Zechariah 11:5

Zechariah 11:5 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Whose possessors slay them, and hold themselves not guilty: and they that sell them say, Blessed be the Lord; for I am rich: and their own shepherds pity them not.
• New International Version (NIV)Their buyers slaughter them and go unpunished. Those who sell them say, ‘Praise the Lord, I am rich!’ Their own shepherds do not spare them.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Those who buy them slaughter them and go unpunished, and those who sell them say, 'Blessed be the Lord, I have become rich,' and their own shepherds have no pity on them.
• New King James Version (NKJV)whose owners slaughter them and feel no guilt; those who sell them say, ‘Blessed be the Lord, for I am rich’; and their shepherds do not pity them.

Context of Zechariah 11:5

3There 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, whose 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]. 6For I will no longer have pity on the inhabitants of the land,” declares the Lord; “but behold, I will cause the men to fall, each into the hand of another and into the hands of his [foreign] king. And the enemy will strike the land, and I will not rescue the people from their hand.” 7So I [Zechariah] pastured the flock doomed for slaughter, truly [as the name implies] the most miserable of sheep. And I took two [shepherd’s] staffs, the one I called Favor (Grace) and the other I called Union (Bonds); so I pastured the flock.

Zechariah 11:5 word by word

אֲשֶׁ֨ר קֹנֵיהֶ֤ן יַֽהֲרְגֻן֙ וְלֹ֣א יֶאְשָׁ֔מוּ וּמֹכְרֵיהֶ֣ן יֹאמַ֔ר בָּר֥וּךְ יְהוָ֖ה וַאעְשִׁ֑ר וְרֹ֣עֵיהֶ֔ם לֹ֥א יַחְמ֖וֹל עֲלֵיהֶֽן׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Whose possessorsקָנָהqânâh · to buyH7069
• slayהָרַגhârag · to killH2026
• them, and hold themselves not guiltyאָשַׁם'âsham 'âshêm · be guiltyH816
• and they that sellמָכַרmâkar · to sellH4376
• them sayאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• Blessedבָּרַךְbârak · to blessH1288
• the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• for I am richעָשַׁר‛âshar · to enrichH6238
• and their own shepherdsרָעָהrâ‛âh · to pastureH7462
• pityחָמַלchâmal · to spareH2550

Cross-references for Zechariah 11:5

• Jeremiah 23:1“Woe to the shepherds (civil leaders, rulers) who are destroying and scattering the sheep of My pasture!” says the Lord.
• Ezekiel 22:25There is a conspiracy of her [false] prophets in her midst, like a roaring lion tearing the prey. They have devoured [human] life; they have taken [in their greed] treasure and precious things; they have made many widows among her.
• Ezekiel 34:2“Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and say to them, the [spiritual] shepherds, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “Woe (judgment is coming) to the [spiritual] shepherds of Israel who have been feeding themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flock?
• Micah 3:1And I said, “Hear now, heads of Jacob And rulers of the house of Israel. Is it not for you to know and administer justice?
• Matthew 23:14[Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you swallow up widows’ houses, and to cover it up you make long prayers; therefore you will receive the greater condemnation.]
• John 16:2They will put you out of the synagogues and make you outcasts. And a time is coming when whoever kills you will think that he is offering service to God.
• Jeremiah 2:3Israel was holy [something set apart from ordinary purposes, consecrated] to the Lord, The first fruits of His harvest [in which no outsider was allowed to share]. All who ate of it [injuring Israel] became guilty; Evil came on them,” says the Lord.’ ”
• Jeremiah 50:7All who found them have devoured them; And their adversaries have said, ‘We are not guilty, Because they have sinned against the Lord [and are no longer holy to Him], their [true] habitation of righteousness and justice, Even the Lord, the [confident] hope of their fathers.’
• Genesis 37:26Judah said to his brothers, “What do we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood (murder)?
• 2 Kings 4:1Now one of the wives of a man of the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha [for help], saying “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant [reverently] feared the Lord; but the creditor is coming to take my two sons to be his slaves [in payment for a loan].”
• Nehemiah 5:8I said to them, “According to our ability we have redeemed (purchased back) our Jewish brothers who were sold to the [Gentile] nations; now would you even sell your brothers, that they might be sold to us?” Then they were silent and could not find a [single] word to say.
• Matthew 21:12And Jesus entered the temple [grounds] and drove out [with force] all who were buying and selling [birds and animals for sacrifice] in the temple area, and He turned over the tables of the moneychangers [who made a profit exchanging foreign money for temple coinage] and the chairs of those who were selling doves [for sacrifice].
• 2 Peter 2:3And in their greed they will exploit you with false arguments and twisted doctrine. Their sentence [of condemnation which God has decreed] from a time long ago is not idle [but is still in force], and their destruction and deepening misery is not asleep [but is on its way].
• Revelation 18:13and cinnamon and spices and incense and perfume and frankincense and wine and olive oil and fine flour and wheat; of cattle and sheep, and cargoes of horses and chariots and carriages; and of slaves and human lives.
• Deuteronomy 29:19It will happen that when he (a renegade) hears the words of this oath, and he imagines himself as blessed, saying, ‘I will have peace and safety even though I walk within the stubbornness of my heart [rejecting God and His law], in order that the watered land dwindles away along with the dry [destroying everything],’
• Hosea 12:8Ephraim said, “I have indeed become rich [and powerful as a nation]; I have found wealth for myself. In all my labors they will not find in me Any wickedness that would be sin.”

Commentaries on Zechariah 11:5

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 5Whose possessors - Governors and false prophets, slay them, by leading them to those things that will bring them to destruction. And they that sell them - Give them up to idolatry; and bless God, strange to tell, that they get secular advantage by the establishment of this false religion.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 5Whose possessors - (buyers) slay them and hold themselves not guilty, rather, are not guilty either in their own eyes, or in the sight of God, since He gave them up and would no more avenge them. They contract no guilt. Aforetime God said; “Israel was holiness to the Lord, the first-fruits of His increase; all that devour him shall be guilty: evil shall come upon them, saith the Lord” Jeremiah 2:3. Now God reversed this, as He said by the same prophet…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 4-14Verses 4-14 Christ came into this world for judgment to the Jewish church and nation, which were wretchedly corrupt and degenerate. Those have their minds wofully blinded, who do ill, and justify themselves in it; but God will not hold those guiltless who hold themselves so. How can we go to God to beg a blessing on unlawful methods of getting wealth, or to return thanks for success in them? There was a general decay of religion among them, and they…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 5The sheep (the Hebrew people) were being sold as slaves to foreign powers, foreign allies, or local slave traders (see Amos 2:6). The sellers were the leaders, who cared more about getting rich than the well-being of the people.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 55. possessors--The buyers [Maurer], their Roman oppressors, contrasted with "they that sell men." The instruments of God's righteous judgment, and therefore "not holding themselves guilty" (Jr 50:7). It is meant that they might use this plea, not that they actually used it. Judah's adversaries felt no compunction in destroying them; and God in righteous wrath against Judah allowed it. they that sell them--(Compare Zec 11:12). The rulers of Judah, who by…Read the comment

Topics related to Zechariah 11:5

• Minister, Christian

In the dictionaries

• 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