Jeremiah 23:2

23:2 So the Lord God of Israel has this to say about the leaders who are ruling over his people: “You have caused my people ¹  to be dispersed and driven into exile. You have not taken care of them. So I will punish you for the evil that you have done. ²  I, the Lord, affirm it! ³ 

Jeremiah 23:11-15

23:11 Moreover, ⁴  the Lord says, ⁵ 

“Both the prophets and priests are godless.

I have even found them doing evil in my temple!

23:12 So the paths they follow will be dark and slippery.

They will stumble and fall headlong.

For I will bring disaster on them.

A day of reckoning is coming for them.” ⁶ 

The Lord affirms it! ⁷ 

23:13 The Lord says, ⁸  “I saw the prophets of Samaria ⁹ 

doing something that was disgusting. ¹⁰ 

They prophesied in the name of the god Baal

and led my people Israel astray. ¹¹ 

23:14 But I see the prophets of Jerusalem ¹² 

doing something just as shocking.

They are unfaithful to me

and continually prophesy lies. ¹³ 

So they give encouragement to people who are doing evil,

with the result that they do not stop their evildoing. ¹⁴ 

I consider all of them as bad as the people of Sodom,

and the citizens of Jerusalem as bad as the people of Gomorrah. ¹⁵ 

23:15 So then I, the Lord who rules over all, ¹⁶ 

have something to say concerning the prophets of Jerusalem: ¹⁷ 

‘I will make these prophets eat the bitter food of suffering

and drink the poison water of judgment. ¹⁸ 

For the prophets of Jerusalem are the reason ¹⁹ 

that ungodliness ²⁰  has spread throughout the land.’”

Jeremiah 2:8

2:8 Your priests ²¹  did not ask, ‘Where is the Lord?’ ²² 

Those responsible for teaching my law ²³  did not really know me. ²⁴ 

Your rulers rebelled against me.

Your prophets prophesied in the name of the god Baal. ²⁵ 

They all worshiped idols that could not help them. ²⁶ 

Jeremiah 10:21

10:21 For our leaders ²⁷  are stupid.

They have not sought the Lord’s advice. ²⁸ 

So they do not act wisely,

and the people they are responsible for ²⁹  have all been scattered.

Jeremiah 12:10

12:10 Many foreign rulers ³⁰  will ruin the land where I planted my people. ³¹ 

They will trample all over my chosen land. ³² 

They will turn my beautiful land

into a desolate wasteland.

Jeremiah 22:22

22:22 My judgment will carry off all your leaders like a storm wind! ³³ 

Your allies will go into captivity.

Then you will certainly ³⁴  be disgraced and put to shame

because of all the wickedness you have done.

Jeremiah 25:34-36

25:34 Wail and cry out in anguish, you rulers!

Roll in the dust, you who shepherd flocks of people! ³⁵ 

The time for you to be slaughtered has come.

You will lie scattered and fallen like broken pieces of fine pottery. ³⁶ 

25:35 The leaders will not be able to run away and hide. ³⁷ 

The shepherds of the flocks will not be able to escape.

25:36 Listen to the cries of anguish of the leaders.

Listen to the wails of the shepherds of the flocks.

They are wailing because the Lord

is about to destroy their lands. ³⁸ 

Jeremiah 50:6

50:6 “My people have been lost sheep.

Their shepherds ³⁹  have allow them to go astray.

They have wandered around in the mountains.

They have roamed from one mountain and hill to another. ⁴⁰ 

They have forgotten their resting place.

Isaiah 56:9-12

The Lord Denounces Israel’s Paganism

56:9 All you wild animals in the fields, come and devour,

all you wild animals in the forest!

56:10 All their watchmen ⁴¹  are blind,

they are unaware. ⁴² 

All of them are like mute dogs,

unable to bark.

They pant, ⁴³  lie down,

and love to snooze.

56:11 The dogs have big appetites;

they are never full. ⁴⁴ 

They are shepherds who have no understanding;

they all go their own way,

each one looking for monetary gain. ⁴⁵ 

56:12 Each one says, ⁴⁶ 

‘Come on, I’ll get some wine!

