Zechariah 11:7

Zechariah 11:7 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And I will feed the flock of slaughter, even you, O poor of the flock. And I took unto me two staves; the one I called Beauty, and the other I called Bands; and I fed the flock.
• New International Version (NIV)So I shepherded the flock marked for slaughter, particularly the oppressed of the flock. Then I took two staffs and called one Favor and the other Union, and I shepherded the flock.
• English Standard Version (ESV)So I became the shepherd of the flock doomed to be slaughtered by the sheep traders. And I took two staffs, one I named Favor, the other I named Union. And I tended the sheep.
• New King James Version (NKJV)So I fed the flock for slaughter, in particular the poor of the flock. I took for myself two staffs: the one I called Beauty, and the other I called Bonds; and I fed the flock.

Context of Zechariah 11:7

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]. 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.” So 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. 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. 9So I said, “I will not pasture you. What is to die, let it die, and what is to be destroyed, let it be destroyed; and let the survivors devour one another’s flesh.”

Zechariah 11:7 word by word

וָֽאֶרְעֶה֙ אֶת־צֹ֣אן הַֽהֲרֵגָ֔ה לָכֵ֖ן עֲנִיֵּ֣י הַצֹּ֑אן וָאֶקַּֽח־לִ֞י שְׁנֵ֣י מַקְל֗וֹת לְאַחַ֞ד קָרָ֤אתִי נֹ֙עַם֙ וּלְאַחַד֙ קָרָ֣אתִי חֹֽבְלִ֔ים וָאֶרְעֶ֖ה אֶת־הַצֹּֽאן׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And I will feedרָעָהrâ‛âh · to pastureH7462
• the flockצֹאןtsô'n tse'ôn · flockH6629
• of slaughterהֲרֵגָהhărêgâh · slaughterH2028
• youכֵּןkên · soH3651
• O poorעָנִי‛ânîy · afflictedH6041
• And I tookלָקַחlâqach · to take: takeH3947
• unto me twoשְׁנַ֫יִםshenayim shettayim · twoH8147
• stavesמַקֵּלmaqqêl maqqelâh · rodH4731
• the oneאֶחָד'echâd · oneH259
• I calledקָרָאqârâ' · to call: call byH7121
• Beautyנֹ֫עַםnô‛am · pleasantnessH5278
• Bandsחָבַלchâbal · to pledgeH2254

Cross-references for Zechariah 11:7

• Zechariah 11:4Thus says the Lord my God, “Pasture the flock doomed for slaughter,
• Zechariah 13:8It will come about in all the land,” Declares the Lord, “Two parts in it will be cut off and perish, But the third will be left alive.
• Isaiah 11:4But with righteousness and justice He will judge the poor, And decide with fairness for the downtrodden of the earth; And He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, And with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked.
• Isaiah 61:1The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, Because the Lord has anointed and commissioned me To bring good news to the humble and afflicted; He has sent me to bind up [the wounds of] the brokenhearted, To proclaim release [from confinement and condemnation] to the [physical and spiritual] captives And freedom to prisoners,
• Jeremiah 5:4Then I said, “[Surely] these are only the poor (uneducated); They are [sinfully] foolish and have no [spiritual] understanding, For they do not know the way of the Lord Or the ordinance of their God [and the requirements of His just and righteous law].
• Zephaniah 3:12But I will leave among you A humble and lowly people, And they will take refuge and trust confidently in the name of the Lord.
• Matthew 11:5the blind receive [their] sight and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed [by healing] and the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have the gospel preached to them.
• Mark 12:37David himself calls Him (the Son, the Messiah) ‘Lord’; so how can it be that He is David’s Son?” The large crowd enjoyed hearing Jesus and listened to Him with delight.
• James 2:5Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters: has not God chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and [as believers to be] heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?
• Zechariah 11:10I took my staff, Favor, and broke it in pieces, breaking the covenant which I had made with all the peoples.
• Leviticus 27:32For every tithe of the herd or flock, whatever passes under the [shepherd’s] staff, the tenth one shall be holy to the Lord.
• 1 Samuel 17:40Then he took his [shepherd’s] staff in his hand and chose for himself five smooth stones out of the stream bed, and put them in his shepherd’s bag which he had, that is, in his shepherd’s pouch. With his sling in his hand, he approached the Philistine.
• Psalms 23:4Even though I walk through the [sunless] valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod [to protect] and Your staff [to guide], they comfort and console me.
• Psalms 133:1Behold, how good and how pleasant it is For brothers to dwell together in unity!
• Ezekiel 37:16“And you, son of man, take a stick and write on it, ‘For Judah and for the children of Israel, his companions’; then take another stick and write on it, ‘For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim and all the house of Israel, his companions.’
• John 17:21that they all may be one; just as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be one in Us, so that the world may believe [without any doubt] that You sent Me.

Commentaries on Zechariah 11:7

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 7And I wilt feed the flock of slaughter - I showed them what God had revealed to me relative to the evils coming upon the land; and I did this the more especially for the sake of the poor of the flock. Two staves - Two shepherd's crooks. One I called Beauty - that probably by which they marked the sheep; dipping the end into vermillion, or some red liquid. And this was done when they were to mark every tenth sheep, as it came out of the field, when the…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 7The prophetic narrative which follows, differs in its form, in some respects, from the symbolical actions of the prophets and from Zechariah‘s own visions. The symbolical actions of the prophets are actions of their own: this involves acts, which it would be impossible to represent, except as a sort of drama. Such are the very central points, the feeding of the flock, which are still intelligent people who understand God‘s doings: the cutting off of the…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. 7Shepherd’s staffs represent leadership and authority. Favor: This staff symbolized God's choice of Israel as his people (see Genesis 12:1–3) and the promise of a leader like King David (see 2 Samuel 7:12–16). Union: Ezekiel’s staff (Ezekiel 37:16–17) represented the unity of the Hebrew tribes as a single nation during King David’s reign (2 Samuel 5:1–3).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 77. And--rather, "Accordingly": implying the motive cause which led Messiah to assume the office, namely, the will of the Father (Zec 11:4, 5), who pitied the sheep without any true shepherd. I will feed--"I fed" [Calvin], which comes to the same thing, as the past tense must in Zechariah's time have referred to the event of Messiah's advent then future: the prophets often speaking of the future in vision as already present. It was not My fault, Jehovah…Read the comment

Topics related to Zechariah 11:7

• Beauty and Bands
• Poor
• Staves (Long Poles)
• Symbols and Similitudes

In the dictionaries

• Bands
• Weigh
• Band
• Beauty and Bands
• Berechiah
• Bible, the
• Salvation
• Zechariah, Book of
• Shepherd

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