Tree of Life Version
Zechariah 11:17
17Woe to the worthless shepherd who deserts the flock! May a sword fell his arm and his right eye! May his arm be all withered and his right eye totally blinded!”
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
15Again Adonai said to me, “Once more take up the equipment of a foolish shepherd! 16For behold, I am going to raise up a shepherd in the land who will not care for the dying, seek out the young or heal the injured or nourish the healthy. Instead he will eat the meat of the choice sheep, even tearing off their hoofs.” Woe to the worthless shepherd who deserts the flock! May a sword fell his arm and his right eye! May his arm be all withered and his right eye totally blinded!”
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
Words taken from the KJV.
- Woeהוֹיhôy · woe!H1945
- to the idolאֱלִיל'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 said Adonai: “Go down to the palace of the king of Judah and speak this word:
- Ezekiel 13:3thus says Adonai Elohim: ‘Woe to the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit—except they have seen nothing!
- Ezekiel 34:2“Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and say to those shepherds, thus says Adonai Elohim: “Oy , shepherds of Israel who only take care of themselves! Should shepherds not take care of the sheep?
- Matthew 23:13“But woe to you, Torah scholars and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut people out of the kingdom of heaven. For you do not enter yourselves, nor do you let those enter who are trying to go in.
- Luke 11:42“But woe to you Pharisees, for you tithe mint, rue, and every garden herb, yet bypass justice and the love of God. It is necessary to do these things without neglecting the others.
- Isaiah 9:15The leaders of this people lead them astray. Those they mislead are swallowed up.
- Isaiah 44:10Who fashions a god or casts an idol for no profit?
- Jeremiah 23:32Behold, I am against those who prophesy lying dreams,” declares Adonai, “and tell them, and so lead My people astray with their lies and with their reckless boasts. Yet I never sent them or commanded them. Nor do they benefit this people at all.” It is a declaration of Adonai.
- 1 Corinthians 8:4Therefore concerning the eating of idol sacrifices, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is no God but one.
- 1 Corinthians 10:19What am I saying then—that an idol sacrifice is anything, or that an idol is anything?
- John 10:12The hired worker is not the shepherd, and the sheep are not his own. He sees the wolf coming and abandons the sheep and flees. Then the wolf snatches and scatters the sheep.
- Isaiah 6:9Then He said: “Go! Tell this people: ‘Hear without understanding, and see without perceiving.’
- Isaiah 29:10For Adonai has poured out on you a spirit of deep sleep, and has shut your eyes—the prophets, and covered your heads—the seers.
- Isaiah 42:19Who is blind, but My Servant? Or deaf as My Messenger that I send? Who is so blind as the one in covenant with Me, blind as Adonai’s Servant?
- Jeremiah 50:35“A sword is on the Chaldeans” —it is a declaration of Adonai— “and on Babylon’s inhabitants, and her officials and wise men.
- Hosea 4:5So you will stumble by day. Also a prophet will stumble with you by night, when I destroy your 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
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