New King James Version

New International Version

Desolation of Israel

Open your doors, O Lebanon,
That fire may devour your cedars.

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

Wail, O cypress, for the cedar has fallen,
Because the mighty trees are ruined.
Wail, O oaks of Bashan,
For the thick forest has come down.

2

Wail, you juniper, for the cedar has fallen;
the stately trees are ruined!
Wail, oaks of Bashan;
the dense forest has been cut down!

3

There is the sound of wailing shepherds!
For their glory is in ruins.
There is the sound of roaring lions!
For the [a]pride of the Jordan is in ruins.

3

Listen to the wail of the shepherds;
their rich pastures are destroyed!
Listen to the roar of the lions;
the lush thicket of the Jordan is ruined!

4

Prophecy of the Shepherds

Thus says the Lord my God, “Feed the flock for slaughter,

4

Two Shepherds

This is what the Lord my God says: “Shepherd the flock marked for slaughter.

5

whose owners slaughter them and feel no guilt; those who sell them say, ‘Blessed be the Lord, for I am rich’; and their shepherds do not pity them.

5

Their buyers slaughter them and go unpunished. Those who sell them say, ‘Praise the Lord, I am rich!’ Their own shepherds do not spare 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.”

6

For I will no longer have pity on the people of the land,” declares the Lord. “I will give everyone into the hands of their neighbors and their king. They will devastate the land, and I will not rescue anyone from their hands.”

7

So I fed the flock for slaughter, [c]in particular 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.

7

So I shepherded the flock marked for slaughter, particularly the oppressed of the flock. Then I took two staffs and called one Favor and the other Union, and I shepherded the flock.

8

I [f]dismissed the three shepherds in one month. My soul loathed them, and their soul also abhorred me.

8

In one month I got rid of the three shepherds.
The flock detested me, and I grew weary of them

9

Then I said, “I will not feed you. Let what is dying die, and what is perishing perish. Let those that are left eat each other’s flesh.”

9

and said, “I will not be your shepherd. Let the dying die, and the perishing perish. Let those who are left eat one another’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.

10

Then I took my staff called Favor and broke it, revoking the covenant I had made with all the nations.

11

So it was broken on that day. Thus the[h] poor of the flock, who were watching me, knew that it was the word of the Lord.

11

It was revoked on that day, and so the oppressed of the flock who were watching me knew 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 weighed out for my wages thirty pieces of silver.

12

I told them, “If you think it best, give me my pay; but if not, keep it.” So they paid me thirty pieces of silver.

13

And the Lord said to me, “Throw it to the 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.

13

And the Lord said to me, “Throw it to the potter” — the handsome price at which they valued me! So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them to the potter at the house of the Lord.

14

Then I cut in two my other staff, [j]Bonds, that I might break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.

14

Then I broke my second staff called Union, breaking the family bond between Judah and Israel.

15

And the Lord said to me, “Next, take for yourself the implements of a foolish shepherd.

15

Then the Lord said to me, “Take again the equipment 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 pieces.

16

For I am going to raise up a shepherd over the land who will not care for the lost, or seek the young, or heal the injured, or feed the healthy, but will eat the meat of the choice sheep, tearing off their hooves.

17

“Woe 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.”

17

“Woe to the worthless shepherd,
who deserts the flock!
May the sword strike his arm and his right eye!
May his arm be completely withered,
his right eye totally blinded!”

Parallel

New King James Version

New International Version

Zechariah 11

Zechariah 11