Zechariah 11:5-8

11:5 Those who buy them ¹  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 ²  began to shepherd the flock destined for slaughter, the most afflicted ³  of all the flock. Then I took two staffs, ⁴  calling one “Pleasantness” ⁵  and the other “Binders,” ⁶  and I tended the flock. 11:8 Next I eradicated the three shepherds in one month, ⁷  for I ran out of patience with them and, indeed, they detested me as well.

Zechariah 11:17

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!”

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 ⁸  are blind,

they are unaware. ⁹ 

All of them are like mute dogs,

unable to bark.

They pant, ¹⁰  lie down,

and love to snooze.

56:11 The dogs have big appetites;

they are never full. ¹¹ 

They are shepherds who have no understanding;

they all go their own way,

each one looking for monetary gain. ¹² 

56:12 Each one says, ¹³ 

‘Come on, I’ll get some wine!

Let’s guzzle some beer!

Tomorrow will be just like today!

We’ll have everything we want!’ ¹⁴ 

Jeremiah 10:21

10:21 For our leaders ¹⁵  are stupid.

They have not sought the Lord’s advice. ¹⁶ 

So they do not act wisely,

and the people they are responsible for ¹⁷  have all been scattered.

Jeremiah 23:1-2

New Leaders over a Regathered Remnant

23:1 The Lord says, ¹⁸  “The leaders of my people are sure to be judged. ¹⁹  They were supposed to watch over my people like shepherds watch over their sheep. But they are causing my people to be destroyed and scattered. ²⁰  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 ²¹  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. ²²  I, the Lord, affirm it! ²³ 

Jeremiah 50:6

50:6 “My people have been lost sheep.

Their shepherds ²⁴  have allow them to go astray.

They have wandered around in the mountains.

They have roamed from one mountain and hill to another. ²⁵ 

They have forgotten their resting place.

Ezekiel 34:2

34:2 “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds ²⁶  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?

Ezekiel 34:7-10

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; ²⁷  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.

[11:5]  ¹ 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]  ² 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]  ³ 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]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ tn The Hebrew term נֹעַם (no’am) is frequently translated “Favor” (so NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT); cf. KJV “Beauty”; CEV “Mercy.”

[11:7]  ⁶ tn The Hebrew term חֹבְלִים (khovlim) is often translated “Union” (so NASB, NIV, NLT); cf. KJV, ASV “Bands”; NAB “Bonds”; NRSV, TEV, CEV “Unity”).

[11:8]  ⁷ sn Zechariah is only dramatizing what God had done historically (see the note on the word “cedars” in 11:1). The “one month” probably means just any short period of time in which three kings ruled in succession. Likely candidates are Elah, Zimri, Tibni (1 Kgs 16:8-20); Zechariah, Shallum, Menahem (2 Kgs 15:8-16); or Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin, Zedekiah (2 Kgs 24:1–25:7).

[56:10]  ⁸ sn The “watchmen” are probably spiritual leaders, most likely prophets and priests, responsible for giving the people moral direction.

[56:10]  ⁹ tn Heb “they do not know”; KJV “they are all ignorant”; NIV “they all lack knowledge.”

[56:10]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ sn The phrase never full alludes to the greed of the leaders.

[56:11]  ¹² tn Heb “for his gain from his end.”

[56:12]  ¹³ tn The words “each one says” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[56:12]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “great, [in] abundance, very much,” i.e., “very great indeed.” See HALOT 452 s.v. יֶתֶר.

[10:21]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “the shepherds.”

[10:21]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “They have not sought the Lord.”

[10:21]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “all their flock (or “pasturage”).”

[23:1]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[23:1]  ¹⁹ sn Heb This particle once again introduces a judgment speech. The indictment is found in v. 1 and the announcement of judgment in v. 2. This leads into an oracle of deliverance in vv. 3-4. See also the note on the word “judged” in 22:13.

[23:1]  ²⁰ tn Heb “Woe to the shepherds who are killing and scattering the sheep of my pasture.” See the study note on 22:13 for the significance of “Sure to be judged” (Heb “Woe”) See the study note for the significance of the metaphor introduced here.

[23:2]  ²¹ 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]  ²² 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]  ²³ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[50:6]  ²⁴ sn The shepherds are the priests, prophets, and leaders who have led Israel into idolatry (2:8).

[50:6]  ²⁵ 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).

[34:2]  ²⁶ 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).

[34:10]  ²⁷ tn Heb “I will cause them to cease from feeding sheep.”