponsible shepherds and promise that the LORD will gather and appoint good shepherds—echoes the theme of shepherd failure and God’s interest in the 'poor' sheep.
- Zech.11:12-14 (structural): Immediate literary continuation: the symbolic breaking/selling of staffs and the thirty pieces payment explain the prophetic sign-act in v.11 and show why the poor of the flock recognized it as the word of the LORD.
- Ezek.4:1-3 (structural): Another prophetic sign-action (modeling a siege) used to communicate God’s message; parallels Zechariah’s physical act (breaking staffs) that functioned as a visible 'word of the LORD' to observers.
Alternative generated candidates
- It was broken on that day; and the poor of the flock who watched me understood that this was the word of the LORD.
- So it was broken that day, and the poor of the flock who were watching me knew that it was the word of the LORD.
Zec.11.12 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ואמר: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- אליהם: PREP,3,m,pl
- אם: CONJ
- טוב: ADJ,m,pl,abs
- בעיניכם: PREP+NOUN,pl,f,cons+PRON,2,pl
- הבו: VERB,qal,imp,2,pl
- שכרי: NOUN,m,sg,abs,1cs
- ואם: CONJ
- לא: PART_NEG
- חדלו: VERB,qal,perf,3,pl
- וישקלו: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,pl
- את: PRT,acc
- שכרי: NOUN,m,sg,abs,1cs
- שלשים: NUM,m,pl,abs
- כסף: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Matthew 26:14-16 (verbal): Judas agrees to betray Jesus for 'thirty pieces of silver'—a direct verbal echo of Zechariah's valuation (same sum as the price weighed in Zech. 11:12).
- Matthew 27:3-10 (allusion): The thirty pieces of silver reappear as 'blood money' used to buy the potter's field; Matthew links this series of events to Old Testament prophecy (he cites Jeremiah but echoes Zech. 11:12-13).
- Zechariah 11:13 (structural): Immediate literary continuation—after the thirty pieces are weighed (v.12) the money is thrown to the potter (v.13); the two verses form a single prophetic action that the NT alludes to.
- Exodus 21:32 (verbal): The Law stipulates thirty shekels of silver as compensation for a man killed by a slave/ox; the same monetary amount provides a legal/valuation background for the 'thirty pieces' in Zech. 11:12.
- Jeremiah 32:6-9 (thematic): Jeremiah's symbolic purchase of a field (a prophetic act involving payment and deed) is thematically linked to Zechariah's imagery of valuation and the later NT citation (Matthew 27 cites Jeremiah in connection with the purchase of the potter's field).
Alternative generated candidates
- And I said to them, ‘If it is pleasing to you, give me my wages; if not, keep silence.’ So they weighed out my wages—thirty pieces of silver.
- And I said to them, “If it seems good to you, give me my wages; but if not, keep them.” So they weighed out my wages—thirty pieces of silver.
Zec.11.13 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויאמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אלי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
- השליכהו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- אל: NEG
- היוצר: NOUN,m,sg,def
- אדר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- היקר: ADJ,m,sg,def
- אשר: PRON,rel
- יקרתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,_,sg
- מעליהם: PREP+PRON,3,m,pl
- ואקחה: VERB,qal,imf,1,c,sg
- שלשים: NUM,m,pl,abs
- הכסף: NOUN,m,sg,def
- ואשליך: VERB,qal,perf,1,_,sg
- אתו: PRON,3,m,sg,acc
- בית: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אל: NEG
- היוצר: NOUN,m,sg,def
Parallels
- Zechariah 11:12 (structural): Immediate context: the preceding verse records the demand for a price ('If you think good, give me my price'), linking the thirty pieces to the shepherd's rejection and explaining why Joshua throws the money to the potter.
- Matthew 26:14-16 (verbal): Judas agrees to betray Jesus in exchange for thirty pieces of silver, directly echoing the specific sum named in Zechariah 11:13.
- Matthew 27:3-10 (allusion): After Judas returns the thirty pieces, the chief priests use the money to buy the potter's field; Matthew cites fulfillment of prophecy (though he names Jeremiah), and the episode closely parallels Zechariah 11:13’s imagery of thirty pieces and the potter.
- Acts 1:18-19 (thematic): Luke's account links Judas’s blood-money to the purchase of a field and a grisly death, developing the tradition that the thirty pieces led to acquisition of land—an outcome anticipated in Zechariah's tossing of the price to the potter/temple.
- Exodus 21:32 (thematic): The law prescribes thirty shekels of silver as the compensation for an injured slave; this legal valuation provides a cultural/onomastic background for the significance of 'thirty pieces' as a nominal price in Zechariah 11:13.
Alternative generated candidates
- Then the LORD said to me, ‘Throw it to the potter—this princely price at which I was prized by them.’ So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the LORD to the potter.
