Zechariah 11:3

Zechariah 11:3 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)There is a voice of the howling of the shepherds; for their glory is spoiled: a voice of the roaring of young lions; for the pride of Jordan is spoiled.
• New International Version (NIV)Listen to the wail of the shepherds; their rich pastures are destroyed! Listen to the roar of the lions; the lush thicket of the Jordan is ruined!
• English Standard Version (ESV)The sound of the wail of the shepherds, for their glory is ruined! The sound of the roar of the lions, for the thicket of the Jordan is ruined!
• New King James Version (NKJV)There is the sound of wailing shepherds! For their glory is in ruins. There is the sound of roaring lions! For the pride of the Jordan is in ruins.

Context of Zechariah 11:3

1Open your doors, O Lebanon, That fire may devour your cedars. 2Wail, O cypress, for the cedar has fallen, Because the magnificent trees have been destroyed; Wail, O oaks of Bashan, For the inaccessible forest [on the steep mountainside] has come down. There is a sound of the shepherds’ wail, For their splendor (grazing land) is ruined; There is a sound of the young lions’ roar, For the pride of the Jordan is ruined. 4Thus says the Lord my God, “Pasture the flock doomed for slaughter, 5whose buyers slay them and go unpunished, and those who sell them say, ‘Blessed be the Lord, for I have become rich!’ And their own shepherds have no pity on them nor protect them [from the wolves].

Zechariah 11:3 word by word

ק֚וֹל יִֽלְלַ֣ת הָרֹעִ֔ים כִּ֥י שֻׁדְּדָ֖ה אַדַּרְתָּ֑ם ק֚וֹל שַׁאֲגַ֣ת כְּפִירִ֔ים כִּ֥י שֻׁדַּ֖ד גְּא֥וֹן הַיַּרְדֵּֽן׃ סRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• a voiceקוֹלqôl qôl · voice: soundH6963
• of the howlingיְלָלָהyelâlâh · wailingH3215
• of the shepherdsרָעָהrâ‛âh · to pastureH7462
• for their gloryאַדֶּ֫רֶת'addereth · clothingH155
• is spoiledשָׁדַדshâdad · to ruinH7703
• of the roaringשְׁאָגָהshe'âgâh · roaringH7581
• of young lionsכְּפִירkephîyr · lionH3715
• for the prideגָּאוֹןgâ'ôn · prideH1347
• of Jordanיַרְדֵּןyardên · JordanH3383

Cross-references for Zechariah 11:3

• Zechariah 11:8Then I eliminated the three [incompetent, unfit] shepherds [the civil rulers, the priests, and the prophets] in one month, for I was impatient with them, and they also were tired of me and despised me.
• Jeremiah 25:34Wail, you shepherds, and cry; And roll in ashes, you masters of the flock. For the days of your slaughter and of your dispersions have come in full, And you will fall and be broken into pieces like a choice vessel.
• Joel 1:13Clothe yourselves with sackcloth And lament (cry out in grief), O priests; Wail, O ministers of the altar! Come, spend the night in sackcloth [and pray without ceasing], O ministers of my God, For the grain offering and the drink offering Are withheld from the house of your God.
• Amos 8:8Because of this [coming judgment] will the land not quake And everyone mourn who dwells in it? Indeed, all of it shall rise up like the Nile, And it will be tossed around [from the impact of judgment] And [afterward] subside again like the Nile of Egypt.
• Zephaniah 1:10On that day,” declares the Lord, “There will be the sound of crying from the Fish (Damascus) Gate [in the northern wall of Jerusalem where invaders enter] And wailing from the Second Quarter [of the city], And a loud crash from the hills.
• Matthew 15:14Leave them alone; they are blind guides [leading blind followers]. If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit.”
• Matthew 23:13“But woe (judgment is coming) to you, [self-righteous] scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut off the kingdom of heaven in front of people; for you do not enter yourselves, nor do you allow those who are [in the process of] entering to do so.
• James 5:1Come [quickly] now, you rich [who lack true faith and hoard and misuse your resources], weep and howl over the miseries [the woes, the judgments] that are coming upon you.
• 1 Samuel 4:21And she named the boy Ichabod, saying, “The glory has left Israel,” because the ark of God had been taken and because of [the deaths of] her father-in-law and her husband.
• Isaiah 65:15And you will leave your name behind to My chosen ones [who will use it] as a curse, And the Lord God will put you to death, But He will call His servants by another name [a much greater name, just as the name Israel was greater than the name Jacob].
• Jeremiah 7:4Do not trust in the deceptive and lying words [of the false prophets who claim that Jerusalem will be protected by God because of the temple], saying, ‘This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord.’
• Jeremiah 26:6then I will make this house [the temple] like Shiloh, and I will make this city [subject to] the curse of all nations of the earth [because it will be so vile in their sight].” ’ ”
• Ezekiel 24:21‘Speak to the house of Israel, “Thus says the Lord God, ‘Behold, I will profane My sanctuary, the pride of your strength, the desire of your eyes, and the delight of your soul; and your sons and your daughters whom you have left behind [in Jerusalem] will fall by the sword.
• Hosea 1:9And the Lord said, “Name him Lo-Ammi (not my people), for you are not My people and I am not your God.”
• Hosea 10:5The people of Samaria will fear and tremble For the [idolatrous] calf of Beth-aven (House of Wickedness). Indeed, its people will mourn over it And its idolatrous priests will cry out and wail over it, Over its glory, because the glory [of their calf god] has departed from it.
• Zephaniah 3:11On that day you [Israel] will feel no shame Because of all your acts By which you have rebelled and sinned against Me; Then I will remove from among you Your rejoicing ones who delight in their pride; And you will never again behave arrogantly On My holy mountain [Mount Zion].

Commentaries on Zechariah 11:3

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 3Young lions - Princes and rulers. By shepherds, kings or priests may be intended.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 3A voice of the howling of the shepherds, for their glory is spoiled - It echoes on from Jeremiah before the captivity, “Howl, ye shepherds - A voice of the cry of the shepherds. and an howling of the principal of the flock; for the Lord hath spoiled their pasture” Jeremiah 25:34, Jeremiah 25:36. There is one chorus of desolation, the mighty and the lowly; the shepherds and the young lions; what is at other times opposed is joined in one wailing. “The…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 3Shepherds and lions symbolically represent the leaders of Lebanon and Bashan. They mourn the loss of their forested slopes, pride, and livelihood (see Zechariah 11:1–2).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 33. shepherds--the Jewish rulers. their glory--their wealth and magnificence; or that of the temple, "their glory" (Mr 13:1; Lu 21:5). young lions--the princes, so described on account of their cruel rapacity. pride of Jordan--its thickly wooded banks, the lair of "lions" (Jr 12:5; 49:19). Image for Judea "spoiled" of the magnificence of its rulers ("the young lions"). The valley of the Jordan forms a deeper gash than any on the earth. The land at Lake…Read the comment

In the dictionaries

• Jordan
• Jordan River, Jordan
• Lions
• Swelling
• Weigh
• Bible, the
• Salvation
• Zechariah, Book of

Commentaries on Zechariah 11

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings