Zechariah 11

1 Open thy doors, O Lebanon, that the fire may devour thy cedars.

Open your doors, Lebanon, so that fire may devour your cedars.

2 Howl, O fir tree, for the cedar is fallen, because the goodly ones are spoiled: howl, O ye oaks of Bashan, for the strong forest is come down.

Wail, pine-tree, for the cedar is fallen. Wail, oaks of Bashan, for the inaccessible forest has fallen.

3 A voice of the howling of the shepherds! for their glory is spoiled: a voice of the roaring of young lions! for the pride of Jordan is spoiled.

Listen to the wailing of the shepherds! Their glory is destroyed. Listen to the roaring of young lions! Blasted is the thick forest of the Jordan.

4 Thus said the LORD my God: Feed the flock of slaughter;

The Lord said to me: shepherd the flock destined for slaughter,

5 whose possessors slay them, and hold themselves not guilty; and they that sell them say, Blessed be the LORD, for I am rich: and their own shepherds pity them not.

whose possessors slaughter them, and hold themselves not guilty! The people who sell them say, Blessed be the Lord, for I am rich! And their own shepherds have no compassion for them.

6 For I will no more pity the inhabitants of the land, saith the LORD: but, lo, I will deliver the men every one into his neighbour’s hand, and into the hand of his king: and they shall smite the land, and out of their hand I will not deliver them.

I will no longer have pity on the people of this earth, says the Lord. I will turn neighbour against neighbour, and put everyone under the power of a king, and when the land is devastated I will not rescue them.

7 So I fed the flock of slaughter, verily the poor of the flock. And I took unto me two staves; the one I called Beauty, and the other I called Bands; and I fed the flock.

So I shepherded the flock of slaughter for the sheep-merchants. I took two staffs: one I called Mercy and the other I called Union. So I shepherded the sheep.

8 And I cut off the three shepherds in one month; for my soul was weary of them, and their soul also loathed me.

I set aside three of the shepherds in one month; for I was indignant against them, and they also were displeased at me.

9 Then said I, I will not feed you: that that dieth, let it die; and that that is to be cut off, let it be cut off; and let them which are left eat every one the flesh of another.

I said, I will not shepherd you. What is dead, let it die. What is set aside, let it be set aside. And let those who are left devour one another’s flesh.

10 And I took my staff Beauty, and cut it asunder, that I might break my covenant which I had made with all the peoples.

And I took my staff, Mercy, and broke it, so as to break my covenant which I had made with all the peoples.

11 And it was broken in that day: and thus the poor of the flock that gave heed unto me knew that it was the word of the LORD.

In that day it was broken, and the sheep-merchants who watched me knew that it was the Lord’s message.

12 And I said unto them, If ye think good, give me my hire; and if not, forbear. So they weighed for my hire thirty [pieces] of silver.

And I said to them, ‘If it is good in your sight, give me my wage. If not, don’t.’ So they weighed out my wage, thirty pieces of silver.

13 And the LORD said unto me, Cast it unto the potter, the goodly price that I was prised at of them. And I took the thirty [pieces] of silver, and cast them unto the potter, in the house of the LORD.

And the Lord said to me, Cast it into the treasury – the precious wage that at which I was valued by them! So I took the thirty pieces of silver and cast them into the house of the Lord, into the treasury.

14 Then I cut asunder mine other staff, even Bands, that I might break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.

Then I broke my second staff called Union so as to dissolve the brotherhood between Judah and Jerusalem.

15 And the LORD said unto me, Take unto thee yet again the instruments of a foolish shepherd.

And the Lord said to me: Take again the implements of a worthless shepherd.

16 For, lo, I will raise up a shepherd in the land, which shall not visit those that be cut off, neither shall seek those that be scattered, nor heal that that is broken; neither shall he feed that which is sound, but he shall eat the flesh of the fat, and shall tear their hoofs in pieces.

For I am about to appoint a shepherd over the land. Those who are thrust down he will not visit. Those who are scattered he will not seek out. The wounded he will not heal, the sick he will not make whole, but the flesh of the fat he will devour and even their hoofs he will tear.

17 Woe to the worthless shepherd that leaveth the flock, the sword shall be upon his arm, and upon his right eye: his arm shall be clean dried up, and his right eye shall be utterly darkened.

Woe to my worthless shepherd, who deserts the flock! May the sword strike his arm and his right eye. May his arm completely wither. And his right eye be blinded.