The Prophet Zechariah

⭑ Catholic Public Domain :: World English Bible Catholic ⭑

- Chapter 11 -

Open your gates, Lebanon, and let fire consume your cedars.(a)

(b)

Howl, you fir tree, for the cedar has fallen, because the magnificent have been devastated. Howl, you oaks of Bashan, because the secure forest passage has been cut down.

The voice of the howling of the shepherds: for their magnificence has been devastated. The voice of the roaring of the lions: because the arrogance of the Jordan has been devastated.

Thus says the Lord my God: Feed the flock of the slaughter,

which those who possessed them cut down, and they did not feel sorrow, and they sold them, saying: “Blessed be the Lord; we have become wealthy. Even their shepherds did not spare them.”

And so, I will no longer spare the inhabitants upon the earth, says the Lord. Behold, I will deliver men, each one into the hand of his neighbor and into the hand of his king. And they will cut down the land, and I will not rescue it from their hand.(c)

And I will pasture the flock of the slaughter, because of this, O poor of the flock. And I took to myself two staffs: the one I called Handsome, and the other I called Rope, and I pastured the flock.(d)

(e)

And I cut down three shepherds in one month. And my soul became contracted concerning them, just as their soul also varied concerning me.(f)

And I said: I will not pasture you. Whatever dies, let it die. And whatever is cut down, let it be cut down. And let the rest of them devour, each one the flesh of his neighbor.

Thirty Pieces of Silver

(Matthew 27:3–10)

And I took my staff, which was called Handsome, and I tore it apart, so as to invalidate my pact, which I had struck with all of the people.

And it became invalid in that day. And so they understood, just like the poor of the flock who stay close to me, that this is the word of the Lord.

And I said to them: If it is good in your eyes, bring me my wages. And if not, remain still. And they weighed for my wages thirty silver coins.

And the Lord said to me: Cast it towards the statuary, the handsome price at which I have been valued by them. And I took the thirty silver coins, and I cast them into the house of the Lord, towards the statuary.(g)

(h)

And I cut short my second staff, which was called Rope, so that I might dissolve the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.(i)

And the Lord said to me: Still they are to you the equipment of a foolish shepherd.(j)

For behold, I will raise up a shepherd in the land, who will not visit what is forsaken, nor seek what is scattered, nor heal what is broken, nor nourish what remains standing, and he will consume the flesh of the fatted ones and break their hoofs.

O shepherd and idol, abandoning the flock, with a sword upon his arm and over his right eye: his arm will be withered by drought, and his right eye will be obscured by darkness.

Footnotes

(a)11:1 O Libanus:So Jerusalem, and more particularly the temple, is called by the prophets, from its height, and from its being built of the cedars of Libanus.(Challoner)

(b)11:1 Thy cedars:Thy princes and chief men.(Challoner)

(c)11:6 Every one into his neighbour’s hand, etc:This alludes to the last siege of Jerusalem, in which the different factions of the Jews destroyed one another; and they that remained fell into the hands of their king, that is, of the Roman emperor, of whom they had said, John. 19:15, we have no king but Caesar.(Challoner)

(d)11:7 The word ‘Decorem’ is masculine, so the translation is ‘Handsome,’ rather than ‘Beautiful.’ The one staff is beautiful, and the other one, Rope (or String, or Line), is useful. Now perhaps the first staff was handsome or beautiful in soul. So, the two staffs represent the contemplative life and the active life among religious and clergy.(Conte)

(e)11:7 Two rods:Or shepherd’s staves, meaning the different ways of God’s dealing with his people; the one, by sweet means, called the rod of Beauty: the other, by bands and punishments, called the Cord. And where both these rods are made of no use or effect by the obstinacy of sinners, the rods are broken, and such sinners are given up to a reprobate sense, as the Jews were.(Challoner)

(f)11:8 Three shepherds in one month:That is, in a very short time. By these three shepherds probably are meant the latter princes and high priests of the Jews, whose reign was short.(Challoner)

(g)11:13 Some texts have the coins being tossed into a treasury, some towards a statuary. The spiritual meaning of this word may refer, not only to the price Judas Iscariot was paid to betray Christ, but to some future taxation by the administrative powers within the Church. God is angry at this event, but He directs the faithful to pay the tax. The treasury is the treasury of the Church; the statuary represents those leaders in the Church who are like statures, mere administrators or bureaucrats, lacking insight and compassion. Compare this to the story in the Gospels of the tax that Peter paid by catching a fish with a coin in its mouth.(Conte)

(h)11:13 The statuary:The Hebrew word signifies also a potter.(Challoner)

(i)11:14 The word ‘germanitatem’ is feminine, so a translation of ‘sisterhood’ might be justifiable. However, Judah and Israel are two groups symbolically represented with the names of two men, so the translation is ‘brotherhood.’ Notice that the first staff was cut down, but the second was merely shortened.(Conte)

(j)11:15 A foolish shepherd:This was to represent the foolish, that is, the wicked princes and priests that should rule the people, before their utter desolation.(Challoner)

Open your doors, Lebanon, that the fire may devour your cedars.

Wail, cypress tree, for the cedar has fallen, because the stately ones are destroyed. Wail, you oaks of Bashan, for the strong forest has come down.

A voice of the wailing of the shepherds! For their glory is destroyed—a voice of the roaring of young lions! For the pride of the Jordan is ruined.

The LORD my God says: “Feed the flock of slaughter.

Their buyers slaughter them and go unpunished. Those who sell them say, ‘Blessed be the LORD, for I am rich;’ and their own shepherds don’t pity them.

For I will no more pity the inhabitants of the land,” says the LORD; “but, behold, I will deliver every one of the men into his neighbor’s hand and into the hand of his king. They will strike the land, and out of their hand I will not deliver them.”

So I fed the flock to be slaughtered, especially the oppressed of the flock. I took for myself two staffs. The one I called “Favor” and the other I called “Union”, and I fed the flock.

I cut off the three shepherds in one month; for my soul was weary of them, and their soul also loathed me.

Then I said, “I will not feed you. That which dies, let it die; and that which is to be cut off, let it be cut off; and let those who are left eat each other’s flesh.”

Thirty Pieces of Silver

(Matthew 27:3–10)

I took my staff Favor and cut it apart, that I might break my covenant that I had made with all the peoples.

It was broken in that day; and thus the poor of the flock that listened to me knew that it was the LORD’s word.

I said to them, “If you think it best, give me my wages; and if not, keep them.” So they weighed for my wages thirty pieces of silver.

The LORD said to me, “Throw it to the potter—the handsome price that I was valued at by them!” I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them to the potter in the LORD’s house.

Then I cut apart my other staff, Union, that I might break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.

The LORD said to me, “Take for yourself yet again the equipment of a foolish shepherd.

For, behold, I will raise up a shepherd in the land who will not visit those who are cut off, neither will seek those who are scattered, nor heal that which is broken, nor feed that which is sound; but he will eat the meat of the fat sheep, and will tear their hoofs in pieces.

Woe to the worthless shepherd who leaves the flock! The sword will strike his arm and his right eye. His arm will be completely withered, and his right eye will be totally blinded!”