American Standard Version
Zechariah 11:4
4Thus said Jehovah my God: Feed the flock of slaughter;
Zechariah 11:4 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Thus saith the Lord my God; Feed the flock of the slaughter;
- New International Version (NIV)This is what the Lord my God says: “Shepherd the flock marked for slaughter.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Thus said the Lord my God: "Become shepherd of the flock doomed to slaughter.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Thus says the Lord my God, “Feed the flock for slaughter,
Context of Zechariah 11:4
2Wail, O fir-tree, for the cedar is fallen, because the goodly ones are destroyed: wail, O ye oaks of Bashan, for the strong forest is come down. 3A 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 laid waste. Thus said Jehovah my God: Feed the flock of slaughter; 5whose possessors slay them, and hold themselves not guilty; and they that sell them say, Blessed be Jehovah, for I am rich; and their own shepherds pity them not. 6For I will no more pity the inhabitants of the land, saith Jehovah; but, lo, I will deliver the men every one into his neighbor’s hand, and into the hand of his king; and they shall smite the land, and out of their hand I will not deliver them.
Read all of Zechariah 11Zechariah 11:4 word by word
כֹּ֥ה אָמַ֖ר יְהוָ֣ה אֱלֹהָ֑י רְעֵ֖ה אֶת־צֹ֥אן הַהֲרֵגָֽה׃Read the interlinear
Cross-references for Zechariah 11:4
- Zechariah 14:5And ye shall flee by the valley of my mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azel; yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah; and Jehovah my God shall come, and all the holy ones with thee.
- Isaiah 49:4But I said, I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for nought and vanity; yet surely the justice due to me is with Jehovah, and my recompense with my God.
- John 20:17Jesus saith to her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended unto the Father: but go unto my brethren, and say to them, I ascend unto my Father and your Father, and my God and your God.
- Ephesians 1:3Blessedbethe God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ:
- Zechariah 11:7So I fed the flock of slaughter, verily the 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.
- Isaiah 40:9O thou that tellest good tidings to Zion, get thee up on a high mountain; O thou that tellest good tidings to Jerusalem, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold, your God!
- Ezekiel 34:23And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd.
- Micah 5:4And he shall stand, and shall feed his flock in the strength of Jehovah, in the majesty of the name of Jehovah his God: and they shall abide; for now shall he be great unto the ends of the earth.
- Matthew 15:24But he answered and said, I was not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
- Matthew 23:37O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, that killeth the prophets, and stoneth them that are sent unto her! how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!
- Luke 19:41And when he drew nigh, he saw the city and wept over it,
- John 21:15So when they had broken their fast, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of John, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs.
- Romans 15:8For I say that Christ hath been made a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, that he might confirm the promises given unto the fathers,
Commentaries on Zechariah 11:4
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4Feed the flock of the slaughter - This people resemble a flock of sheep fattened for the shambles; feed, instruct, this people who are about to be slaughtered.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4Thus saith the Lord my God, Feed the flock of the slaughter - The fulfillment of the whole prophecy shows, that the person addressed is the prophet, not in, or for himself, but (as belongs to symbolic prophecy) as representing Another, our Lord. It is addressed, in the first instance, to Zechariah. For Zechariah is bidden, “take unto thee yet the instruments of a foolish shepherd” Zechariah 11:15, in words addressed to himself, personally; “And the Lord…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. 4The people of Israel are God's flock (see Isaiah 40:11; Micah 5:4). Sheep are helpless, so they need careful shepherding. marked for slaughter: Like sheep fattened for butchering, people are treated as disposable goods in a corrupt economy.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. The prophet here proceeds to show the cause of the destruction just foretold, namely, the rejection of Messiah. flock of ... slaughter--(Psa 44:22). God's people doomed to slaughter by the Romans. Zechariah here represents typically Messiah, and performs in vision the actions enjoined: hence the language is in part appropriate to him, but mainly to the Antitype, Messiah. A million and a half perished in the Jewish war, and one million one hundred…Read the comment
Topics related to Zechariah 11:4
In the dictionaries
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
American Standard Version — 1901 — Public Domain
Commentaries