New English Translation
Zechariah 11:4
4The Lord my God says this: “Shepherd the flock set aside for 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
2Howl, fir tree, because the cedar has fallen; the majestic trees have been destroyed. Howl, oaks of Bashan, because the impenetrable forest has fallen. 3Listen to the howling of shepherds, because their magnificence has been destroyed. Listen to the roaring of young lions, because the thickets of the Jordan have been devastated. The Lord my God says this: “Shepherd the flock set aside for slaughter. 5Those who buy them slaughter them and are not held guilty; those who sell them say, ‘Blessed be the Lord, for I am rich.’ Their own shepherds have no compassion for them. 6Indeed, I will no longer have compassion on the people of the land,” says the Lord, “but instead I will turn every last person over to his neighbor and his king. They will devastate the land, and I will not deliver it from them.”
Read all of Zechariah 11Zechariah 11:4 word by word
כֹּ֥ה אָמַ֖ר יְהוָ֣ה אֱלֹהָ֑י רְעֵ֖ה אֶת־צֹ֥אן הַהֲרֵגָֽה׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Zechariah 11:4
- Zechariah 14:5Then you will escape through my mountain valley, for the mountains will extend to Azal. Indeed, you will flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of King Uzziah of Judah. Then the Lord my God will come with all his holy ones with him.
- Isaiah 49:4But I thought, “I have worked in vain; I have expended my energy for absolutely nothing.” But the Lord will vindicate me; my God will reward me.
- John 20:17Jesus replied, “Do not touch me, for I have not yet ascended to my Father. Go to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”
- Ephesians 1:3Blessed is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms in Christ.
- Zechariah 11:7So I began to shepherd the flock destined for slaughter, the most afflicted of all the flock. Then I took two staffs, calling one “Pleasantness” and the other “Binders,” and I tended the flock.
- Isaiah 40:9Go up on a high mountain, O herald Zion! Shout out loudly, O herald Jerusalem! Shout, don’t be afraid! Say to the towns of Judah, “Here is your God!”
- Ezekiel 34:23I will set one shepherd over them, and he will feed them – namely, my servant David. He will feed them and will be their shepherd.
- Micah 5:4He will assume his post and shepherd the people by the Lord’s strength, by the sovereign authority of the Lord his God. They will live securely, for at that time he will be honored even in the distant regions of the earth.
- Matthew 15:24So he answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
- Matthew 23:37“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those who are sent to you! How often I have longed to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you would have none of it!
- Luke 19:41Now when Jesus approached and saw the city, he wept over it,
- John 21:15Then when they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these do?” He replied, “Yes, Lord, you know I love you.” Jesus told him, “Feed my lambs.”
- Romans 15:8For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the circumcised on behalf of God’s truth to confirm the promises made to 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
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