Zechariah chapter 11 presents a somber and symbolic prophecy concerning judgment against unfaithful leadership and the coming rejection of the true shepherd. The chapter opens with vivid imagery of fire consuming the forests and pastures of Lebanon, Bashan, and other regions, symbolizing devastation and mourning among the leaders and shepherds who once thrived in these areas but now face destruction due to their failures.
The central portion of the chapter presents a powerful prophetic act in which Zechariah is instructed to act as a shepherd over a flock destined for slaughter, representing the mistreatment of God’s people by corrupt leaders. After faithfully shepherding the flock for a time, the prophet is told to break his staffs, symbolizing the breaking of unity and protection among the people. In a striking moment, the prophet receives thirty pieces of silver as payment for his shepherding work, which he is instructed to throw to the potter, foreshadowing the betrayal of Christ and the price paid by Judas Iscariot as recorded in the New Testament.
The chapter concludes with a warning about the rise of a worthless shepherd, one who does not care for the flock but instead exploits and harms them, symbolizing corrupt leadership that abandons its responsibility to protect and guide God’s people. This portion of Zechariah serves as a stark contrast to the earlier promises of restoration, highlighting the consequences of rejecting true leadership and embracing false, self serving guidance.
Chapter 11 (BBE)
1 Let your doors be open, O Lebanon, so that fire may be burning among your cedars.
2 Give a cry of grief, O fir-tree, for the fall of the cedar, because the great ones have been made low: give cries of grief, O you oaks of Bashan, for the strong trees of the wood have come down.
3 The sound of the crying of the keepers of the flock! for their glory is made waste: the sound of the loud crying of the young lions! for the pride of Jordan is made waste.
4 This is what the Lord my God has said: Take care of the flock of death;
5 Whose owners put them to death and have no sense of sin; and those who get a price for them say, May the Lord be praised for I have much wealth: and the keepers of the flock have no pity for them.
6 For I will have no more pity for the people of the land, says the Lord; but I will give up everyone into his neighbour’s hand and into the hand of his king: and they will make the land waste, and I will not keep them safe from their hands.
7 So I took care of the flock of death, for those who made profit out of the flock; and I took for myself two rods, naming one Beautiful, and the other Bands; and I took care of the flock.
8 And in one month I put an end to the three keepers of the flock; for my soul was tired of them, and their souls were disgusted with me.
9 And I said, I will not take care of you: If death comes to any, let death be its fate; if any is cut off, let it be cut off; and let the rest take one another’s flesh for food.
10 And I took my rod Beautiful, cutting it in two, so that the Lord’s agreement, which he had made with all the peoples, might be broken.
11 And it was broken on that day: and the sheep-traders, who were watching me, were certain that it was the word of the Lord.
12 And I said to them, If it seems good to you, give me my payment; and if not, do not give it. So they gave me my payment by weight, thirty shekels of silver.
13 And the Lord said to me, Put it into the store-house, the price at which I was valued by them. And I took the thirty shekels of silver and put them into the store-house in the house of the Lord.
14 Then I took my other rod, the one named Bands, cutting it in two, so that the relation of brothers between Judah and Israel might be broken.
15 And the Lord said to me, Take again the instruments of a foolish keeper of sheep.
16 For see, I will put a sheep-keeper over the land, who will have no care for that which is cut off, and will not go in search of the wanderers, or make well what is broken, and he will not give food to that which is ill, but he will take for his food the flesh of the fat, and let their feet be broken.
17 A curse on the foolish keeper who goes away from the flock! the sword will be on his arm and on his right eye: his arm will become quite dry and his eye will be made completely dark.
Important Verses
Verse 4: God instructs the prophet to shepherd the flock destined for slaughter, symbolizing the mistreatment of the people under corrupt leadership.
Verse 12: The prophet is paid thirty pieces of silver for his shepherding work, a price later connected to the betrayal of Jesus Christ.
Verse 13: The instruction to throw the silver to the potter, symbolically fulfilled in the New Testament account of Judas Iscariot.
Verse 16: A description of a shepherd who does not care for the flock, symbolizing corrupt and negligent leadership that harms rather than protects.
Verse 17: A warning of judgment against the worthless shepherd, declaring that his strength and leadership will be broken.
