Zechariah 11

1 [You people of] [APO] Lebanon [should] open your gates, [because you will not be able to stop] fire from burning your cedar [trees]!

Open your doors, Lebanon, that fire may devour your cedars!

2 Your cypress/pine [trees] [APO] should [also] wail because the cedar [trees] have been cut down. Those glorious/great trees have been destroyed. The oak trees in the Bashan [region] should also wail, because the other trees in the forest have been cut down.

Lament, cypress trees, for the cedar trees have fallen! What was majestic has been devastated! Lament, you oaks of Bashan, for the strong forest has gone down.

3 And listen to the shepherds crying because the fertile pastures have been ruined. Listen to the lions roar; they roar because the delightful forest [where they live] near the Jordan [River] has been ruined.

The shepherds howl, for their glory has been destroyed! The voice of the young lions' roar, for the pride of the Jordan River has been devastated!

4 This is what Yahweh my God said [to me]: “[I want you to] become a shepherd for a flock [of sheep that are about] to be slaughtered.

This is what Yahweh my God says, “Like a shepherd, watch over the flock set aside for slaughter!

5 The people who are going to buy the sheep will kill the sheep, and they will not be punished. Those who are selling the sheep say, ‘[I] praise Yahweh, [because] I will become rich!’ Even the shepherds do not feel sorry for the sheep.

(The ones who buy them slaughter them and are not punished, and the ones who sell them say, 'Blessed be Yahweh! I have become rich!' for the shepherds working for the flocks' owners have no pity on them.)

6 And similarly, I no longer feel sorry for the people of this country. I am going to allow many of them [HYP] to be captured by other people or by their king. Those who capture them will ruin this country, and I will not rescue any [of the people].”

For I will no longer pity the inhabitants of the land!—this is Yahweh's declaration. See! I myself am about to turn over every person into the hand of his neighbor and into the hand of his king, and they will destroy the land and none of them will I deliver them from their hand.”

7 So I became the shepherd of a flock [of sheep that were about] to be slaughtered [for their meat to be sold] to the dealers. [I took good care of the sheep, even the ones that were the weakest sheep. Then] I took two [shepherds’] /walking sticks). I named the one [staff] ‘Kindness’ and the other [staff] ‘Union’. And I took good care of the sheep.

So I became the shepherd of the flock marked for slaughter, for those who dealt in sheep. I took two staffs; one staff I called “Favor” and the other I called “Unity.” In this way I shepherded the flock.

8 But the three shepherds [who had been working with me] detested me, and I became impatient with them. Within one month I (dismissed/got rid of) those shepherds.

In one month I destroyed the three shepherds. I became impatient with them, and they also hated me.

9 So I said [to the dealers], “I will no [longer] be the shepherd. I will allow the ones that are dying to die. I will allow the ones that are getting lost to get lost. And I will not prevent those that remain from destroying each other.”

Then I said to the owners, “I will not work as a shepherd for you any longer. The sheep that are dying—let them die; the sheep that are being destroyed—let them be destroyed. Let the sheep that remain each eat the flesh of its neighbor.”

10 Then I took the staff that I had named ‘Kindness’ and I broke it. [That showed that Yahweh] was annulling/canceling the agreement that he had made with all the people-groups.

So I took my staff “Favor” and broke it to break the covenant that I had made with all of my tribes.

11 So that agreement was ended immediately. And the men who bought and sold sheep who were watching me knew [by seeing what I was doing] that I was giving them a message from Yahweh.

On that day the covenant was broken, and those who dealt in sheep and who were watching me knew that Yahweh had spoken.

12 I told them, “If you think it is what you should do, pay me [for taking care of the sheep]. If you do not think that is what you should do, do not pay me.” So they paid me [only] 30 pieces of silver.

I said to them, “If it seems good to you, pay me my wages. But if not, do not do it.” So they weighed out my wages—thirty pieces of silver.

13 Then Yahweh said to me, “[That is a ridiculously small amount of money that they have paid you]! [So] throw it to the man who makes clay pots!” So I took the silver to the temple of Yahweh, and I threw it in the chest where the offerings/money is kept.

Then Yahweh said to me, “Deposit the silver in the treasury, the excellent price at which they valued you!” So I took the thirty pieces of silver and deposited them in the treasury in the house of Yahweh.

14 Then I broke my second staff, [the one that I named] ‘Union’. That [indicated that] Judah and Israel would no longer be united.

Then I broke my second staff, “Unity,” to break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.

15 Then Yahweh said to me, “Take again the things that a foolish shepherd uses,

Yahweh said to me, “Again, take the equipment of a foolish shepherd for yourself,

16 because I am going to appoint a new king for the people, [one who will not take care of my people. He will be like a foolish shepherd]: [MET] He will not take care of those who are dying, those who are very young, those who have been injured, or those who do not have enough food. Instead, he will [treat them very cruelly, like a shepherd who would] [MET] kill and eat the best sheep and tear off their hoofs.

for see, I am about to set in place a shepherd in the land. He will not care for the perishing sheep. He will not seek out the sheep gone missing, nor heal the crippled sheep. He will not feed the sheep that are healthy, but will eat the flesh of the fattened sheep and will tear off their hooves.

17 But terrible things will happen to that foolish/useless king who abandons the people [MET] over whom he rules. [His enemies] will strike his arm and his right eye with their swords. [The result will be that] he will have no strength in his arm, and his right eye will become completely blind.”

Woe to the worthless shepherd who forsakes the flock! May the sword come against his arm and his right eye! May his arm wither away and may his right eye become blind!”