Zechariah's prophetic discourse, begun in chapter 9, speaks to a future Day, in which nations return to Jerusalem and Israel. That prophesy continues... but turns darker.
Zechariah 11:1-3, Wail
Open your doors, O Lebanon,
so that fire may devour your cedars!
Wail, O pine tree, for the cedar has fallen;
the stately trees are ruined!
Wail, oaks of Bashan;
the dense forest has been cut down!
Listen to the wail of the shepherds;
their rich pastures are destroyed!
Listen to the roar of the lions;
the lush thicket of the Jordan is ruined!
The beautiful forests and pastures of Lebanon are being destroyed. Three nations, Lebanon, Bashan and Jordan are described; three types of trees are ruined: cedars, pines, and oaks. Bashan was to the northeast of Israel. It first appears in the Old Testament in Deuteronomy 1:4 and Numbers 21:33, as the Israelites approach Canaan. Lebanon was (and still is) northwest of Jerusalem; Jordan is to the east.
The joy and energy at the end of chapter 10 has become despair and judgment, as enemy nations are destroyed. Shepherds wail at the destruction of their flocks; lions roar at the destruction of their thickets. (A similar passage occurs in Jeremiah 25:34-38.)
Zechariah 11:4-6, No longer pity
For I will no longer have pity on the people of the land," declares the LORD. "I will hand everyone over to his neighbor and his king. They will oppress the land, and I will not rescue them from their hands."
Bad shepherds care little for their flocks and are happy to get rich. But the injustice in the land, with each person working to get rich on the backs of others, will soon be over. YHWH will no longer pity these oppressors.
Zechariah 11:7-11, Breaking Favor
So I pastured the flock marked for slaughter, particularly the oppressed of the flock. Then I took two staffs and called one Favor and the other Union, and I pastured the flock. In one month I got rid of the three shepherds. The flock detested me, and I grew weary of them and said, "I will not be your shepherd. Let the dying die, and the perishing perish. Let those who are left eat one another's flesh."
Then I took my staff called Favor and broke it, revoking the covenant I had made with all the nations. It was revoked on that day, and so the afflicted of the flock who were watching me knew it was the word of the LORD.
Zechariah acts out the role of God looking over this oppressed flock. He carries two staffs, one named Union and the other Favor. In his acting, Zechariah becomes exasperated with the sheep and shepherds and announces that he will quit his job. He will allow the flock's rebellion to take its course. The stubborn sheep will die. Then, acting in God's place, Zechariah breaks the staff called Favor and revokes the covenant. The stubborn people are no longer in God's Favor.
Baldwin sees the two staff representing two duties of a shepherd: Favor (or grace) and Union (unity.) Union might include uniting the two kingdoms of Israel, even though one, the northern kingdom, has long been lost. (See Ezekiel 37:18-28 for another prophecy on Unity.)
There is debate over verse 8, in which the speaking shepherd gets rid of three bad shepherds in one month. Is this a literal month and three particular rulers? Or merely a figurative removal of all corrupt leaders in some future time?
Zechariah 11:12-13, Thirty pieces of silver
I told them, "If you think it best, give me my pay; but if not, keep it." So they paid me thirty pieces of silver. And the LORD said to me, "Throw it to the potter"--the handsome price at which they priced me! So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the LORD to the potter.
Zechariah is then paid thirty pieces of silver as severance pay. That sum ("handsome price" is probably sarcastic) is then thrown in the temple to the potter. (Apparently there was a guild of potters working in the temple; the potter as a metaphor for God appears in Jeremiah 18:1-10.)
The Hebrew description of the pieces of silver uses the word shaqal "weighed out", implying that the silver is given by weight, not in stamped coins. For those seeking clues to the date of this chapter, coins appeared in Persia during the Greek period, long after the return of the exiles. This coincides with estimates of 480 BC for Zechariah's latest prophecies.
The price of thirty pieces of silver shows up in Exodus 21:32 as the payment one is to give another if his ox gores the other person's servant. Barker (p. 677) suggests that this represents the price of a slave in Old Testament times.
In the New Testament, Judas betrays Jesus for thirty pieces of silver. Then, devastated by the results, Judas throws the silver down in the temple and hangs himself. Matthew (Matthew 27:9-10) see that act as a fulfillment of this prophecy. Matthew, however, attributes the prophecy about thirty pieces of silver to Jeremiah. Some see that attribution as evidence that the last half of the book of Zechariah was really written by Jeremiah. But Jeremiah has a somewhat similar passage (Jeremiah 19:1-13) in which a potter and the Valley of Slaughter play a part.
Zechariah 11:14-16, An evil shepherd
Then I broke my second staff called Union, breaking the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.
Then the LORD said to me, "Take again the equipment of a foolish shepherd. For I am going to raise up a shepherd over the land who will not care for the lost, or seek the young, or heal the injured, or feed the healthy, but will eat the meat of the choice sheep, tearing off their hoofs.
Now Zechariah breaks the second staff, the one called Union. Judah and Israel are now separated. God says He will give the land a dishonest, uncaring shepherd, who will not take care of the lost but will instead eat the meat of the choice sheep.
These prophecies about good and bad shepherds, both here and in Jeremiah, were probably in the background of the Good Shepherd (New Testament) discourse of Jesus in John 10:1-18.
Zechariah 11:17, Worthless
"Woe to the worthless shepherd, who deserts the flock!
May the sword strike his arm and his right eye!
May his arm be completely withered,
his right eye totally blinded!"
This prophecy ends with a four line polemic against the evil shepherd who abuses his countrymen.
First published December 22, 2025; updated December 22, 2025
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