New King James Version

New Living Translation

Desolation of Israel

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

Open your doors, Lebanon,
so that fire may devour your cedar forests.

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

Weep, you cypress trees, for all the ruined cedars;
the most majestic ones have fallen.
Weep, you oaks of Bashan,
for the thick forests have 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 wailing of the shepherds,
for their rich pastures are destroyed.
Hear the young lions roaring,
for their thickets in the Jordan Valley are ruined.

4

Prophecy of the Shepherds

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

4

The Good and Evil Shepherds

This is what the LORD my God says: “Go and care for the flock that is intended 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

The buyers slaughter their sheep without remorse. The sellers say, ‘Praise the LORD! Now I’m rich!’ Even the shepherds have no compassion for 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

Likewise, I will no longer have pity on the people of the land,” says the LORD. “I will let them fall into each other’s hands and into the hands of their king. They will turn the land into a wilderness, and I will not rescue them.”

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 cared for the flock intended for slaughter — the flock that was oppressed. Then I took two shepherd’s staffs and named one Favor and the other Union.

8

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

8

I got rid of their three evil shepherds in a single month.
But I became impatient with these sheep, and they hated me, too.

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

So I told them, “I won’t be your shepherd any longer. If you die, you die. If you are killed, you are killed. And let those who remain devour each other!”

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 cut it in two, showing that I had revoked 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

That was the end of my covenant with them. The suffering flock was watching me, and they knew that the LORD was speaking through my actions.

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

And I said to them, “If you like, give me my wages, whatever I am worth; but only if you want to.” So they counted out for my wages 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 pottera” — this magnificent sum at which they valued me! So I took the thirty coins and threw them to the potter in the Temple 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 took my other staff, Union, and cut it in two, showing that the bond of unity between Judah and Israel was broken.

15

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

15

Then the LORD said to me, “Go again and play the part of a worthless 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

This illustrates how I will give this nation a shepherd who will not care for those who are dying, nor look after the young, nor heal the injured, nor feed the healthy. Instead, this shepherd will eat the meat of the fattest sheep and tear 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

“What sorrow awaits this worthless shepherd
who abandons the flock!
The sword will cut his arm
and pierce his right eye.
His arm will become useless,
and his right eye completely blind.”

Parallel

New King James Version

New Living Translation

Zechariah 11

Zechariah 11