JPS - Zechariah - 11

11:1  Open thy doors, O Lebanon, that the fire may devour thy cedars.

11:2  Wail, O cypress-tree, for the cedar is fallen; because the glorious ones are spoiled; wail, O ye oaks of Bashan, for the strong forest is come down.

11:3  Hark! the wailing of the shepherds, for their glory is spoiled; Hark! the roaring of young lions, for the thickets of the Jordan are spoiled.

11:4  Thus said HaShem my G-d: 'Feed the flock of slaughter;

11:5  whose buyers slay them, and hold themselves not guilty; and they that sell them say: Blessed be HaShem, for I am rich; and their own shepherds pity them not.

11:6  For I will no more pity the inhabitants of the land, saith HaShem; 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.'

11:7  So I fed the flock of slaughter, verily the poor of the flock. And I took unto me two staves; the one I called Graciousness, and the other I called Binders; and I fed the flock.

11:8  And I cut off the three shepherds in one month; 'for My soul became impatient of them, and their soul also loathed Me.'

11:9  Then said I: 'I will not feed you; that which dieth, let it die; and that which is to be cut off, let it be cut off; and let them that are left eat every one the flesh of another.'

11:10  And I took my staff Graciousness, and cut it asunder, 'that I might break My covenant which I had made with all the peoples.'

11:11  And it was broken in that day; and the poor of the flock that gave heed unto me knew of a truth that it was the word of HaShem.

11:12  And I said unto them: 'If ye think good, give me my hire; and if not, forbear.' So they weighed for my hire thirty pieces of silver.

11:13  And HaShem said unto me: 'Cast it into the treasury, the goodly price that I was prized at of them.' And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them into the treasury, in the house of HaShem.

11:14  Then I cut asunder mine other staff, even Binders, that the brotherhood between Judah and Israel might be broken.

11:15  And HaShem said unto me: 'Take unto thee yet the instruments of a foolish shepherd.

11:16  For, lo, I will raise up a shepherd in the land, who will not think of those that are cut off, neither will seek those that are young, nor heal that which is broken; neither will he feed that which standeth still, but he will eat the flesh of the fat, and will break their hoofs in pieces.'

11:17  Woe to the worthless 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.