Was kindled. — Better, is kindled. (Comp. Note on Zechariah 8:2.)
Shepherds. — This term is used of native rulers and guides (Jeremiah 2:8; Jeremiah 17:16; Jeremiah 23:1-4; Ezekiel 34:2, &c.), and also of foreign rulers and oppressors (Jeremiah 6:3-4; Jeremiah 25:34-38; Jeremiah 49:19).
I punished. — Better, I will punish.
The [he] goats are, probably, to be identified with “the shepherds” (as seems to be the case in Ezekiel 34), and both to be referred to foreign rulers and leaders, since the latter part of the verse seems to denote that the whole people (see Zechariah 10:6-7, and comp. Zechariah 9:13) is to be changed from a timid flock into a nation of warriors.