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Zechariah 11
New Living Translation
11Open your doors, Lebanon, so that fire may devour your cedar forests.H6605H1817H3844H784H398H730 2Weep, 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.H3213H1265H730H5307H117H7703H3213H437H1316H3293H1208H1219H3381 3Listen 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.H6963H3215H7462H155H7703H6963H7581H3715H1347H3383H7703 H3068H430H7462H6629H2028 5The buyers slaughter their sheep without remorse. The sellers say, ‘Praise the Lord! Now I’m rich!’ Even the shepherds have no compassion for them.H7069H2026H816H4376H559H1288H3068H6238H7462H2550 6Likewise, 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.”H2550H3427H776H5002H3068H4672H120H376H7453H3027H3027H4428H3807H776H3027H5337 7So 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.H7462H6629H2028H3651H6041H6629H3947H8147H4731H259H7121H5278H259H7121H2254H7462H6629 8I got rid of their three evil shepherds in a single month. But I became impatient with these sheep, and they hated me, too.H7969H7462H3582H259H3391H5315H7114H5315H973 9So 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!”H559H7462H4191H4191H3582H3582H7604H398H802H1320H7468 10Then 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.H3947H4731H5278H1438H6565H1285H3772H5971 11That 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.H6565H3117H6041H6629H8104H3045H1697H3068 12And 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.H559H5869H2896H3051H7939H2308H8254H7939H7970H3701 13And the Lord said to me, “Throw it to the potter
”—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.H3068H559H7993H3335H145H3366H3365H3947H7970H3701H7993H3335H1004H3068 14Then I took my other staff, Union, and cut it in two, showing that the bond of unity between Judah and Israel was broken.H1438H8145H4731H2254H6565H264H3063H3478 15Then the Lord said to me, “Go again and play the part of a worthless shepherd.H3068H559H3947H3627H196H7462 16This 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.H6965H7462H776H6485H3582H1245H5289H7495H7665H3557H5324H398H1320H1277H6561H6541H6561 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.”H1945H457H7473H5800H6629H2719H2220H3225H5869H2220H3001H3001H3225H5869H3543H3543
The Good and Evil Shepherds
4This is what the Lord my God says: “Go and care for the flock that is intended for slaughter.H559”—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.H3068, nor heal the injured, nor feed the healthy. Instead, this shepherd will eat the meat of the fattest sheep and tear off their hooves.H6965
