The big picture
Zechariah 11 opens in verse 1 with “Open thy doors, O Lebanon, that the fire may devour thy cedars.”, reaches its middle movement near verse 9 with “Then said I, I will not feed you: that that dieth, let it die; and that that is to be…”, and closes in verse 17 with “Woe to the idol shepherd that leaveth the flock! the sword shall be upon his arm, and…” Repeated or prominent terms include LORD, flock, feed, hand, land. Together, those details trace this chapter’s own movement from its opening to its conclusion.
Scripture beside the summary
Zechariah · King James Version · 17Zechariah 11:1-6
1–6: Open thy doors, O Lebanon, that the fire may devour thy cedars.
Zechariah 11:1–6 opens with “Open thy doors, O Lebanon, that the fire may devour thy cedars.” and reaches “For I will no more pity the inhabitants of the land, saith the LORD : but, lo, I will deliver…” by its final verse. That movement develops the focus on Zechariah 11 develops its own movement around LORD, flock, feed, hand, land, with particular weight carried by hand, LORD, spoiled.
Context that brings the passage to life
“Open thy doors, O Lebanon, that the fire may devour thy cedars.” Naming Lebanon and Open keeps the account rooted in particular people or places. Follow where the name returns and what changes around it.
“Howl, fir tree; for the cedar is fallen; because the mighty are spoiled: howl, O ye oaks of Bashan; for the forest of…” Naming Bashan and Howl keeps the account rooted in particular people or places. Follow where the name returns and what changes around it.
Zechariah 11:1-6
King James Version1Open thy doors, O Lebanon, that the fire may devour thy cedars.
2Howl, fir tree; for the cedar is fallen; because the mighty are spoiled: howl, O ye oaks of Bashan; for the forest of the vintage is come down.
3There is a voice of the howling of the shepherds; for their glory is spoiled: a voice of the roaring of young lions; for the pride of Jordan is spoiled.
4Thus saith the LORD my God; Feed the flock of the slaughter;
5Whose possessors slay them, and hold themselves not guilty: and they that sell them say, Blessed be the LORD ; for I am rich: and their own shepherds pity them not.
6For I will no more pity the inhabitants of the land, saith the LORD : but, lo, I will deliver the men every one into his neighbour’s hand, and into the hand of his king: and they shall smite the land, and out of their hand I will not deliver them.
Zechariah 11:7-12
7–12: I will feed the flock of slaughter, even you, O poor of the flock. And I…
Zechariah 11:7–12 opens with “And I will feed the flock of slaughter, even you, O poor of the flock. And I took unto me two…” and reaches “And I said unto them, If ye think good, give me my price; and if not, forbear. So they weighed…” by its final verse. That movement develops the focus on Zechariah 11 develops its own movement around LORD, flock, feed, hand, land, with particular weight carried by flock, Beauty, feed.
Context that brings the passage to life
“And I will feed the flock of slaughter, even you, O poor of the flock. And I took unto me two staves; the one I called…” The number two makes the report concrete. Ask whether it measures time, people, distance, repetition, or completeness before deciding what weight it carries.
“Three shepherds also I cut off in one month; and my soul lothed them, and their soul also abhorred me.” The number three makes the report concrete. Ask whether it measures time, people, distance, repetition, or completeness before deciding what weight it carries.
Zechariah 11:7-12
King James Version7And I will feed the flock of slaughter, even you, O poor of the flock. And I took unto me two staves; the one I called Beauty, and the other I called Bands; and I fed the flock.
8Three shepherds also I cut off in one month; and my soul lothed them, and their soul also abhorred me.
9Then 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.
10And I took my staff, even Beauty, and cut it asunder, that I might break my covenant which I had made with all the people.
11And it was broken in that day: and so the poor of the flock that waited upon me knew that it was the word of the LORD .
12And I said unto them, If ye think good, give me my price; and if not, forbear. So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver.
Zechariah 11:13-17
13–17: The LORD said unto me, Cast it unto the potter: a goodly price that I…
Zechariah 11:13–17 opens with “And the LORD said unto me, Cast it unto the potter: a goodly price that I was prised at of them…” and reaches “Woe to the idol shepherd that leaveth the flock! the sword shall be upon his arm, and upon his…” by its final verse. That movement develops the focus on Zechariah 11 develops its own movement around LORD, flock, feed, hand, land, with particular weight carried by LORD, shepherd, pieces.
Context that brings the passage to life
“And the LORD said unto me, Cast it unto the potter: a goodly price that I was prised at of them. And I took the thirty…” The number thirty makes the report concrete. Ask whether it measures time, people, distance, repetition, or completeness before deciding what weight it carries.
“Then I cut asunder mine other staff, even Bands, that I might break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.” Naming Bands and Israel keeps the account rooted in particular people or places. Follow where the name returns and what changes around it.
Zechariah 11:13-17
King James Version13And the LORD said unto me, Cast it unto the potter: a goodly price that I was prised at of them. And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them to the potter in the house of the LORD .
14Then I cut asunder mine other staff, even Bands, that I might break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.
15And the LORD 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.
17Woe 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.
Details worth noticing
The opening image
Zechariah 11:1 begins with “Open thy doors, O Lebanon, that the fire may devour thy cedars.”
Where the chapter turns
Zechariah 11:9 forms a natural hinge: “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…”
The final note
Zechariah 11:17 leaves the reader with “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…”
A word trail through the chapter
The words LORD, flock, feed, hand, land, pieces help reveal the chapter’s repeated concerns.
How will Abram's story answer Babel?
The builders seek to make their own name; God promises to make Abram's name great and to bless other families through him.
What obstacles frame the coming promise?
The family has not reached Canaan, and Sarai has no child.
KJV words made clear
- unto
- to
- thee
- you
- thy
- your
Text first
Where readers differ
The chapter summary begins with what the passage says and how its parts fit together. It does not assume one denomination has already settled every question. Where a conclusion depends on a tradition, literary theory, or historical reconstruction, that dependence is named openly.
The KJV text is presented first. Interpretive conclusions are labeled, and differences are introduced only when they help a reader understand why serious communities do not always reach the same answer.
Comparative interpretive notes for this chapter are in preparation. Until reviewed notes are ready, this page separates the KJV text from summary and application without claiming that serious readers agree on every question.