Text -- Zechariah 11:14-17 (NET)

11:14 Then I cut the second staff “Binders” in two in order to annul the covenant of brotherhood between Judah and Israel. 11:15 Again the Lord said to me, “Take up once more the equipment of a foolish shepherd. 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. Moreover, he will not nourish the one that is healthy but instead will eat the meat of the fat sheep 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!”

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Zec 11:15

¹ 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).

NET Notes: Zec 11:16

¹ tn Heb “the broken” (so KJV, NASB; NRSV “the maimed”).

² tn Heb “the fat [ones].” Cf. ASV “the fat sheep”; NIV “the choice sheep.”