Zechariah 11:9

Zechariah 11:9 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Then said I, I will not feed you: that that dieth, let it die; and that that is to be cut off, let it be cut off; and let the rest eat every one the flesh of another.
• New International Version (NIV)and said, “I will not be your shepherd. Let the dying die, and the perishing perish. Let those who are left eat one another’s flesh.”
• English Standard Version (ESV)So I said, "I will not be your shepherd. What is to die, let it die. What is to be destroyed, let it be destroyed. And let those who are left devour the flesh of one another."
• New Living Translation (NLT)So I told them, “I won’t be your shepherd any longer. If you die, you die. If you are killed, you are killed. And let those who remain devour each other!”

Context of Zechariah 11:9

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. 8I dismissed the three shepherds in one month. My soul loathed them, and their soul also abhorred me. Then I said, “I will not feed you. Let what is dying die, and what is perishing perish. Let those that are left eat each other’s flesh.” 10And I took my staff, Beauty, and cut it in two, that I might break the covenant which I had made with all the peoples. 11So it was broken on that day. Thus the poor of the flock, who were watching me, knew that it was the word of the Lord.

Zechariah 11:9 word by word

וָאֹמַ֕ר לֹ֥א אֶרְעֶ֖ה אֶתְכֶ֑ם הַמֵּתָ֣ה תָמ֗וּת וְהַנִּכְחֶ֙דֶת֙ תִּכָּחֵ֔ד וְהַ֨נִּשְׁאָר֔וֹת תֹּאכַ֕לְנָה אִשָּׁ֖ה אֶת־בְּשַׂ֥ר רְעוּתָֽהּ׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Then saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• I, I will not feedרָעָהrâ‛âh · to pastureH7462
• you: that that diethמוּתmûth · to dieH4191
• and that that is to be cut offכָּחַדkâchad · to hideH3582
• and let the restשָׁאַרshâ'ar · to remainH7604
• eatאָכַל'âkal · to eatH398
• every oneאִשָּׁה'ishshâh nâshîym · woman: anotherH802
• the fleshבָּשָׂרbâώâr · fleshH1320
• of anotherרְעוּתre‛ûth · neighborH7468

Cross-references for Zechariah 11:9

• Jeremiah 23:33“So when these people or the prophet or the priest ask you, saying, ‘What is the oracle of the Lord?’ you shall then say to them, ‘What oracle?’ I will even forsake you,” says the Lord.
• Matthew 13:10And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?”
• Matthew 21:43“Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it.
• Matthew 23:38See! Your house is left to you desolate;
• John 8:21Then Jesus said to them again, “I am going away, and you will seek Me, and will die in your sin. Where I go you cannot come.”
• John 12:35Then Jesus said to them, “A little while longer the light is with you. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you; he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going.
• Acts 13:46Then Paul and Barnabas grew bold and said, “It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken to you first; but since you reject it, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, behold, we turn to the Gentiles.
• Acts 28:26saying, ‘Go to this people and say: “Hearing you will hear, and shall not understand; And seeing you will see, and not perceive;
• Psalms 69:22Let their table become a snare before them, And their well-being a trap.
• Jeremiah 15:2And it shall be, if they say to you, ‘Where should we go?’ then you shall tell them, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Such as are for death, to death; And such as are for the sword, to the sword; And such as are for the famine, to the famine; And such as are for the captivity, to the captivity.” ’
• Jeremiah 43:11When he comes, he shall strike the land of Egypt and deliver to death those appointed for death, and to captivity those appointed for captivity, and to the sword those appointed for the sword.
• Matthew 15:14Let them alone. They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch.”
• Matthew 21:19And seeing a fig tree by the road, He came to it and found nothing on it but leaves, and said to it, “Let no fruit grow on you ever again.” Immediately the fig tree withered away.
• Revelation 22:11He who is unjust, let him be unjust still; he who is filthy, let him be filthy still; he who is righteous, let him be righteous still; he who is holy, let him be holy still.”
• Deuteronomy 28:53You shall eat the fruit of your own body, the flesh of your sons and your daughters whom the Lord your God has given you, in the siege and desperate straits in which your enemy shall distress you.
• Isaiah 9:19Through the wrath of the Lord of hosts The land is burned up, And the people shall be as fuel for the fire; No man shall spare his brother.

Commentaries on Zechariah 11:9

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 9I will not feed you - I shall instruct you no longer: some of you are appointed to death by famine; others, to be cut off by the sword; and others of you, to such desperation that ye shall destroy one another.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 9And I said, I will not feed you - God, at last, leaves the rebellious soul or people to itself, as He says by Moses, “Then My anger shall be kindled against them in that day, and I will forsake them, and will hide My Face from them, and they shall be devoured, and many evils and troubles shall find them” Deuteronomy 31:17: and our Lord tells the captious Jews; “I go My way, and ye shall seek Me and shall die in your sins” John 8:21. That which dieth, let…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. 9devour one another’s flesh: This might refer literally to cannibalism (people eating human flesh) caused by famine during the siege of Jerusalem in 588–586 BC (see Lamentations 4:10) and later in AD 70 (see Josephus, War 7.4.4). The expression may also be a metaphor for different types of exploitation and oppression (see Micah 3:3; Galatians 5:15).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 99. Then said I--at last when all means of saving the nation had been used in vain (Joh 8:24). I will not--that is, no more feed you. The last rejection of the Jews is foretold, of which the former under Nebuchadnezzar, similarly described, was the type (Jr 15:1-3; 34:17; 43:11; Eze 6:12). Perish those who are doomed to perish, since they reject Him who would have saved them! Let them rush on to their own ruin, since they will have it so. eat ... flesh of…Read the comment

Topics related to Zechariah 11:9

• Staves (Long Poles)

In the dictionaries

• Weigh
• Bible, the
• 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