Zechariah 11
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1 |
Open thy doors, O Lebanon, that the fire
may devour thy cedars.
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2 |
Howl, 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.
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3 |
There 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.
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The Foolish
Shepherds |
4 |
Thus saith the LORD my God; Feed the flock of the
slaughter;
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5 |
whose 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.
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6 |
For I will no more pity the inhabitants
of the land, saith the LORD: 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.
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7 |
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 Beauty, and the other I called Bands; and I fed the
flock.
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8 |
Three shepherds also I cut off in one
month; and my soul loathed them, and their soul also abhorred
me.
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9 |
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 of
another.
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10 |
And I took my staff, even Beauty,
and cut it asunder, that I might break my covenant which I had made
with all the people.
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11 |
And 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.
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12 |
And 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.
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13 |
And the LORD said
unto me, Cast it unto the potter: a goodly price that I was prized
at of them. And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast
them to the potter in the house of the LORD. Mt.
27.9, 10
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14 |
Then I cut asunder mine other staff, even Bands, that I might break the brotherhood between Judah
and Israel.
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15 |
And the LORD said
unto me, Take unto thee yet the instruments of a foolish
shepherd.
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16 |
For, 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.
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17 |
Woe to the idle 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.
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