Zechariah 11:9
in Zechariah 11Then I said, “I will no longer shepherd you. Let the dying die, and the perishing perish; and let those who remain devour one another’s flesh.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
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.
KJV
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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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)
And I said, I will not feed you - God, at last, leaves the rebellious soul or people to itself, as He says by Moses, “Then My anger shall be kindled against them in that day, and I will forsake them, and will hide My Face from them, and they shall be devoured, and many evils and troubles shall find them” Deu 31:17: and our Lord tells the captious Jews; “I go My way, and ye shall seek Me and shall die in your sins” Joh 8:
This site's exposition
I will not feed you
on Zechariah 11:9-11
The shepherd resigns his charge outright, I will not feed you, let the dying die and the perishing perish, and let the rest devour one another, a sentence the commentators read as covenant care formally withdrawn rather than merely neglected. The staff called Beauty is cut in two, breaking the covenant the Lord had made with all the peoples, and the poor of the flock who watched him do it recognized the word of the Lord in the very breaking. Barnes and Pusey take the shattered staff as beauty forfeited, the outward favor Judah had known among the nations withdrawn along with the shepherd's protection.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
(Verse 8, 9.) And I took for myself two staffs: one I called Beauty, and the other I called Cords (or Funicles); and I fed the flock. And I cut off three shepherds in one month, and my soul was grieved with them; for their soul also varied against me. And I said, I will not feed you; let it die, let it die; and let it be cut off, let it be cut off; and let the rest eat every one the flesh of another.
We find the God of the universe often giving rein to humanity because of the excess of its wickedness, and he allows the human race to be borne where it will. Of this he has warned us speaking through his prophet to Israel: "And I …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Then - After that time of his patient feeding the flock, and cutting off the unfaithful shepherds. Cut off - By the sword or famine. The flesh - Either live to be besieged, 'till hunger makes the living eat the dead, or by seditions and bloody intestine quarrels, destroy each other.
Then said I, I will not feed you,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
The last rejection of the Jews is foretold, of which the former under Nebuchadnezzar, similarly described, was the type (Jer 15:1-3; Perish those who are doomed to perish, since they reject Him who would have saved them! Let them rush on to their own ruin, since they will have it so. eat . . . flesh of another--Let them madly perish by mutual discords.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
I will not feed you - I shall instruct you no longer: some of you are appointed to death by famine; others, to be cut off by the sword; and others of you, to such desperation that ye shall destroy one another.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וָאֹמַ֕ר | vaomar | and I said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| לֹ֥א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| אֶרְעֶ֖ה | ʾereh | I will shepherd | H7462 → | 177 times |
| אֶתְכֶ֑ם | ʾetkhem | <obj.> you | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הַמֵּתָ֣ה | hametah | the [one which] dies | H4191 → | |
| תָמ֗וּת | tamut | let it die | H4191 → | |
| וְהַנִּכְחֶ֙דֶת֙ | vehannikhchedet | and the [one which] is being destroyed | H3582 → | 32 times |
| תִּכָּחֵ֔ד | tikached | let it be destroyed | H3582 → | 32 times |
| וְהַ֨נִּשְׁאָר֔וֹת | vehanisharot | and those [which] survive | H7604 → | 133 times |
| תֹּאכַ֕לְנָה | tokhalnah | let them devour | H398 → | 810 times |
| אִשָּׁ֖ה | ʾishah | each | H802 → | 781 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| בְּשַׂ֥ר | besar | [the] flesh of | H1320 → | 270 times |
| רְעוּתָֽהּ׃ | reutah | [female] neighbor its | H7468 → |
וָאֹמַ֕רand I said
vaomarH559 →5305 times
לֹ֥אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
אֶרְעֶ֖הI will shepherd
ʾerehH7462 →177 times
אֶתְכֶ֑ם<obj.> you
ʾetkhemH853 →10935 times
הַמֵּתָ֣הthe [one which] dies
hametahH4191 →
תָמ֗וּתlet it die
tamutH4191 →
וְהַנִּכְחֶ֙דֶת֙and the [one which] is being destroyed
vehannikhchedetH3582 →32 times
תִּכָּחֵ֔דlet it be destroyed
tikachedH3582 →32 times
וְהַ֨נִּשְׁאָר֔וֹתand those [which] survive
vehanisharotH7604 →133 times
תֹּאכַ֕לְנָהlet them devour
tokhalnahH398 →810 times
אִשָּׁ֖הeach
ʾishahH802 →781 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
בְּשַׂ֥ר[the] flesh of
besarH1320 →270 times
רְעוּתָֽהּ׃[female] neighbor its
reutahH7468 →
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
Revelation 22:11Let the unrighteous continue to be unrighteous, and the vile continue to be vile; let the righteous continue to practice righteousness, and the holy continue to be holy.”
it leads to
- Daniel 12:10
Many will be purified, made spotless, and refined, but the wicked will continue to act wickedly. None of the wicked will understand, but the wise will understand.
- Proverbs 4:18
The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining brighter and brighter until midday.
- Ezekiel 3:27
But when I speak with you, I will open your mouth, and you are to tell them, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says.’ Whoever listens, let him listen; and whoever refuses, let him…
- 2 Timothy 3:13
while evil men and imposters go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.
- Matthew 15:14
Disregard them! They are blind guides. If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit.”
- Daniel 12:10
Through
Matthew 21:43Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit.
it leads to
- Matthew 21:41
“He will bring those wretches to a wretched end,” they replied, “and will rent out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him his share of the fruit at harvest time.”
- Matthew 8:11–12
I say to you that many will come from the east and the west to share the banquet with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.
- 1 Peter 2:9
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, to proclaim the virtues of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.
- Matthew 21:41
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Zechariah

This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Edward Bouverie Pusey, The Minor Prophets: A Commentary; 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 Theodoret of Cyrus, ON DIVINE PROVIDENCE 7:38.
