Revised Literal Translation
Zechariah 11:17
17Woe to the vain shepherd that leaveth the flock! the sword shall be upon his arm, and upon his right eye: his arm shall be clean dried up, and his right eye shall be utterly darkened.
Zechariah 11:17 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Woe to the idol shepherd that leaveth the flock! the sword shall be upon his arm, and upon his right eye: his arm shall be clean dried up, and his right eye shall be utterly darkened.
- New International Version (NIV)“Woe to the worthless shepherd, who deserts the flock! May the sword strike his arm and his right eye! May his arm be completely withered, his right eye totally blinded!”
- English Standard Version (ESV)"Woe to my worthless shepherd, who deserts the flock! May the sword strike his arm and his right eye! Let his arm be wholly withered, his right eye utterly blinded!"
- New King James Version (NKJV)“Woe to the worthless shepherd, Who leaves the flock! A sword shall be against his arm And against his right eye; His arm shall completely wither, And his right eye shall be totally blinded.”
Context of Zechariah 11:17
15And Yhwh said unto me, Take unto thee yet the instruments of a foolish shepherd. 16For, lo, I will raise up a shepherd in the land, which shall not visit those that be cut off, neither shall seek the young one, nor heal that that is broken, nor feed that that standeth still: but he shall eat the flesh of the fat, and tear their claws in pieces. Woe to the vain shepherd that leaveth the flock! the sword shall be upon his arm, and upon his right eye: his arm shall be clean dried up, and his right eye shall be utterly darkened.
Read all of Zechariah 11Zechariah 11:17 word by word
ה֣וֹי רֹעִ֤י הָֽאֱלִיל֙ עֹזְבִ֣י הַצֹּ֔אן חֶ֥רֶב עַל־זְרוֹע֖וֹ וְעַל־עֵ֣ין יְמִינ֑וֹ זְרֹעוֹ֙ יָב֣וֹשׁ תִּיבָ֔שׁ וְעֵ֥ין יְמִינ֖וֹ כָּהֹ֥ה תִכְהֶֽה׃ סRead the interlinear
- Woeהוֹיhôy · woe!H1945
- to the vainאֱלִיל'ĕlîyl · idolH457
- shepherdרֹעִיrô‛îy · to shepherdH7473
- that leavethעָזַב‛âzab · to leave: forsakeH5800
- the flockצֹאןtsô'n tse'ôn · flockH6629
- the swordחֶ֫רֶבchereb · swordH2719
- upon his armזְרוֹעַzerôa‛ zerôa‛ zerô‛âh zerô‛âh · armH2220
- and upon his rightיָמִיןyâmîyn · rightH3225
- eyeעַ֫יִן‛ayin · eyeH5869
- shall be cleanיָבֵשׁyâbêsh · to witherH3001
- shall be utterlyכָּהָהkâhâh · to grow dimH3543
Cross-references for Zechariah 11:17
- Jeremiah 22:1Thus saith Yhwh; Go down to the house of the king of Judah, and speak there this word,
- Ezekiel 13:3Thus saith the Lord Yhwh; Woe unto the foolish prophets, that follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing!
- Ezekiel 34:2Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord Yhwh unto the shepherds; Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the flocks?
- Matthew 23:13But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in.
- Luke 11:42But woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass over judgment and the love of God: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.
- Isaiah 9:15The ancient and honourable, he is the head; and the prophet that teacheth lies, he is the tail.
- Isaiah 44:10Who hath formed a god, or molten a graven image that is profitable for nothing?
- Jeremiah 23:32Behold, I am against them that prophesy false dreams, saith Yhwh, and do tell them, and cause my people to err by their lies, and by their lightness; yet I sent them not, nor commanded them: therefore they shall not profit this people at all, saith Yhwh.
- 1 Corinthians 8:4As concerning therefore the eating of those things that are offered in sacrifice unto idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is none other God but one.
- 1 Corinthians 10:19What say I then? that the idol is any thing, or that which is offered in sacrifice to idols is any thing?
- John 10:12But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep.
- Isaiah 6:9And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not.
- Isaiah 29:10For Yhwh hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes: the prophets and your rulers, the seers hath he covered.
- Isaiah 42:19Who is blind, but my servant? or deaf, as my messenger that I sent? who is blind as he that is perfect, and blind as Yhwh's servant?
- Jeremiah 50:35A sword is upon the Chaldeans, saith Yhwh, and upon the inhabitants of Babylon, and upon her princes, and upon her wise men.
- Hosea 4:5Therefore shalt thou fall in the day, and the prophet also shall fall with thee in the night, and I will destroy thy mother.
Commentaries on Zechariah 11:17
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 17Wo to the idol shepherd - האליל רעי roi haelil, "the worthless," or "good for nothing shepherd." The shepherd in name and office, but not performing the work of one. See John 10:11. The sword shall be upon his arm - Punishment shall be executed upon the wicked Jews, and especially their wicked kings and priests. See Zechariah 11:16. Arm - the secular power; right eye - the ecclesiastical state. His arm shall be clean dried up - The secular power shall be…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 17Woe to the idol shepherd - (A shepherd of nothingness, one who hath no quality of a shepherd;) “who leaveth the flock.” The condemnation of the evil shepherd is complete in the abandonment of the sheep; as our Lord says, “He that is an hireling and not the Shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming and leaveth the sheep and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them and scattereth the sheep. The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling and…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 15-17Verses 15-17 God, having showed the misery of this people in their being justly left by the Good Shepherd, shows their further misery in being abused by foolish shepherds. The description suits the character Christ gives of the scribes and Pharisees. They never do any thing to support the weak, or comfort the feeble-minded; but seek their own ease, while they are barbarous to the flock. The idol shepherd has the garb and appearance of a shepherd, receives…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 17This oracle of woe is a poetic curse against the worthless shepherd for abandoning the flock. The arm and right eye represent the physical and mental abilities of the shepherd. The injured arm and blinded eye leave the worthless shepherd without strength or vision. These wounds bring his selfish and harmful rule to an end.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1717. the idol--The Hebrew expresses both vanity and an idol. Compare Is 14:13; Da 11:36; 2Th 2:4; Re 13:5, 6, as to the idolatrous and blasphemous claims of Antichrist. The "idol shepherd that leaveth the flock" cannot apply to Rome, but to some ruler among the Jews themselves, at first cajoling, then "leaving" them, nay, destroying them (Da 9:27; 11:30-38). God's sword shall descend on his "arm," the instrument of his tyranny towards the sheep (2Th 2:8)…Read the comment
Topics related to Zechariah 11:17
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
Revised Literal Translation — © 2018 Michael W. Jones, Sr. — GPL
Commentaries