Zechariah 11:5
in Zechariah 11whose buyers slaughter them without remorse. Those who sell them say, ‘Blessed be the LORD, for I am rich!’ Even their own shepherds have no compassion on them.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
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.
KJV
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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This verse in Zechariah 11
Commentary
8 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Whose possessors - (buyers) slay them and hold themselves not guilty, rather, are not guilty either in their own eyes, or in the sight of God, since He gave them up and would no more avenge them. They contract no guilt. Aforetime God said; “Israel was holiness to the Lord, the first-fruits of His increase; all that devour him shall be guilty: evil shall come upon them, saith the Lord” Jer 2:
This site's exposition
Feed the flock of the slaughter
on Zechariah 11:4-6
The Lord commands the prophet to feed the flock of the slaughter, sheep already marked for the knife by their own possessors, who slay them without guilt and profit by the sale while calling it blessing. Their own shepherds do not pity them, so the Lord announces he will no more pity the land either, delivering everyone into a neighbor's hand and into the hand of his king. Henry and Gill read the doomed flock as Judah under corrupt leadership in the prophet's own day, the withdrawal of divine pity answering the shepherds' own failure of pity first.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
(Vers. 4, 5.) Thus says the Lord my God: Feed the sheep of slaughter, which those who possessed them were slaughtering, and they did not grieve, and they were selling them saying: Blessed be the Lord, we have become rich, and their shepherds did not spare them. LXX: Thus says the Lord Almighty: Feed the sheep of slaughter, which those who possessed them were killing, and they did not repent, and those who were selling them, said: Blessed be the Lord, we have become rich, and their shepherds were not patient with them.
A commentator
Gregory of NazianzusIN DEFENSE OF HIS FLIGHT TO PONTUS, ORATION 2:62-64 · Written before 390.
proposed
Whenever I remember Zechariah, I shudder at the reaping hook and likewise at his testimony against the priests, his hints in reference to the celebrated Joshua, the high priest, whom he represents as stripped of filthy garments and then clothed in rich priestly apparel. As for words and charges to Joshua which he puts into the angel's mouth, let them be treated with silent respect, as referring perhaps to a greater and higher object than those who are many priests.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
There was a general decay, nay, a destruction, of religion among them, and it was all one to them; they regarded it not. My people love to have it so, Jer. v. 31 . Though they were oppressed and broken in judgment, yet they willingly walked after the commandment, Hos. v. 11 .
Whose possessors slay them, and hold themselves not guilty,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
In short-sighted selfishness they thought they had gained their object, covetous self-aggrandizement (Lu 16:14), and hypocritically "thanked" God for their wicked gain (compare Lu 18:11). say . . . pity--In Hebrew it is singular: that is, each of those that sell them saith: Not one of their own shepherds pitieth them.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Whose possessors - Governors and false prophets, slay them, by leading them to those things that will bring them to destruction. And they that sell them - Give them up to idolatry; and bless God, strange to tell, that they get secular advantage by the establishment of this false religion.
The words behind it
14 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אֲשֶׁ֨ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| קֹנֵיהֶ֤ן | koneihen | [those who] buy them | H7069 → | |
| יַֽהֲרְגֻן֙ | yahargun | they will kill them | H2026 → | |
| וְלֹ֣א | velo' | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יֶאְשָׁ֔מוּ | ye'shamu | they will be held guilty | H816 → | |
| וּמֹכְרֵיהֶ֣ן | umokhereihen | and [those who] sell them | H4376 → | |
| יֹאמַ֔ר | yomar | he will say | H559 → | 5305 times |
| בָּר֥וּךְ | barukh | [be] blessed | H1288 → | |
| יְהוָ֖ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| וַאעְשִׁ֑ר | va'shir | so I may gain riches | H6238 → | |
| וְרֹ֣עֵיהֶ֔ם | veroeihem | and shepherds their | H7462 → | 177 times |
| לֹ֥א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יַחְמ֖וֹל | yachmol | he will have compassion | H2550 → | |
| עֲלֵיהֶֽן׃ | ʾaleihen | on them | H5921 → | 5755 times |
אֲשֶׁ֨רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
קֹנֵיהֶ֤ן[those who] buy them
koneihenH7069 →
יַֽהֲרְגֻן֙they will kill them
yahargunH2026 →
וְלֹ֣אand not
velo'H3808 →5168 times
יֶאְשָׁ֔מוּthey will be held guilty
ye'shamuH816 →
וּמֹכְרֵיהֶ֣ןand [those who] sell them
umokhereihenH4376 →
יֹאמַ֔רhe will say
yomarH559 →5305 times
בָּר֥וּךְ[be] blessed
barukhH1288 →
יְהוָ֖הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
וַאעְשִׁ֑רso I may gain riches
va'shirH6238 →
וְרֹ֣עֵיהֶ֔םand shepherds their
veroeihemH7462 →177 times
לֹ֥אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
יַחְמ֖וֹלhe will have compassion
yachmolH2550 →
עֲלֵיהֶֽן׃on them
ʾaleihenH5921 →5755 times
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
Hosea 12:8And Ephraim boasts: “How rich I have become! I have found wealth for myself. In all my labors, they can find in me no iniquity that is sinful.”
it leads to
- Revelation 3:17
You say, ‘I am rich; I have grown wealthy and need nothing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked.
- Psalms 62:10
Place no trust in extortion, or false hope in stolen goods. If your riches increase, do not set your heart upon them.
- Job 31:24–25
If I have put my trust in gold or called pure gold my security,
- Psalms 52:7
“Look at the man who did not make God his refuge, but trusted in the abundance of his wealth and strengthened himself by destruction.”
- Proverbs 30:20
This is the way of an adulteress: She eats and wipes her mouth and says, ‘I have done nothing wrong.’
- Revelation 3:17
Through
Jeremiah 50:7All who found them devoured them, and their enemies said, ‘We are not guilty, for they have sinned against the LORD, their true pasture, the LORD, the hope of their fathers.’
it leads to
- Jeremiah 14:8
O Hope of Israel, its Savior in times of distress, why are You like a stranger in the land, like a traveler who stays but a night?
- Jeremiah 2:3
Israel was holy to the LORD, the firstfruits of His harvest. All who devoured her found themselves guilty; disaster came upon them,’” declares the LORD.
- Jeremiah 40:2–3
The captain of the guard found Jeremiah and said to him, “The LORD your God decreed this disaster on this place,
- Jeremiah 14:8
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Zechariah
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Gregory of Nazianzus, IN DEFENSE OF HIS FLIGHT TO PONTUS, ORATION 2:62-64; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Zechariah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.