Zechariah 11:15
in Zechariah 11And the LORD said to me: “Take up once more the equipment of a foolish shepherd.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Jehovah said unto me, Take unto thee yet again the instruments of a foolish shepherd.
KJV
And the Lord said unto me, Take unto thee yet the instruments of a foolish shepherd.
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This verse in Zechariah 11
Commentary
9 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Take to thee yet the instrument - o Of a foolish shepherd - Osorius: “Yet He had enacted one tragedy, in which he clearly set forth the future guilt of Judas; now another is set forth, the accumulated scoffing through antichrist. For as Paul said, because they receive not the Spirit of truth, the Allrighteous Judge shall send them a spirit of “delusion, that they should believe a lie” 2Th 2:10-
This site's exposition
the equipment of a foolish shepherd
on Zechariah 11:15-17
The prophet takes up “the equipment of a foolish shepherd”, a leader failing every duty from “care for the lost” to “sustain the healthy”. The woe falls on “the worthless shepherd, who deserts the flock”, and the sword strikes the arm and the eye that watches the sheep.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
A commentator
Gregory of NazianzusIN DEFENSE OF HIS FLIGHT TO PONTUS, ORATION 2:117 · Written before 390.
proposed
Such is my defense; its reasonableness I have set forth. And may the God of peace, who made both one and has restored us to each other, who sets kings upon thrones and raises up the poor out of the dust and lifts up the beggar from the dunghill, who chose David his servant and took him away from the sheepfolds, though he was the least and youngest of the sons of Jesse, who gave the word to those who preach the gospel with great power for the perfection of the gospel—may he himself hold me by my right hand. [May he] guide me with his counsel and receive me with glory, who is a Shepherd to shepherds and Guide to guides. [May he guide us] that we may feed his flock with knowledge, not with the instruments of a foolish shepherd, according to the blessing, and not according to the curse pronounced against the men of former days. May he give strength and power to his people and himself present to himself his flock resplendent and spotless and worthy of the fold on high, in the habitation of them that rejoice, in the splendor of the saints, so that in his temple everyone, both flock and shepherds together may say, Glory in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be all glory forever and ever. Amen.
(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
): Take unto thee the instruments or accoutrements of a foolish shepherd, that are no way fit for the business, such a shepherd's coat, and bag, and staff, as a foolish shepherd would appear in; for such a shepherd shall be set over them (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation
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
And the Lord said unto me,.... The Prophet Zechariah: Take unto thee yet the instruments of a foolish shepherd; the meaning is, that the prophet should put on the habit of a shepherd, and take a scrip and staff in his hands, and represent a foolish shepherd, hereafter described.
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
Antichrist will first make a covenant with them as their ruler, but then will break it, and they shall feel the iron yoke of his tyranny as the false Messiah, because they rejected the light yoke of the true Messiah (Da 11:35-38; But at last he is to perish utterly (Zec 11:17), and the elect remnant of Judah and Israel is to be saved gloriously.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
The instruments of a foolish shepherd - Such as a bag without bread, a scrip without measure, and a staff without a hook, etc., things that were needless or of no use; to point out to the Jewish pastors, who took no care of the flock, but devoured them, or ruled them with force and with cruelty.
The words behind it
9 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֥אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| יְהוָ֖ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֵלָ֑י | ʾelai | to me | H413 → | 5510 times |
| ע֣וֹד | od | again | H5750 → | 490 times |
| קַח־ | kach- | take | H3947 → | 966 times |
| לְךָ֔ | lekha | for yourself | ||
| כְּלִ֖י | keli | [the] equipment of | H3627 → | |
| רֹעֶ֥ה | roeh | a shepherd | H7462 → | 177 times |
| אֱוִלִֽי׃ | ʾevili | foolish | H196 → |
וַיֹּ֥אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
יְהוָ֖הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֵלָ֑יto me
ʾelaiH413 →5510 times
ע֣וֹדagain
odH5750 →490 times
קַח־take
kach-H3947 →966 times
לְךָ֔for yourself
lekha
כְּלִ֖י[the] equipment of
keliH3627 →
רֹעֶ֥הa shepherd
roehH7462 →177 times
אֱוִלִֽי׃foolish
ʾeviliH196 →
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
Matthew 15:14Disregard them! They are blind guides. If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit.”
it leads to
- Luke 6:39
Jesus also told them a parable: “Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit?
- Isaiah 56:10
Israel’s watchmen are blind, they are all oblivious; they are all mute dogs, they cannot bark; they are dreamers lying around, loving to slumber.
- Matthew 23:16–24
Woe to you, blind guides! You say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.’
- Luke 6:39
Through
Ezekiel 13:3This is what the Lord GOD says: Woe to the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit, yet have seen nothing.
it leads to
- Lamentations 2:14
The visions of your prophets were empty and deceptive; they did not expose your guilt to ward off your captivity. The burdens they envisioned for you were empty and misleading.
- Jeremiah 23:28–32
Let the prophet who has a dream retell it, but let him who has My word speak it truthfully. For what is straw compared to grain?” declares the LORD.
- Lamentations 2:14
Through
Lamentations 2:14The visions of your prophets were empty and deceptive; they did not expose your guilt to ward off your captivity. The burdens they envisioned for you were empty and misleading.
it leads to
- Isaiah 58:1
“Cry aloud, do not hold back! Raise your voice like a ram’s horn. Declare to My people their transgression and to the house of Jacob their sins.
- Jeremiah 5:31
The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule by their own authority. My people love it so, but what will you do in the end?
- Ezekiel 22:28
Her prophets whitewash these deeds by false visions and lying divinations, saying, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says,’ when the LORD has not spoken.
- Isaiah 58:1
Where this verse is studied
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); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Gregory of Nazianzus, IN DEFENSE OF HIS FLIGHT TO PONTUS, ORATION 2:117; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Zechariah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.