Zechariah 11:17

Translations

Modern

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

Traditional

Woe to the idol 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.

Literal

Woe to the worthless shepherd, leaving behind the flock. May a sword be against his arm and against his right eye. May his arm completely wither, and his right eye be exceedingly!”

Latin

O pastor, et idolum derelinquens gregem: gladius super brachium ejus, et super oculum dextrum ejus: brachium ejus ariditate siccabitur, et oculus dexter ejus tenebrescens obscurabitur.

Original

Hebrew

English

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

Notes

Zechariah 11:17

This oracle of woe is a poetic curse against the worthless shepherd for abandoning the flock. The arm and right eye represent the physical and mental abilities of the shepherd. The injured arm and blinded eye leave the worthless shepherd without strength or vision. These wounds bring his selfish and harmful rule to an end.

Zechariah 11:4–17

The Hebrew leaders are compared to shepherds in the last three messages (Zechariah 9:9–11:17) of Zechariah’s first oracle (Zechariah 9–11). This message uses allegory and symbolic actions by Zechariah to show the wickedness of Israel’s leaders. The prophet acts out a story of a “good shepherd” chosen by God to guide and unite the people. However, the people reject this shepherd and the promise of protection from other nations (Zechariah 11:10) and unity between Judah and Israel (11:14). Zechariah’s symbolic actions point ahead to the work of Jesus the Messiah. His ministry fulfills this image as the Good Shepherd (see John 10:1–21).

Theme notes and profiles

Apocalyptic Literature The Shepherd

Events

Prophecies of Zechariahc. 520 BC

Related verses

Jeremiah 23:1
“Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of My pasture!” declares the LORD.
Ezekiel 13:3
This is what the Lord GOD says: Woe to the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit yet have seen nothing.
1 Corinthians 8:4
So about eating food sacrificed to idols: We know that an idol is nothing at all in the world, and that there is no God but one.
Ezekiel 34:2
“Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Woe to the shepherds of Israel, who only feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed their flock?
Matthew 23:16
Woe to you, blind guides! You say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.’
Isaiah 42:19–20
Who is blind but My servant, or deaf like the messenger I am sending? Who is blind like My covenant partner, or blind like the servant of the LORD?
1 Corinthians 10:19–20
Am I suggesting, then, that food sacrificed to an idol is anything, or that an idol is anything?
Jeremiah 50:35–37
A sword is against the Chaldeans, declares the LORD, against those who live in Babylon, and against her officials and wise men.
Jeremiah 23:32
“Indeed,” declares the LORD, “I am against those who prophesy false dreams and retell them to lead My people astray with their reckless lies. It was not I who sent them or commanded them, and they are of no benefit at all to these people,” declares the LORD.
Isaiah 6:9–10
And He replied: “Go and tell this people, ‘Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’
Amos 8:9–10
And in that day, declares the Lord GOD, I will make the sun go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in the daytime.
Ezekiel 30:21–24
“Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt. See, it has not been bound up for healing, or splinted for strength to hold the sword.

Zechariah 11:17

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