Zacarias 11

ARC · Chapter 11/14

1Abre, ó Libano, as tuas portas para que o fogo consuma os cedros.

2Uivae, ó faias, porque os teus cedros cairam, porque estas excellentes arvores são destruidas; uivae, ó carvalhos de Basan, porque o bosque forte é derribado.

3Voz de uivo dos pastores se ouviu, porque a sua gloria é destruida: voz de bramido dos filhos de leões, porque foi destruida a soberba do Jordão.

4Assim diz o Senhor meu Deus: Apascenta as ovelhas da matança,

5Cujos possuidores as matam, e não se teem por culpados; e cujos vendedores dizem: Louvado seja o Senhor, porque hei enriquecido, e os seus pastores não teem piedade d'ellas.

6Certamente não terei piedade mais dos moradores d'esta terra, diz o Senhor, mas, eis que entregarei os homens cada um na mão do seu companheiro e na mão do seu rei, e esmiuçarão a terra, e eu não os livrarei da sua mão.

7E eu apascentei as ovelhas da matança, porquanto são ovelhas coitadas; e tomei para mim duas varas, a uma das quaes chamei Suavidade, e á outra chamei Conjuntadores, e apascentei as ovelhas.

8E destrui os teus pastores n'um mesmo mez, porque se angustiou d'elles a minha alma, e tambem a sua alma teve fastio de mim.

9E eu disse: Não vos apascentarei mais: o que morrer morra, e o que fôr destruido seja, e as que restarem comam cada uma a carne da sua companheira.

10E tomei a minha vara Suavidade, e a quebrei, para desfazer o meu concerto, que tinha estabelecido com todos estes povos.

11E foi desfeito n'aquelle dia, e conheceram assim os pobres do rebanho que me aguardavam que isto era palavra do Senhor.

12Porque eu lhes tinha dito: Se parece bem aos vossos olhos, dae-me a minha soldada, e, se não, deixae-vos d'isso. E pesaram a minha soldada, trinta moedas de prata.

13O Senhor pois me disse: Arroja-a ao oleiro, bello preço em que fui apreçado por elles. E tomei as trinta moedas de prata, e as arrojei, na casa do Senhor, ao oleiro.

14Então quebrei a minha segunda vara Conjuntadores, para romper a irmandade entre Judah e Israel.

15E o Senhor me disse: Toma ainda para ti o instrumento de um pastor insensato.

16Porque, eis que levantarei um pastor na terra, que não visitará as perdidas, não buscará a desgarrada, e não sarará a quebrada, nem apascentará a sã; mas comerá a carne da gorda, e lhe despedaçará as unhas.

17Ai do pastor de nada, que abandona o rebanho; a espada cairá sobre o seu braço e sobre o seu olho direito; o seu braço sem falta se seccará, e o seu olho direito sem falta se escurecerá.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

Zechariah performs a symbolic prophetic act as a shepherd, caring for a flock marked for slaughter and then breaking two staffs called 'Beauty' and 'Bands,' symbolizing the people's rejection and the breaking of the covenant between Judah and Israel.

Explanation

This is one of the most dramatic and somber chapters in the book: Zechariah takes on the role of a shepherd of a flock destined for slaughter, representing a people mistreated by greedy leaders who 'pity them not.' By breaking the staff called 'Beauty,' he enacts the end of a period of divine protection and favor; by receiving only thirty pieces of silver as symbolic payment (the price of an injured slave, according to Exodus 21:32) and casting it to the potter in the temple, he prophetically foreshadows the rejection of the true Shepherd. Breaking the second staff, 'Bands,' symbolizes the definitive rupture between the kingdoms of Judah and Israel. The chapter ends with a warning about a 'foolish shepherd' who would abandon the flock, in stark contrast to God's genuine care. The application for today: rejecting God's leadership and care has real consequences, and replacing it with selfish leaders only deepens the people's suffering.

Fun facts

  • The 'thirty pieces of silver' (v.12-13) are directly cited in Matthew 27:9-10 as fulfilled in Judas Iscariot's betrayal of Jesus, although the Gospel attributes the citation to Jeremiah, likely combining themes from both prophets.
  • The price of thirty shekels of silver was specifically the compensation value set in Exodus 21:32 for a slave killed by an ox, making the payment to Zechariah a deliberate symbolic insult, valuing God's shepherding care as equivalent to that of a slave.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Zacarias 11:1This poem uses the cedars of Lebanon and the oaks of Bashan, symbols of strength and pride in the region, as an image of powerful leaders being brought down — a lament that bridges into the more dramatic scene that follows.
  2. Zacarias 11:2The lament continues with fir trees and the oaks of Bashan, strong trees of the region, howling because the mighty forest has been cut down — a symbol of leaders falling.
  3. Zacarias 11:3Shepherds and lions, common images of leadership and power, also howl and roar because their glory and the pride of the Jordan have been destroyed.
  4. Zacarias 11:4God tells the prophet to act out the role of shepherd over a flock 'of the slaughter' — a lived-out parable, in the same style as Hosea's marriage, denouncing leaders who exploit the people instead of caring for them.
  5. Zacarias 11:5The owners of the sheep kill them without guilt and even thank God for the profit, showing leaders who exploit the people with no real pity at all.
  6. Zacarias 11:6God decides to no longer pity the land: He will hand the people over into one another's power and into the power of their own kings, letting the chaos unfold without intervening.
  7. Zacarias 11:7The prophet acts out the role of shepherd over the flock destined for slaughter, using two symbolic staves called Beauty and Bands to represent the covenant and the unity of the people.
  8. Zacarias 11:8In just one month the prophet 'cuts off' three bad shepherds — the corrupt leaders grow weary of him and he grows weary of them, in a relationship already broken.
  9. Zacarias 11:9Faced with the failure of leadership, the shepherd decides to give up on the flock, letting the consequences fall on the people themselves, until they destroy one another.
  10. Zacarias 11:10Breaking the staff called Beauty represents the end of the protective covenant God had with the peoples around Israel — the protection is withdrawn.
  11. Zacarias 11:11The poorest of the flock realize, upon seeing the staff broken, that it truly fulfilled a word of the Lord, not just some arbitrary gesture.
  12. Zacarias 11:12The agreed price — thirty pieces of silver, later thrown 'to the potter' inside the temple — is the same amount and the same destination described in the Gospel of Matthew regarding the price paid to Judas for betraying Jesus, a well-known literary connection.
  13. Zacarias 11:13The shepherd throws the thirty pieces of silver — the low price they valued him at — into the temple, to the potter; the Gospel of Matthew ties this exact detail to the money paid to Judas.
  14. Zacarias 11:14Breaking the second staff, called Bands, represents the rupture of unity between Judah and Israel, the two kingdoms that had once been a single people.
  15. Zacarias 11:15After the good shepherd is rejected, God tells the prophet to act out the opposite role: a foolish shepherd, with no care at all for the flock.
  16. Zacarias 11:16This foolish shepherd represents a leader who abandons the weak and wounded and only takes advantage of the strong, devouring the flock instead of caring for it.
  17. Zacarias 11:17'The idol shepherd that leaveth the flock' closes the section with a warning against leaders who exploit their position instead of caring for those who depend on them.

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