Isaiah 56:11-12

56:11 The dogs have big appetites;

they are never full. ¹ 

They are shepherds who have no understanding;

they all go their own way,

each one looking for monetary gain. ² 

56:12 Each one says, ³ 

‘Come on, I’ll get some wine!

Let’s guzzle some beer!

Tomorrow will be just like today!

We’ll have everything we want!’ ⁴ 

Zechariah 11:5

11:5 Those who buy them ⁵  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.

Zechariah 11:16

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. ⁶  Moreover, he will not nourish the one that is healthy but instead will eat the meat of the fat sheep ⁷  and tear off their hooves.

¹ sn The phrase never full alludes to the greed of the leaders.

² tn Heb “for his gain from his end.”

³ tn The words “each one says” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

⁴ tn Heb “great, [in] abundance, very much,” i.e., “very great indeed.” See HALOT 452 s.v. יֶתֶר.

⁵ 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.

⁶ tn Heb “the broken” (so KJV, NASB; NRSV “the maimed”).

⁷ tn Heb “the fat [ones].” Cf. ASV “the fat sheep”; NIV “the choice sheep.”