Let’s guzzle some beer!

Tomorrow will be just like today!

We’ll have everything we want!’ ⁴⁷ 

Ezekiel 22:25-29

22:25 Her princes ⁴⁸  within her are like a roaring lion tearing its prey; they have devoured lives. They take away riches and valuable things; they have made many women widows ⁴⁹  within it. 22:26 Her priests abuse my law and have desecrated my holy things. They do not distinguish between the holy and the profane, ⁵⁰  or recognize any distinction between the unclean and the clean. They ignore ⁵¹  my Sabbaths and I am profaned in their midst. 22:27 Her officials are like wolves in her midst rending their prey – shedding blood and destroying lives – so they can get dishonest profit. 22:28 Her prophets coat their messages with whitewash. ⁵²  They see false visions and announce lying omens for them, saying, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says,’ when the Lord has not spoken. 22:29 The people of the land have practiced extortion and committed robbery. They have wronged the poor and needy; they have oppressed the foreigner who lives among them and denied them justice. ⁵³ 

Ezekiel 34:2-10

34:2 “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds ⁵⁴  of Israel; prophesy, and say to them – to the shepherds: ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Woe to the shepherds of Israel who have been feeding themselves! Should not shepherds feed the flock? 34:3 You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the choice animals, but you do not feed the sheep! 34:4 You have not strengthened the weak, healed the sick, bandaged the injured, brought back the strays, or sought the lost, but with force and harshness ⁵⁵  you have ruled over them. 34:5 They were scattered because they had no shepherd, and they became food for every wild beast. ⁵⁶  34:6 My sheep wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. My sheep were scattered over the entire face of the earth with no one looking or searching for them.

34:7 “‘Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: 34:8 As surely as I live, declares the sovereign Lord, my sheep have become prey and have become food for all the wild beasts. There was no shepherd, and my shepherds did not search for my flock, but fed themselves and did not feed my sheep, 34:9 Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: 34:10 This is what the sovereign Lord says: Look, I am against the shepherds, and I will demand my sheep from their hand. I will no longer let them be shepherds; ⁵⁷  the shepherds will not feed themselves anymore. I will rescue my sheep from their mouth, so that they will no longer be food for them.

Ezekiel 34:21

34:21 Because you push with your side and your shoulder, and thrust your horns at all the weak sheep until you scatter them abroad, ⁵⁸ 

Micah 3:11-12

3:11 Her ⁵⁹  leaders take bribes when they decide legal cases, ⁶⁰ 

her priests proclaim rulings for profit,

and her prophets read omens for pay.

Yet they claim to trust ⁶¹  the Lord and say,

“The Lord is among us. ⁶² 

Disaster will not overtake ⁶³  us!”

3:12 Therefore, because of you, ⁶⁴  Zion will be plowed up like ⁶⁵  a field,

Jerusalem will become a heap of ruins,

and the Temple Mount ⁶⁶  will become a hill overgrown with brush! ⁶⁷ 

Zephaniah 3:3-4

3:3 Her princes ⁶⁸  are as fierce as roaring lions; ⁶⁹ 

her rulers ⁷⁰  are as hungry as wolves in the desert, ⁷¹ 

who completely devour their prey by morning. ⁷² 

3:4 Her prophets are proud; ⁷³ 

they are deceitful men.

Her priests defile what is holy; ⁷⁴ 

they break God’s laws. ⁷⁵ 

Zechariah 11:5-7

11:5 Those who buy them ⁷⁶  slaughter them and are not held guilty; those who sell them say, ‘Blessed be the Lord, for I am rich.’ Their own shepherds have no compassion for them. 11:6 Indeed, I will no longer have compassion on the people of the land,” says the Lord, “but instead I will turn every last person over to his neighbor and his king. They will devastate the land, and I will not deliver it from them.”

11:7 So I ⁷⁷  began to shepherd the flock destined for slaughter, the most afflicted ⁷⁸  of all the flock. Then I took two staffs, ⁷⁹  calling one “Pleasantness” ⁸⁰  and the other “Binders,” ⁸¹  and I tended the flock.