- And the LORD said to me, “Throw it to the potter—the handsome price at which I was valued by them.” So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the LORD, to the potter.
Zec.11.14 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ואגדע: VERB,qal,perf,1,m,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- מקלי: NOUN,m,sg,poss1s
- השני: ADJ,m,sg,def
- את: PRT,acc
- החבלים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- להפר: VERB,qal,inf
- את: PRT,acc
- האחוה: NOUN,f,sg,def
- בין: PREP
- יהודה: NOUN,m,sg,prop
- ובין: CONJ+PREP
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Zech.11.10-11 (verbal): Immediate parallel within the chapter — the prophet cuts a staff (named Favor/Union) to symbolize breaking the covenant/oneness; same action and imagery as v.14.
- Ezek.37:15-22 (thematic): Two‑stick prophecy about Judah and Joseph/Ephraim being joined into one — directly concerns the unity of Judah and Israel and thus serves as a thematic contrast to Zechariah’s symbolic breaking of that unity.
- 1 Kings 12:16-20 (structural): The historical schism when the ten northern tribes seceded from Judah under Rehoboam — an actual rupture of brotherhood between Judah and Israel that parallels Zechariah’s symbolic breaking of their unity.
- Ezek.34:2-10 (thematic): Ezekiel’s critique of shepherds who scatter the flock uses shepherd/staff imagery and addresses failed leadership and fractured community, echoing Zechariah’s shepherd symbolism and the consequences for Israel’s unity.
- Mal.2:10 (thematic): Malachi laments treachery against one’s brother and the violation of a shared covenantal bond — resonates with Zechariah’s theme of breaking the brotherhood/covenant between Judah and Israel.
Alternative generated candidates
- And I broke the other staff, Habbelim, to sever the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.
- And I cut off my second staff, the one called Bands, to break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.
Zec.11.15 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויאמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אלי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
- עוד: ADV
- קח: VERB,qal,impv,2,m,sg
- לך: PRON,2,m,sg
- כלי: NOUN,m,pl,const
- רעה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- אולי: ADV
Parallels
- Zechariah 11:4-14 (structural): Immediate context: the prophet acts as shepherd, uses and then breaks shepherds' instruments/staffs and pronounces judgment on worthless shepherds—this verse continues that enacted prophecy.
- Ezekiel 34:1-10 (thematic): Condemnation of Israel's leaders as selfish, negligent shepherds who feed themselves rather than the flock—echoes the motif of 'foolish/worthless' shepherds and divine judgment on bad leadership.
- Jeremiah 23:1-4 (thematic): Denounces corrupt shepherds who scatter the flock and promises God will shepherd his people and raise a righteous shepherd—parallels the critique of bad shepherds and the expectation of true shepherding.
- John 10:11-13 (thematic): Jesus contrasts the good shepherd with a hireling who abandons the sheep—New Testament development of the same shepherd imagery, highlighting failure of false or foolish shepherds.
- Psalm 78:70-72 (thematic): Praise of David as God’s chosen shepherd who led with upright heart and skill—serves as a positive foil to the 'foolish shepherd' motif and the ideal of faithful shepherding.
Alternative generated candidates
- The LORD said to me, ‘Take to yourself the implements of a worthless shepherd.’
- And the LORD said to me, “Take to yourself once more the equipment of a worthless shepherd.”
Zec.11.16 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- כי: CONJ
- הנה: PART
- אנכי: PRON,1,sg
- מקים: VERB,qal,ptc,NA,m,sg
- רעה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- בארץ: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,def
- הנכחדות: NOUN,f,pl,def
- לא: PART_NEG
- יפקד: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- הנער: NOUN,m,sg,def
- לא: PART_NEG
- יבקש: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- והנשברת: CONJ+VERB,niphal,part,f,sg,def
- לא: PART_NEG
- ירפא: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- הנצבה: NOUN,f,sg,def
- לא: PART_NEG
- יכלכל: VERB,piel,impf,3,m,sg
- ובשר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- הבריאה: NOUN,f,sg,def
- יאכל: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- ופרסיהן: CONJ+NOUN,f,pl,abs+3,pl
- יפרק: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
Parallels
- Ezek.34:2-4 (verbal): Prophets condemn Israel’s shepherds who ‘feed themselves’ and neglect the flock — language and accusation closely parallel Zech.11:16’s charge of a shepherd who will not feed or care for the sheep.
- Micah 3:2-3 (verbal): Leaders who ‘eat the flesh of my people’ and ‘skin them’ — vivid imagery of exploitation and consumption echoes Zech.11:16’s picture of a shepherd devouring the fat of the flock.
