Zechariah 11

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

Wail , O fir - tree , for the cedar is fallen , because the goodly ones are destroyed : wail , O ye oaks of Bashan , for the strong forest is come down.

A voice of the wailing of the shepherds ! for their glory is destroyed : a voice of the roaring of young lions ! for the pride of the Jordan is laid waste .

Thus said Jehovah my God : Feed the flock of slaughter;

whose possessors slay them, and hold themselves not guilty ; and they that sell them say, Blessed be Jehovah, for I am rich ; and their own shepherds pity them not.

For I will no more pity the inhabitants of the land, saith Jehovah; but, lo, I will deliver the men every one into his neighbor'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.

So I fed the flock of slaughter, verily the 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.

And I cut off the three shepherds in one month; for my soul was weary of them, and their soul also loathed me.

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.

And I took my staff Beauty, and cut it asunder, that I might break my covenant which I had made with all the peoples .

And it was broken in that day ; and thus the poor of the flock that gave heed unto me knew that it was the word of Jehovah .

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.

And Jehovah said unto me, Cast it unto the potter , the goodly price that I was prized at by them. And I took the thirty ` pieces ' of silver, and cast them unto the potter , in the house of Jehovah .

Then I cut asunder mine other staff, even Bands, that I might break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.

And Jehovah said unto me, Take unto thee yet again the instruments of a foolish shepherd.

For, lo, I will raise up a shepherd in the land, who will not visit those that are cut off, neither will seek those that are scattered , nor heal that which is broken, nor feed that which is sound; but he will eat the flesh of the fat `sheep' , and will tear their hoofs in pieces.

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.