Zechariah 11:15-17

11:15 Again the Lord said to me, “Take up once more the equipment of a foolish shepherd. ⁸²  11:16 Indeed, I am about to raise up a shepherd in the land who will not take heed to the sheep headed to slaughter, will not seek the scattered, and will not heal the injured. ⁸³  Moreover, he will not nourish the one that is healthy but instead will eat the meat of the fat sheep ⁸⁴  and tear off their hooves.

11:17 Woe to the worthless shepherd

who abandons the flock!

May a sword fall on his arm and his right eye!

May his arm wither completely away,

and his right eye become completely blind!”

Matthew 9:36

9:36 When ⁸⁵  he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were bewildered and helpless, ⁸⁶  like sheep without a shepherd.

Matthew 15:14

15:14 Leave them! They are blind guides. ⁸⁷  If someone who is blind leads another who is blind, ⁸⁸  both will fall into a pit.”

John 10:10

10:10 The thief comes only to steal and kill ⁸⁹  and destroy; I have come so that they may have life, and may have it abundantly. ⁹⁰ 

John 10:12

10:12 The hired hand, ⁹¹  who is not a shepherd and does not own sheep, sees the wolf coming and abandons ⁹²  the sheep and runs away. ⁹³  So the wolf attacks ⁹⁴  the sheep and scatters them.

[23:2]  ¹ tn Heb “about the shepherds who are shepherding my people. ‘You have caused my sheep….’” For the metaphor see the study note on the previous verse.

[23:2]  ² tn Heb “Therefore, thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning the shepherds who should be shepherding my people: You have scattered my sheep and driven them away and you have not taken care of them. Behold I will visit upon you the evil of your deeds.” “Therefore” announces the judgment which does not come until “Behold.” It is interrupted by the messenger formula and a further indictment. The original has been broken up to conform more to contemporary English style, the metaphors have been interpreted for clarity and the connections between the indictments and the judgments have been carried by “So.”

[23:2]  ³ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[23:11]  ⁴ tn The particle כִּי (ki) which begins this verse is parallel to the one at the beginning of the preceding verse. However, the connection is too distant to render it “for.” “Moreover” is intended to draw the parallel. The words “the Lord says” (Heb “Oracle of the Lord”) have been drawn up to the front to introduce the shift in speaker from Jeremiah, who describes his agitated state, to God, who describes the sins of the prophets and priests and his consequent judgment on them.

[23:11]  ⁵ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[23:12]  ⁶ tn For the last two lines see 11:23 and the notes there.

[23:12]  ⁷ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[23:13]  ⁸ tn The words “The Lord says” are not in the text, but it is clear from the content that he is the speaker. These words are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[23:13]  ⁹ map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.

[23:13]  ¹⁰ tn According to BDB 1074 s.v. תִּפְלָּה this word means “unseemly, unsavory.” The related adjective is used in Job 6:6 of the tastelessness of something that is unseasoned.

[23:13]  ¹¹ tn Heb “by Baal.”

[23:14]  ¹² map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[23:14]  ¹³ tn Or “they commit adultery and deal falsely.” The word “shocking” only occurs here and in 5:30 where it is found in the context of prophesying lies. This almost assures that the reference to “walking in lies” (Heb “in the lie”) is referring to false prophesy. Moreover the references to the prophets in 5:13 and in 14:13-15 are all in the context of false prophesy as are the following references in this chapter in 23:24, 26, 32 and in 28:15. This appears to be the theme of this section. This also makes it likely that the reference to adultery is not literal adultery, though two of the false prophets in Babylon were guilty of this (29:23). The reference to “encouraging those who do evil” that follows also makes more sense if they were preaching messages of comfort rather than messages of doom. The verbs here are infinitive absolutes in place of the finite verb, probably used to place greater emphasis on the action (cf. Hos 4:2 in a comparable judgment speech.)

[23:14]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “So they strengthen the hands of those doing evil so that they do not turn back from their evil.” For the use of the figure “strengthen the hands” meaning “encourage” see Judg 9:24; Ezek 13:22 (and cf. BDB 304 s.v. חָזַק Piel.2). The vav consecutive on the front of the form gives the logical consequence equivalent to “so” in the translation.

