HelpFinder Bible - Flipbook - Page 1220
ZEC H A RI A H 1 1
8
9
10
11
12
Their children, too, will see it and be glad;
their hearts will rejoice in the Lord.
When I whistle to them, they will come
running,
for I have redeemed them.
From the few who are left,
they will grow as numerous as they were
before.
Though I have scattered them like seeds
among the nations,
they will still remember me in distant
lands.
They and their children will survive
and return again to Israel.
I will bring them back from Egypt
and gather them from Assyria.
I will resettle them in Gilead and Lebanon
until there is no more room for them all.
They will pass safely through the sea of
distress,*
for the waves of the sea will be held back,
and the waters of the Nile will dry up.
The pride of Assyria will be crushed,
and the rule of Egypt will end.
By my power* I will make my people strong,
and by my authority they will go
wherever they wish.
I, the Lord, have spoken!”
11
2
3
Open your doors, Lebanon,
so that fire may devour your cedar
forests.
Weep, you cypress trees, for all the ruined
cedars;
the most majestic ones have fallen.
Weep, you oaks of Bashan,
for the thick forests have been cut down.
Listen to the wailing of the shepherds,
for their rich pastures are destroyed.
Hear the young lions roaring,
for their thickets in the Jordan Valley are
ruined.
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and they hated me, too. 9 So I told them, “I won’t
be your shepherd any longer. If you die, you die.
If you are killed, you are killed. And let those
who remain devour each other!”
10 Then I took my staff called Favor and cut it
in two, showing that I had revoked the covenant
I had made with all the nations. 11 That was the
end of my covenant with them. The suffering
flock was watching me, and they knew that the
Lord was speaking through my actions.
12 And I said to them, “If you like, give me my
wages, whatever I am worth; but only if you
want to.” So they counted out for my wages
thirty pieces of silver.
13 And the Lord said to me, “Throw it to the
potter*”—this magnificent sum at which they
valued me! So I took the thirty coins and threw
them to the potter in the Temple of the Lord.
14 Then I took my other staff, Union, and cut it
in two, showing that the bond of unity between
Judah and Israel was broken.
15 Then the Lord said to me, “Go again and
play the part of a worthless shepherd. 16 This illustrates how I will give this nation a shepherd
who will not care for those who are dying, nor
look after the young, nor heal the injured, nor
feed the healthy. Instead, this shepherd will eat
the meat of the fattest sheep and tear off their
hooves.
1
The Good and Evil Shepherds
4 This is what the Lord my God says: “Go and
care for the flock that is intended for slaughter.
5 The buyers slaughter their sheep without remorse. The sellers say, ‘Praise the Lord! Now
I’m rich!’ Even the shepherds have no compassion for them. 6 Likewise, I will no longer have
pity on the people of the land,” says the Lord.
“I will let them fall into each other’s hands
and into the hands of their king. They will
turn the land into a wilderness, and I will not
rescue them.”
7 So I cared for the flock intended for slaughter—the flock that was oppressed. Then I took
two shepherd’s staffs and named one Favor
and the other Union. 8 I got rid of their three evil
shepherds in a single month.
But I became impatient with these sheep,
17
“What sorrow awaits this worthless shepherd
who abandons the flock!
The sword will cut his arm
and pierce his right eye.
His arm will become useless,
and his right eye completely blind.”
Future Deliverance for Jerusalem
This* message concerning the fate of
Israel came from the Lord: “This message is from the Lord, who stretched out the
heavens, laid the foundations of the earth,
and formed the human spirit. 2 I will make Jerusalem like an intoxicating drink that makes
the nearby nations stagger when they send
their armies to besiege Jerusalem and Judah.
3 On that day I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock. All the nations will gather against
it to try to move it, but they will only hurt
themselves.
4 “On that day,” says the Lord, “I will cause
every horse to panic and every rider to lose his
nerve. I will watch over the people of Judah, but
I will blind all the horses of their enemies. 5 And
the clans of Judah will say to themselves, ‘The
people of Jerusalem have found strength in the
Lord of Heaven’s Armies, their God.’
6 “On that day I will make the clans of Judah
12
10:11 Or the sea of Egypt, referring to the Red Sea.
10:12 Hebrew In the Lord. 11:13 Syriac version reads
into the treasury; also in 11:13b. Compare Matt 27:6-10.
12:1 Hebrew An Oracle: This.