New King James Version
Zechariah 11:4
4Thus says the Lord my God, “Feed the flock 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 Living Translation (NLT)This is what the Lord my God says: “Go and care for the flock that is intended for slaughter.
Context of Zechariah 11:4
2Wail, O cypress, for the cedar has fallen, Because the mighty trees are ruined. Wail, O oaks of Bashan, For the thick forest has come down. 3There is the sound of wailing shepherds! For their glory is in ruins. There is the sound of roaring lions! For the pride of the Jordan is in ruins. Thus says the Lord my God, “Feed the flock for slaughter, 5whose 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. 6For I will no longer pity the inhabitants of the land,” says the Lord. “But indeed I will give everyone into his neighbor’s hand and into the hand of his king. They shall attack the land, and I will not deliver them from their hand.”
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 shall flee through My mountain valley, For the mountain valley shall reach to Azal. Yes, you shall flee As you fled from the earthquake In the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Thus the Lord my God will come, And all the saints with You.
- Isaiah 49:4Then I said, ‘I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for nothing and in vain; Yet surely my just reward is with the Lord, And my work with my God.’ ”
- John 20:17Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.’ ”
- Ephesians 1:3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,
- Zechariah 11:7So 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.
- Isaiah 40:9O Zion, You who bring good tidings, Get up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, You who bring good tidings, Lift up your voice with strength, Lift it up, be not afraid; Say to the cities of Judah, “Behold your God!”
- Ezekiel 34:23I will establish one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them—My servant David. He shall feed them and be their shepherd.
- Micah 5:4And He shall stand and feed His flock In the strength of the Lord, In the majesty of the name of the Lord His God; And they shall abide, For now He shall be great To the ends of the earth;
- Matthew 15:24But He answered and said, “I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
- Matthew 23:37“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!
- Luke 19:41Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it,
- John 21:15So when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me more than these?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Feed My lambs.”
- Romans 15:8Now I say that Jesus Christ has become a servant to the circumcision for the truth of God, 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
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries