Zechariah 11:9 - The Popular Commentary by Paul E. Kretzmann

⁴ Thus saith the LORD my God; Feed the flock of the slaughter;

⁵ 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.

⁶ For I will no more pity the inhabitants of the land, saith the LORD: but, lo, I will deliverb the men every one into his neighbour's hand, and into the hand of his king: and they shall smite the land, and out of their hand I will not deliver them.

⁷ And I will feed the flock of slaughter, even you, O poor of the flock. And I took unto me two staves; the one I called Beauty, and the other I called Bands; and I fed the flock.

⁸ Three shepherds also I cut off in one month; and my soul lothedc them, and their soul also abhorred me.

⁹ 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.d

¹⁰ And I took my staff, even Beauty, and cut it asunder, that I might break my covenant which I had made with all the people.

¹¹ And it was broken in that day: and so the poor of the flock that waited upon me knew that it was the word of the LORD.

¹² And I said unto them, If ye think good, give me my price; and if not, forbear. So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver.

¹³ And the LORD said unto me, Cast it unto the potter: a goodly price that I was prised at of them. And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them to the potter in the house of the LORD.

¹⁴ Then I cut asunder mine other staff, even Bands,e that I might break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.