[23:14]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “All of them are to me like Sodom and its [Jerusalem’s] inhabitants like Gomorrah.”

[23:15]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “Yahweh of armies.”

[23:15]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “Therefore, thus says the Lord…concerning the prophets.” The person is shifted to better conform with English style and the word “of Jerusalem” is supplied in the translation to avoid the possible misunderstanding that the judgment applies to the prophets of Samaria who had already been judged long before.

[23:15]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “I will feed this people wormwood and make them drink poison water.” For these same words of judgment on another group see 9:15 (9:14 HT). “Wormwood” and “poison water” are not to be understood literally here but are symbolic of judgment and suffering. See, e.g., BDB 542 s.v. לַעֲנָה.

[23:15]  ¹⁹ tn The compound preposition מֵאֵת (me’et) expresses source or origin (see BDB 86 s.v. אֵת 4.c). Context shows that the origin is in their false prophesying which encourages people in their evil behavior.

[23:15]  ²⁰ sn A word that derives from this same Hebrew word is used in v. 11 at the beginning of the Lord’s criticism of the prophet and priest. This is a common rhetorical device for bracketing material that belongs together. The criticism has, however, focused on the false prophets and the judgment due them.

[2:8]  ²¹ tn Heb “The priests…the ones who grasp my law…the shepherds…the prophets…they…”

[2:8]  ²² sn See the study note on 2:6.

[2:8]  ²³ tn Heb “those who handle my law.”

[2:8]  ²⁴ tn Or “were not committed to me.” The Hebrew verb rendered “know” refers to more than mere intellectual knowledge. It carries also the ideas of emotional and volitional commitment as well intimacy. See for example its use in contexts like Hos 4:1; 6:6.

[2:8]  ²⁵ tn Heb “by Baal.”

[2:8]  ²⁶ tn Heb “and they followed after those things [the word is plural] which do not profit.” The poetic structure of the verse, four lines in which a distinct subject appears at the beginning followed by a fifth line beginning with a prepositional phrase and no distinct subject, argues that this line is climactic and refers to all four classes enumerated in the preceding lines. See W. L. Holladay, Jeremiah (Hermeneia), 1:88-89. There may be a play or pun in the Hebrew text on the name for the god Baal (בַּעַל, ba’al) and the verb “cannot help you” (Heb “do not profit”) which is spelled יַעַל (ya’al).

[10:21]  ²⁷ tn Heb “the shepherds.”

[10:21]  ²⁸ tn Heb “They have not sought the Lord.”

[10:21]  ²⁹ tn Heb “all their flock (or “pasturage”).”

[12:10]  ³⁰ tn Heb “Many shepherds.” For the use of the term “shepherd” as a figure for rulers see the notes on 10:21.

[12:10]  ³¹ tn Heb “my vineyard.” To translate literally would presuppose an unlikely familiarity of this figure on the part of some readers. To translate as “vineyards” as some do would be misleading because that would miss the figurative nuance altogether.

[12:10]  ³² tn Heb “my portion.”

[22:22]  ³³ tn Heb “A wind will shepherd away all your shepherds.” The figures have all been interpreted in the translation for the sake of clarity. For the use of the word “wind” as a metaphor or simile for God’s judgment (using the enemy forces) see 4:11-12; 13:24; 18:17. For the use of the word “shepherd” to refer to rulers/leaders 2:8; 10:21; and 23:1-4. For the use of the word “shepherd away” in the sense of carry off/drive away see BDB 945 s.v. רָעָה 2.d and compare Job 20:26. There is an obvious wordplay involved in two different senses of the word “shepherd,” one referring to their leaders and one referring to the loss of those leaders by the wind driving them off. There may even be a further play involving the word “wickedness” which comes from a word having the same consonants. If the oracles in this section are chronologically ordered this threat was fulfilled in 597 b.c. when many of the royal officials and nobles were carried away captive with Jehoiachin (see 2 Kgs 24:15) who is the subject of the next oracle.

[22:22]  ³⁴ tn The use of the Hebrew particle כִּי (ki) is intensive here and probably also at the beginning of the last line of v. 21. (See BDB 472 s.v. כִּי 1.e.)

