Zechariah 11:1-17.
Zechariah 11:1-17
Trouble for Israel's Enemies
Lebanon, open your gates!
"Let the fire come in to destroy your cedar trees. Cry, you cyprus
trees! The glorious cedars have fallen and are rotting. Cry, you oak
trees of Bashan! The dense forest has been chopped down. Listen!
Shepherds are crying. Their glorious pastures have been ruined.
Listen! Lions are roaring. The forests of the Jordan Valley are no
more to be found.
Worthless Shepherds
The Lord my God said to me:
Tend those sheep doomed for slaughter! The people who buy and butcher
them go unpunished, while everyone who sells them says, "Praise the
Lord! I'm rich." Not even their shepherds have pity on them. Tend
those sheep because I, the Lord, will no longer have pity on the
people of this earth. I'll turn neighbor against neighbor and make
them slaves of a king. They will bring disaster on the earth, and I'll
do nothing to rescue any of them. So I became a shepherd of those
sheep doomed to be slaughtered by the sheep dealers. And I gave names
to the two sticks I used for tending the sheep: One of them was named
"Mercy" and the other "Unity." In less than a month, I became
impatient with three shepherds who didn't like me, and I got rid of
them. Then I said, "I refuse to be your shepherd. Let the sheep that
are going to die, go on and die, and those that are going to be
destroyed, go on and be destroyed. Then let the others eat one another
alive."
On that same day, I broke the stick named "Mercy" to show that the
Lord had canceled his agreement with all people. The sheep dealers
who saw me knew right away that this was a message from the Lord. - I
told them, "Pay me my wages, if you think you should; otherwise,
forget it." So they handed me my wages, a measly thirty pieces of
silver. Then the Lord said, "Throw the money into the treasury." So I
threw the money into the treasury at the Lord's temple. Then I broke
the stick named "Unity" and canceled the ties between Judah and
Israel.
Next, the Lord said to me, "Act like a shepherd again—this time a
worthless shepherd. Once more I am going to let a worthless nobody
rule the land—one who won't care for the strays or search for the
young or heal the sick or feed the healthy. He will just dine on the
fattest sheep, leaving nothing but a few bones."
You worthless shepherd, deserting the sheep! I hope a sword will
cripple your arm and blind your right eye."
God bless you.
Trouble for Israel's Enemies
Lebanon, open your gates!
"Let the fire come in to destroy your cedar trees. Cry, you cyprus
trees! The glorious cedars have fallen and are rotting. Cry, you oak
trees of Bashan! The dense forest has been chopped down. Listen!
Shepherds are crying. Their glorious pastures have been ruined.
Listen! Lions are roaring. The forests of the Jordan Valley are no
more to be found.
Worthless Shepherds
The Lord my God said to me:
Tend those sheep doomed for slaughter! The people who buy and butcher
them go unpunished, while everyone who sells them says, "Praise the
Lord! I'm rich." Not even their shepherds have pity on them. Tend
those sheep because I, the Lord, will no longer have pity on the
people of this earth. I'll turn neighbor against neighbor and make
them slaves of a king. They will bring disaster on the earth, and I'll
do nothing to rescue any of them. So I became a shepherd of those
sheep doomed to be slaughtered by the sheep dealers. And I gave names
to the two sticks I used for tending the sheep: One of them was named
"Mercy" and the other "Unity." In less than a month, I became
impatient with three shepherds who didn't like me, and I got rid of
them. Then I said, "I refuse to be your shepherd. Let the sheep that
are going to die, go on and die, and those that are going to be
destroyed, go on and be destroyed. Then let the others eat one another
alive."
On that same day, I broke the stick named "Mercy" to show that the
Lord had canceled his agreement with all people. The sheep dealers
who saw me knew right away that this was a message from the Lord. - I
told them, "Pay me my wages, if you think you should; otherwise,
forget it." So they handed me my wages, a measly thirty pieces of
silver. Then the Lord said, "Throw the money into the treasury." So I
threw the money into the treasury at the Lord's temple. Then I broke
the stick named "Unity" and canceled the ties between Judah and
Israel.
Next, the Lord said to me, "Act like a shepherd again—this time a
worthless shepherd. Once more I am going to let a worthless nobody
rule the land—one who won't care for the strays or search for the
young or heal the sick or feed the healthy. He will just dine on the
fattest sheep, leaving nothing but a few bones."
You worthless shepherd, deserting the sheep! I hope a sword will
cripple your arm and blind your right eye."
God bless you.
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