- Jer.23:1-2 (thematic): Jeremiah indicts shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of God — similar prophetic theme of negligent or harmful shepherds responsible for the flock’s ruin.
- Zech.11:15-17 (structural): Immediate context: the appointment and description of the worthless shepherd (vv.15–17) frames 11:16; vv.15–17 form a unit portraying the failed shepherd and God’s judgment.
- John 10:11-13 (thematic): Jesus contrasts the ‘good shepherd’ who lays down his life with hirelings who abandon the sheep — a New Testament thematic foil to Zech.11:16’s image of a shepherd who fails to care for the flock.
Alternative generated candidates
- For behold, I am raising up a shepherd in the land who will not attend the perishing; he will not seek the young, he will not heal the maimed, he will not sustain the standing; but he will eat the flesh of the fat and tear off their hoofs.
- For behold, I am raising up a shepherd in the land who will not care for the perishing, nor seek the young, nor heal the maimed, nor sustain the healthy; he will eat the flesh of the fat and tear off their hoofs.
Zec.11.17 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- הוי: INTJ
- רעי: NOUN,m,pl,cons
- האליל: NOUN,m,sg,def
- עזבי: VERB,qal,ptcp,3,m,pl
- הצאן: NOUN,m,sg,def
- חרב: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- על: PREP
- זרועו: NOUN,m,sg,poss3ms
- ועל: CONJ+PREP
- עין: NOUN,f,sg,cons
- ימינו: NOUN,m,sg,suff-3ms
- זרעו: NOUN,m,sg,abs+3ms
- יבוש: VERB,qal,impf,3,ms,sg
- תיבש: VERB,qal,imprf,3,f,sg
- ועין: CONJ+NOUN,prop,f,sg,abs
- ימינו: NOUN,m,sg,suff-3ms
- כהה: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- תכהה: VERB,qal,imprf,3,f,sg
Parallels
- Ezekiel 34:2-10 (thematic): Condemnation of 'bad shepherds' who feed themselves and neglect/scatter the flock—parallels Zech.11:17's denunciation and divine judgment on a worthless shepherd.
- Jeremiah 23:1-2 (thematic): 'Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep' language and promise of judgment on irresponsible leaders echoes Zech.11:17's rebuke of the shepherd who abandons the flock.
- Zechariah 13:7 (structural): Within the same book: the striking of the shepherd and the scattering of the sheep continues the book's shepherd motif and theme of judgment against leaders.
- Matthew 26:31 (quotation): Jesus cites Zech.13:7 ('I will strike the shepherd...') applying the shepherd‑struck motif to the Messiah—shows New Testament appropriation of the Zecharian shepherd imagery.
- John 10:12-13 (thematic): Contrast between the hireling who abandons the sheep and the true shepherd: thematically related to Zech.11:17's denunciation of a shepherd who deserts the flock.
Alternative generated candidates
- Alas for the worthless shepherd who deserts the flock! A sword on his arm and on his right eye; his arm shall be withered, his right eye wholly darkened.
- Woe to the worthless, idol shepherd who deserts the flock! A sword upon his arm and upon his right eye—his arm shall be wholly dried up, and his right eye utterly darkened.
Thus says the LORD, the God of the shepherds: 'Shepherd the flock destined for slaughter.'
Whose buyers slay them and do not spare them; those who sell them say, 'Blessed be the LORD, I am rich!'—and their shepherds show them no mercy.
For I will no longer show mercy to the inhabitants of the land, declares the LORD. Behold, I will give men over, each to his neighbor and each to his king; and they shall crush the land, and I will not rescue out of their hand. So I shepherded the flock destined for slaughter. Then I took two staffs; one I called Favor and the other I called Union, and I shepherded the flock.
I struck through three shepherds in one month; my soul grew weary of them, and their soul also loathed me. And I said, 'I will not shepherd you. Let the dying die, and let the perishing perish; let those who are left eat one another's flesh.'
Then I took my staff Favor and broke it, to break my covenant that I had made with all the peoples. And it was broken on that day; and the poor of the flock who were watching me knew that it was the word of the LORD.
Then I said to them, 'If it seems good to you, give me my wages; and if not, refrain.' So they weighed out my wages—thirty pieces of silver. And the LORD said to me, 'Throw it to the potter—the handsome price at which I was valued by them.' So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the LORD to the potter.
Then I broke my second staff, Union, that I might break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel. And the LORD said to me, 'Take for yourself the implements of a worthless shepherd.'
For behold, I will raise up a shepherd in the land who will not care; he will not seek the young, he will not heal the injured, he will not feed the healthy, but he will devour the flesh of the fat and tear off their hoofs.
Woe to the worthless shepherd who deserts the flock! A sword is against his arm and against his right eye; his arm shall be wholly withered, his right eye utterly blinded.