[25:34]  ³⁵ tn Heb “Wail and cry out, you shepherds. Roll in the dust, you leaders of the flock.” The terms have been reversed to explain the figure.

[25:34]  ³⁶ tn The meaning of this line is debated. The Greek version does not have the words “lie scattered” and it reads the words “like broken pieces of fine pottery” (Heb “like choice vessels”; כִּכְלִי חֶמְדָּה, kikhli khemdah) as “like choice rams” (כְּאֵילֵי חֶמְדָּה, kÿ’ele khemdah); i.e., “the days have been completed for you to be slaughtered and you will fall like choice rams.” The reading of the Greek version fits the context better, but is probably secondary for that very reason. The word translated “lie scattered” (תְּפוֹצָה, tÿfotsah) occurs nowhere else and the switch to the simile of “choice vessels” is rather abrupt. However, this section has been characterized by switching metaphors. The key to the interpretation and translation here is the consequential nature of the verbal actions involved. “Fall” does not merely refer to the action but the effect, i.e., “lie fallen” (cf. BDB 657 s.v. נָפַל 7 and compare Judg 3:25; 1 Sam 31:8). Though the noun translated “lie scattered” does not occur elsewhere, the verb does. It is quite commonly used of dispersing people and that has led many to see that as the reference here. The word, however, can be used of scattering other things like seed (Isa 28:25), arrows (2 Sam 22:15; metaphorical for lightning), etc. Here it follows “slaughtered” and refers to their dead bodies. The simile (Heb “ fallen like choice vessels”) is elliptical, referring to “broken pieces” of choice vessels. In this sense the simile fits in perfectly with v. 33.

[25:35]  ³⁷ tn Heb “Flight [or “place of escape”] will perish from the shepherds.”

[25:36]  ³⁸ tn Heb “their pastures,” i.e., the place where they “shepherd” their “flocks.” The verb tenses in this section are not as clear as in the preceding. The participle in this verse is followed by a vav consecutive perfect like the imperatives in v. 34. The verbs in v. 38 are perfects but they can be and probably should be understood as prophetic like the perfect in v. 31 (נְתָנָם, nÿtanam) which is surrounded by imperfects, participles, and vav consecutive perfects.

[50:6]  ³⁹ sn The shepherds are the priests, prophets, and leaders who have led Israel into idolatry (2:8).

[50:6]  ⁴⁰ sn The allusion here, if it is not merely a part of the metaphor of the wandering sheep, is to the worship of the false gods on the high hills (2:20, 3:2).

[56:10]  ⁴¹ sn The “watchmen” are probably spiritual leaders, most likely prophets and priests, responsible for giving the people moral direction.

[56:10]  ⁴² tn Heb “they do not know”; KJV “they are all ignorant”; NIV “they all lack knowledge.”

[56:10]  ⁴³ tn The Hebrew text has הֹזִים (hozim), which appears to be derived from an otherwise unattested verbal root הָזָה (hazah). On the basis of alleged cognates, BDB 223 s.v. הָזָה offers the definition “dream, rave” while HALOT 243 s.v. הזה lists “pant.” In this case the dog metaphor of the preceding lines continues. The reference to dogs at the beginning of v. 11 favors the extension of the metaphor. The Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a has חזים (“seers”) here. In this case the “watchmen” are directly identified as prophets and depicted as lazy.

[56:11]  ⁴⁴ sn The phrase never full alludes to the greed of the leaders.

[56:11]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “for his gain from his end.”

[56:12]  ⁴⁶ tn The words “each one says” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[56:12]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “great, [in] abundance, very much,” i.e., “very great indeed.” See HALOT 452 s.v. יֶתֶר.

[22:25]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “a conspiracy of her prophets is in her midst.” The LXX reads “whose princes” rather than “a conspiracy of prophets.” The prophets are mentioned later in the paragraph (v. 28). If one follows the LXX in verse 25, then five distinct groups are mentioned in vv. 25-29: princes, priests, officials, prophets, and the people of the land. For a defense of the Septuagintal reading, see L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:32, and D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:720, n. 4.

