Zechariah 11:5

Translations

Modern

…whose buyers slaughter them without remorse. Those who sell them say, ‘Blessed be the LORD, for I am rich!’ Even their own shepherds have no compassion on them.

Traditional

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.

Literal

Those who are buying them will slaughter them, and they will not be held guilty; and those selling them will say, ‘Blessed be YHWH, for I have become rich.’ And their own shepherds have no compassion on them.

Latin

…quæ qui possederant occidebant, et non dolebant, et vendebant ea, dicentes: Benedictus Dominus! divites facti sumus: et pastores eorum non parcebant eis.

Original

Hebrew

English

…whose buyers slaughter them without remorse. Those who sell them say, ‘Blessed be the LORD, for I am rich!’ Even their own shepherds have no compassion on them.

Notes

Zechariah 11:5

The sheep (the Hebrew people) were being sold as slaves to foreign powers, foreign allies, or local slave traders (see Amos 2:6).
The sellers were the leaders, who cared more about getting rich than the well-being of the people.

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 50:7
All who found them devoured them, and their enemies said, ‘We are not guilty, for they have sinned against the LORD, their true pasture, the LORD, the hope of their fathers.’
1 Timothy 6:5–10
…and constant friction between men of depraved mind who are devoid of the truth. These men regard godliness as a means of gain.
Hosea 12:8
And Ephraim boasts: “How rich I have become! I have found wealth for myself. In all my labors, they can find in me no iniquity that is sinful.”
John 10:12–13
The hired hand is not the shepherd, and the sheep are not his own. When he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf pounces on them and scatters the flock.
Ezekiel 34:2–4
“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 23:13
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let in those who wish to enter.
Jeremiah 2:3
Israel was holy to the LORD, the firstfruits of His harvest. All who devoured her were found guilty; disaster came upon them,’” declares the LORD.
Ezekiel 22:25–27
The conspiracy of the princes in her midst is like a roaring lion tearing its prey. They devour the people, seize the treasures and precious things, and multiply the widows within her.
Matthew 21:12–13
Then Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those selling doves.
Micah 3:9–12
Now hear this, O leaders of the house of Jacob and rulers of the house of Israel, who despise justice and pervert all that is right,
Ezekiel 34:21
Since you shove with flank and shoulder, butting all the weak ones with your horns until you have scattered them abroad,
2 Kings 4:1
Now the wife of one of the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha, “Your servant, my husband, is dead, and you know that your servant feared the LORD. And now his creditor is coming to take my two children as his slaves!”

Glossary

Zechariah, Book of

Topics

Christian Minister: False and Corrupt

Zechariah 11:5

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Related verses?

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Translations

Original

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Events

Related verses

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