Zechariah 11:17
in Zechariah 11Woe to the worthless shepherd, who deserts the flock! May a sword strike his arm and his right eye! May his arm be completely withered and his right eye utterly blinded!”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
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.
KJV
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 eye shall be utterly darkened.
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This verse in Zechariah 11
Commentary
9 notes on this verseWoe to the idol shepherd,.... Or, "the shepherd of nothing" (w); that is, no true shepherd, that is good for nothing, for an idol is nothing in the world, 1Co 8:4 and who is an idol himself, sits in the temple of God, and is worshipped as if he was God.
This site's exposition
instruments of a foolish shepherd
on Zechariah 11:15-17
The prophet is told to take up next the instruments of a foolish shepherd, a leader who will not visit the cut off, seek the young, heal the broken, or feed the standing, but will eat the fat and tear the very claws from the flock. The oracle turns to woe against this idol shepherd who abandons the flock outright, his arm withered and his right eye darkened, the two members that should wield the staff and watch the sheep struck useless. Henry and Barnes read the foolish shepherd as the counterpart the true shepherd of the chapter's opening exposes, the judgment on bad leadership left as history's own verdict rather than the notes naming a single figure.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(vv. 15 seqq.) And the Lord said to me: Take for yourself the vessels of a foolish shepherd. For behold, I will raise up a shepherd in the land who will not visit those who are abandoned, he will not seek the scattered, and he will not heal the broken. And what stands, he will not nourish, and he will eat the flesh of the fat ones, and he will dissolve their hoofs.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
His arm shall wither and be dried up, so that he who would not help his friends when it was required shall not know how to help himself; his right eye shall be utterly darkened, that he shall not discern the danger that his flock is in, nor know which way to look for relief. This was fulfilled when Christ said to the Pharisees, I have come that those who see may be made blind, John ix.
1 Open thy doors, O Lebanon, that the fire may devour thy cedars. 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. 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.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture
The idol shepherd - To them that are but the images of shepherds. That leaveth - Casts off the care of the flock. The sword - Of the enemy, shall break his strength and be-fool his counsels.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Woe to the idol shepherd - (A shepherd of nothingness, one who hath no quality of a shepherd ;) “who leaveth the flock.” The condemnation of the evil shepherd is complete in the abandonment of the sheep; as our Lord says, “He that is an hireling and not the Shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming and leaveth the sheep and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them and scattereth the sheep. The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling and careth not for the sheep” Joh 10:12-
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
the idol--The Hebrew expresses both vanity and an idol. Re 13:5, 6, as to the idolatrous and blasphemous claims of Antichrist. The "idol shepherd that leaveth the flock" cannot apply to Rome, but to some ruler among the Jews themselves, at first cajoling, then "leaving" them, nay, destroying them (Da 9:27;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase+unbalanced-parens
Wo to the idol shepherd - רעי האליל roi haelil, “the worthless,” or “good for nothing shepherd.” The shepherd in name and office, but not performing the work of one. See Joh 10:11. The sword shall be upon his arm - Punishment shall be executed upon the wicked Jews, and especially their wicked kings and priests. See Zec 11:16. Arm - the secular power; right eye - the ecclesiastical state. His arm shall be clean dried up - The secular power shall be broken, and become utterly inefficient. His right eye shall be utterly darkened - Prophecy shall be restrained; and the whole state, ecclesiastical and civil, shall be so completely eclipsed, that none of their functions shall be performed. This may refer to the worthless and wicked governor mentioned in the preceding verse. There are several things in this chapter that are very obscure, and we can hardly say what opinion is right; nor is it at all clear whether they refer to a very early or late period of the Jewish history.
The words behind it
18 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ה֣וֹי | ho | woe to! | H1945 → | 51 times |
| רֹעִ֤י | roi | shepherd of my | H7462 → | 177 times |
| הָֽאֱלִיל֙ | haelil | <the> worthlessness | H457 → | |
| עֹזְבִ֣י | ʾozevi | [who] abandons | H5800 → | |
| הַצֹּ֔אן | hatzon | <of> the flock | H6629 → | 274 times |
| חֶ֥רֶב | cherev | a sword | H2719 → | 413 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | [will be] on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| זְרוֹע֖וֹ | zeroo | arm his | H2220 → | |
| וְעַל־ | veal- | and on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| עֵ֣ין | ʾein | [the] eye of | H5869 → | 887 times |
| יְמִינ֑וֹ | yemino | right [side] his | H3225 → | 140 times |
| זְרֹעוֹ֙ | zeroo | arm his | H2220 → | |
| יָב֣וֹשׁ | yavoosh | totally <wither> | H3001 → | 59 times |
| תִּיבָ֔שׁ | tivash | it will wither | H3001 → | 59 times |
| וְעֵ֥ין | veein | and [the] eye of | H5869 → | 887 times |
| יְמִינ֖וֹ | yemino | right [side] his | H3225 → | 140 times |
| כָּהֹ֥ה | kahoh | certainly <to dim> | H3543 → | |
| תִכְהֶֽה׃ ס | tikhheh | it will grow dim | H3543 → |
ה֣וֹיwoe to!
hoH1945 →51 times
רֹעִ֤יshepherd of my
roiH7462 →177 times
הָֽאֱלִיל֙<the> worthlessness
haelilH457 →
עֹזְבִ֣י[who] abandons
ʾozeviH5800 →
הַצֹּ֔אן<of> the flock
hatzonH6629 →274 times
חֶ֥רֶבa sword
cherevH2719 →413 times
עַל־[will be] on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
זְרוֹע֖וֹarm his
zerooH2220 →
וְעַל־and on
veal-H5921 →5755 times
עֵ֣ין[the] eye of
ʾeinH5869 →887 times
יְמִינ֑וֹright [side] his
yeminoH3225 →140 times
זְרֹעוֹ֙arm his
zerooH2220 →
יָב֣וֹשׁtotally <wither>
yavooshH3001 →59 times
תִּיבָ֔שׁit will wither
tivashH3001 →59 times
וְעֵ֥יןand [the] eye of
veeinH5869 →887 times
יְמִינ֖וֹright [side] his
yeminoH3225 →140 times
כָּהֹ֥הcertainly <to dim>
kahohH3543 →
תִכְהֶֽה׃ סit will grow dim
tikhhehH3543 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Jeremiah 23:1“Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of My pasture!” declares the LORD.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 10:21
For the shepherds have become senseless; they do not seek the LORD. Therefore they have not prospered, and all their flock is scattered.
- Zechariah 11:15–17
And the LORD said to me: “Take up once more the equipment of a foolish shepherd.
- Ezekiel 34:2–10
“Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Woe to the shepherds of Israel, who only feed themselves! Should not the…
- Ezekiel 13:3
This is what the Lord GOD says: Woe to the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit, yet have seen nothing.
- Matthew 9:36
When He saw the crowds, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
- Jeremiah 10:21
Through
Ezekiel 34:2“Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Woe to the shepherds of Israel, who only feed themselves! Should not the…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 23:1
“Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of My pasture!” declares the LORD.
- Jeremiah 3:15
Then I will give you shepherds after My own heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding.”
- Isaiah 40:11
He tends His flock like a shepherd; He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart. He gently leads the nursing ewes.
- Jeremiah 23:1
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Zechariah
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Zechariah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.