[22:25]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “her widows they have multiplied.” The statement alludes to their murderous acts.

[22:26]  ⁵⁰ tn Or “between the consecrated and the common.”

[22:26]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “hide their eyes from.” The idiom means to disregard or ignore something or someone (see Lev 20:4; 1 Sam 12:3; Prov 28:27; Isa 1:15).

[22:28]  ⁵² tn Heb “her prophets coat for themselves with whitewash.” The expression may be based on Ezek 13:10-15.

[22:29]  ⁵³ tn Heb “and the foreigner they have oppressed without justice.”

[34:2]  ⁵⁴ tn The term shepherd is applied to kings in the ancient Near East. In the OT the Lord is often addressed as shepherd of Israel (Gen 49:24; Ps 8:1). The imagery of shepherds as Israel’s leaders is also employed (Jer 23:1-2).

[34:4]  ⁵⁵ tn The term translated “harshness” is used to describe the oppression the Israelites suffered as slaves in Egypt (Exod 1:13).

[34:5]  ⁵⁶ tn As a case of dittography, the MT repeats “and they were scattered” at the end of the verse.

[34:10]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “I will cause them to cease from feeding sheep.”

[34:21]  ⁵⁸ tn Heb “outside.”

[3:11]  ⁵⁹ sn The pronoun Her refers to Jerusalem (note the previous line).

[3:11]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “judge for a bribe.”

[3:11]  ⁶¹ tn Heb “they lean upon” (so KJV, NIV, NRSV); NAB “rely on.”

[3:11]  ⁶² tn Heb “Is not the Lord in our midst?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Of course he is!”

[3:11]  ⁶³ tn Or “come upon” (so many English versions); NCV “happen to us”; CEV “come to us.”

[3:12]  ⁶⁴ tn The plural pronoun refers to the leaders, priests, and prophets mentioned in the preceding verse.

[3:12]  ⁶⁵ tn Or “into” (an adverbial accusative of result).

[3:12]  ⁶⁶ tn Heb “the mountain of the house” (so KJV, ASV, NRSV).

[3:12]  ⁶⁷ tn Heb “a high place of overgrowth.”

[3:3]  ⁶⁸ tn Or “officials.”

[3:3]  ⁶⁹ tn Heb “her princes in her midst are roaring lions.” The metaphor has been translated as a simile (“as fierce as”) for clarity.

[3:3]  ⁷⁰ tn Traditionally “judges.”

[3:3]  ⁷¹ tn Heb “her judges [are] wolves of the evening,” that is, wolves that prowl at night. The translation assumes an emendation to עֲרָבָה (’aravah, “desert”). For a discussion of this and other options, see Adele Berlin, Zephaniah (AB 25A), 128. The metaphor has been translated as a simile (“as hungry as”) for clarity.

[3:3]  ⁷² tn Heb “they do not gnaw [a bone] at morning.” The precise meaning of the line is unclear. The statement may mean these wolves devour their prey so completely that not even a bone is left to gnaw by the time morning arrives. For a discussion of this and other options, see Adele Berlin, Zephaniah (AB 25A), 129.

[3:4]  ⁷³ sn Applied to prophets, the word פֹּחֲזִים (pokhazim, “proud”) probably refers to their audacity in passing off their own words as genuine prophecies from the Lord (see Jer 23:32).

[3:4]  ⁷⁴ tn Or “defile the temple.”

[3:4]  ⁷⁵ tn Heb “they treat violently [the] law.”

[11:5]  ⁷⁶ sn The expression those who buy them appears to be a reference to the foreign nations to whom Israel’s own kings “sold” their subjects. Far from being good shepherds, then, they were evil and profiteering. The whole section (vv. 4-14) refers to the past when the Lord, the Good Shepherd, had in vain tried to lead his people to salvation and life.

[11:7]  ⁷⁷ sn The first person pronoun refers to Zechariah himself who, however, is a “stand-in” for the Lord as the actions of vv. 8-14 make clear. The prophet, like others before him, probably performed actions dramatizing the account of God’s past dealings with Israel and Judah (cf. Hos 1-3; Isa 20:2-4; Jer 19:1-15; 27:2-11; Ezek 4:1-3).

