Zechariah 11:8

Zechariah 11:8 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Three shepherds also I cut off in one month; and my soul lothed them, and their soul also abhorred me.
• New International Version (NIV)In one month I got rid of the three shepherds. The flock detested me, and I grew weary of them
• English Standard Version (ESV)In one month I destroyed the three shepherds. But I became impatient with them, and they also detested me.
• New King James Version (NKJV)I dismissed the three shepherds in one month. My soul loathed them, and their soul also abhorred me.

Context of Zechariah 11:8

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. Then 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.” 10I took my staff, Favor, and broke it in pieces, breaking the covenant which I had made with all the peoples.

Zechariah 11:8 word by word

וָאַכְחִ֛ד אֶת־שְׁלֹ֥שֶׁת הָרֹעִ֖ים בְּיֶ֣רַח אֶחָ֑ד וַתִּקְצַ֤ר נַפְשִׁי֙ בָּהֶ֔ם וְגַם־נַפְשָׁ֖ם בָּחֲלָ֥ה בִֽי׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Threeשָׁלֹשׁshâlôsh shâlôsh shelôshâh shelôshâh · threeH7969
• shepherdsרָעָהrâ‛âh · to pastureH7462
• also I cut offכָּחַדkâchad · to hideH3582
• in oneאֶחָד'echâd · oneH259
• monthיֶ֫רַחyerach · monthH3391
• and my soulנֶ֫פֶשׁnephesh · soul: myselfH5315
• lothedקָצֵרqâtsar · be shortH7114
• also abhorredבָּחֵלbâchal · feel loathingH973

Cross-references for Zechariah 11:8

• Hosea 5:7They have dealt treacherously against the Lord, For they have borne illegitimate (pagan) children. Now the New Moon will devour them along with their land [bringing judgment and captivity].
• Matthew 23:34“Therefore, take notice, I am sending you prophets and wise men [interpreters, teachers] and scribes [men educated in the Mosaic Law and the writings of the prophets]; some of them you will kill and even crucify, and some you will flog in your synagogues, and pursue and persecute from city to city,
• Matthew 24:50the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour of which he is not aware,
• Leviticus 26:11I will make My dwelling among you, and My soul will not reject nor separate itself from you.
• Deuteronomy 32:19“The Lord saw it, and rejected them, Out of indignation with His sons and His daughters.
• Psalms 5:5The boastful and the arrogant will not stand in Your sight; You hate all who do evil.
• Psalms 78:9The sons of Ephraim were armed as archers and carrying bows, Yet they turned back in the day of battle.
• Psalms 106:40Therefore the anger of the Lord was kindled against His people And He detested His own inheritance.
• Jeremiah 12:8My inheritance has become to Me Like a lion in the forest; She has raised her voice and roared against Me; So I have come to [treat her as if I] hate her.
• Jeremiah 14:21Do not treat us with contempt and condemn us, for Your own name’s sake; Do not disgrace Your glorious throne; Remember [with consideration] and do not break Your [solemn] covenant with us.
• Hosea 9:15All their wickedness [says the Lord] is focused in Gilgal; Indeed, I came to hate them there! Because of the wickedness of their [idolatrous] practices I will drive them out of My house (the land of Israel)! I will love them no longer; All their princes are rebels.
• Hebrews 10:38But My righteous one [the one justified by faith] shall live by faith [respecting man’s relationship to God and trusting Him]; And if he draws back [shrinking in fear], My soul has no delight in him.
• Isaiah 49:7This is what the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel, Israel’s Holy One says, To the thoroughly despised One, To the One hated by the nation To the Servant of rulers, “Kings will see and arise, Princes shall also bow down, Because of the Lord who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel who has chosen You.”
• Luke 12:50I have a baptism [of great suffering] with which to be baptized, and how [greatly] I am distressed until it is accomplished!
• Luke 19:14But his citizens [the residents of his new kingdom] hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man to be a king over us.’
• John 7:7The world cannot hate you [since you are part of it], but it does hate Me because I denounce it and testify that its deeds are evil.

Commentaries on Zechariah 11:8

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 8Three shepherds also I cut off in one month - Taking this literally, some think the three shepherds mean the three Maccabees, Judas, Jonathan, and Simon; others, the three wicked high priests, Jason, Alcimus, and Menelaus; others, the three last princes of the Asmonean race, Alexander, Hyrcanus, and Antigonus. Perhaps three orders may be intended: The priesthood. The dictatorship, including the Scribes, Pharisees, etc. The magistracy, the great sanhedrin…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 8And I cut off three shepherds in one month - Jerome: “I have read in some one‘s commentary, that the shepherds, cut off in the indignation of the Lord, are to be understood of priests and false prophets and kings of the Jews, who, after the passion of Christ, were all cut off in one time, of whom Jeremiah speaketh, “The priests said not, Where is the Lord? and they that handle the law knew Me not; the pastors also transgressed against Me, and the prophets…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. 8The mysterious historical mention of three evil shepherds has led to over 40 attempts to identify them. None of these explanations is effective. Three represents completeness. God appoints good shepherds to replace evil ones for the well-being of his people.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 88. Three shepherds ... I cut off--literally, "to cause to disappear," to destroy so as not to leave a vestige of them. The three shepherds whom Messiah removes are John, Simon, and Eleazar, three leaders of factions in the Jewish war [Drusius]. Or, as Messiah, the Antitype, was at once prophet, priest, and king, so He by the destruction of the Jewish polity destroyed these three orders for the unbelief of both the rulers and people [Moore]. If they had…Read the comment

Topics related to Zechariah 11:8

• Staves (Long Poles)

In the dictionaries

• Weigh
• Bible, the
• Psychology
• 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