[11:7]  ⁷⁸ tc For the MT reading לָכֵן עֲנִיֵּי (lakhen ’aniyyey, “therefore the [most] afflicted of”) the LXX presupposes לִכְנַעֲנֵיּי (“to the merchants of”). The line would then read “So I began to shepherd the flock destined for slaughter for the sheep merchants” (cf. NAB). This helps to explain the difficult לָכֵן (lakhen) here but otherwise has no attestation or justification, so the MT is followed by most modern English versions.

[11:7]  ⁷⁹ sn The two staffs represent the two kingdoms, Israel and Judah. For other examples of staffs representing tribes or nations see Num 17:1-11; Ezek 37:15-23.

[11:7]  ⁸⁰ tn The Hebrew term נֹעַם (no’am) is frequently translated “Favor” (so NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT); cf. KJV “Beauty”; CEV “Mercy.”

[11:7]  ⁸¹ tn The Hebrew term חֹבְלִים (khovlim) is often translated “Union” (so NASB, NIV, NLT); cf. KJV, ASV “Bands”; NAB “Bonds”; NRSV, TEV, CEV “Unity”).

[11:15]  ⁸² sn The grammar (e.g., the incipient participle מֵקִים, maqim, “about to raise up,” v. 16) and overall sense of vv. 15-17 give the incident a future orientation. Zechariah once more is role-playing but this time he is a “foolish” shepherd, i.e., one who does not know God and who is opposed to him (cf. Prov 1:7; 15:5; 20:3; 27:22). The individual who best represents this eschatological enemy of God and his people is the Antichrist (cf. Matt 24:5, 24; 2 Thess 2:3-4; 1 John 2:18, 22; 4:3; 2 John 7).

[11:16]  ⁸³ tn Heb “the broken” (so KJV, NASB; NRSV “the maimed”).

[11:16]  ⁸⁴ tn Heb “the fat [ones].” Cf. ASV “the fat sheep”; NIV “the choice sheep.”

[9:36]  ⁸⁵ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[9:36]  ⁸⁶ tn Or “because they had been bewildered and helpless.” The translational issue is whether the perfect participles are predicate (as in the text) or are pluperfect periphrastic (the alternate translation). If the latter, the implication would seem to be that the crowds had been in such a state until the Great Shepherd arrived.

[15:14]  ⁸⁷ tc ‡ Most mss, some of which are significant, read “They are blind guides of the blind” (א¹ C L W Z Θ Ë^1,13 33 Ï lat). The shorter reading is read by א*^,2 B D 0237 Epiph. There is a distinct possibility of omission due to homoioarcton in א*; this manuscript has a word order variation which puts the word τυφλοί (tufloi, “blind”) right before the word τυφλῶν (tuflwn, “of the blind”). This does not explain the shorter reading, however, in the other witnesses, of which B and D are quite weighty. Internal considerations suggest that the shorter reading is original: “of the blind” was likely added by scribes to balance this phrase with Jesus’ following statement about the blind leading the blind, which clearly has two groups in view. A decision is difficult, but internal considerations here along with the strength of the witnesses argue that the shorter reading is more likely original. NA²⁷ places τυφλῶν in brackets, indicating doubts as to its authenticity.

[15:14]  ⁸⁸ tn Grk “If blind leads blind.”

[10:10]  ⁸⁹ tn That is, “to slaughter” (in reference to animals).

[10:10]  ⁹⁰ tn That is, more than one would normally expect or anticipate.

[10:12]  ⁹¹ sn Jesus contrasts the behavior of the shepherd with that of the hired hand. This is a worker who is simply paid to do a job; he has no other interest in the sheep and is certainly not about to risk his life for them. When they are threatened, he simply runs away.

[10:12]  ⁹² tn Grk “leaves.”

[10:12]  ⁹³ tn Or “flees.”

[10:12]  ⁹⁴ tn Or “seizes.” The more traditional rendering, “snatches,” has the idea of seizing something by force and carrying it off, which is certainly possible here. However, in the sequence in John 10:12, this action precedes the scattering of the flock of sheep, so “attacks” is preferable.