Zechariah 11:1–6

1 Open your doors, Lebanon,

so that fire may devour your cedars!

2 Wail, you juniper, for the cedar has fallen;

the stately trees are ruined!

Wail, oaks of Bashan;

the dense forest has been cut down!

3 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!

4 This is what the Lord my God says: “Shepherd the flock marked for slaughter. 5 Their buyers slaughter them and go unpunished. Those who sell them say, ‘Praise the Lord, I am rich!’ Their own shepherds do not spare them. 6 For I will no longer have pity on the people of the land,” declares the Lord. “I will give everyone into the hands of their neighbors and their king. They will devastate the land, and I will not rescue anyone from their hands.”

1 Open thy doors, O Lebanon, that the fire may devour thy cedars.

2 Howl, fir tree; for the cedar is fallen; because the mighty are spoiled:

Howl, O ye oaks of Bashan; for the forest of the vintage is come down.

3 There is a voice of the howling of the shepherds; for their glory is spoiled:

A voice of the roaring of young lions; for the pride of Jordan is spoiled.

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 deliver 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.

1 Open your doors, Lebanon,

so that fire may devour your cedar forests.

2 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.

3 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.

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.”

1 Open your doors, O Lebanon,

That fire may devour your cedars.

2 Wail, O cypress, for the cedar has fallen,

Because the mighty trees are ruined.

Wail, O oaks of Bashan,

For the thick forest has come down.

3 There is the sound of wailing shepherds!

For their glory is in ruins.

There is the sound of roaring lions!

For the pride of the Jordan is in ruins.

4 Thus says the Lord my God, “Feed the flock for slaughter, 5 whose owners slaughter them and feel no guilt; those who sell them say, ‘Blessed be the Lord, for I am rich’; and their shepherds do not pity them. 6 For I will no longer pity the inhabitants of the land,” says the Lord. “But indeed I will give everyone into his neighbor’s hand and into the hand of his king. They shall attack the land, and I will not deliver them from their hand.”

1 Lebanon, open your gates

so fire may burn your cedar trees.

2 Cry, pine trees, because the cedar has fallen,

because the tall trees are ruined.

Cry, oaks in Bashan,

because the mighty forest has been cut down.

3 Listen to the shepherds crying

because their rich pastures are destroyed.

Listen to the lions roaring

because the lovely land of the Jordan River is ruined.

4 This is what the Lord my God says: “Feed the flock that are about to be killed. 5 Their buyers kill them and are not punished. Those who sell them say, ‘Praise the Lord, I am rich.’ Even the shepherds don’t feel sorry for their sheep. 6 I don’t feel sorry anymore for the people of this country,” says the Lord. “I will let everyone be under the power of his neighbor and king. They will bring trouble to the country, and I will not save anyone from them.”

1 Open thy doors, O Lebanon, that the fire may devour thy cedars. 2 Wail, O fir-tree, for the cedar is fallen, because the goodly ones are destroyed: wail, O ye oaks of Bashan, for the strong forest is come down. 3 A voice of the wailing of the shepherds! for their glory is destroyed: a voice of the roaring of young lions! for the pride of the Jordan is laid waste.

4 Thus said Jehovah my God: Feed the flock of slaughter; 5 whose possessors slay them, and hold themselves not guilty; and they that sell them say, Blessed be Jehovah, for I am rich; and their own shepherds pity them not. 6 For I will no more pity the inhabitants of the land, saith Jehovah; but, lo, I will deliver the men every one into his neighbor’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.

1 Open thy doors, O Lebanon, that the fire may devour thy cedars. 2 Howl, cypress, for the cedar is fallen; because the noble ones are spoiled. Howl, ye oaks of Bashan; for the strong forest is come down. 3 A voice of howling of the shepherds; for their glory is spoiled: a voice of roaring of young lions; for the pride of Jordan is spoiled.

4 Thus saith Jehovah my God: Feed the flock of slaughter, 5 whose possessors slay them without being held guilty; and they that sell them say, Blessed be Jehovah! for I am become rich; and their own shepherds pity them not. 6 For I will no more pity the inhabitants of the land, saith Jehovah, and behold, I will deliver men, every one into his neighbour’s hand, and into the hand of his king; and they shall smite the land, and I will not deliver out of their hand.

1 Open your doors, Lebanon, 

so that fire will be able to burn down your cedars. 

2 Cry, cypress trees, 

because the cedars have fallen 

and the stately trees have been destroyed. 

Cry, oak trees of Bashan, 

because your dense forest has fallen down. 

3 Listen! The shepherds are crying, 

because their rich pastures are destroyed. 

Listen! The young lions are roaring, 

because the lush banks of the Jordan are destroyed. 

4 This is what the Lord my God says: Take care of the sheep that are about to be slaughtered. 5 Those who buy them will kill them and go unpunished. Those who sell them will say, “Praise the Lord! I’ve become rich!” Even their own shepherds will have no pity on them. 

6 The Lord declares, “I will no longer have pity on those who live in the land. I am going to hand the people over to their neighbors and their king, who will crush the land. And I won’t rescue any of them from their power.” 

1 Open your gates, Lebanon,

and fire will consume your cedars.

2 Wail, cypress, for the cedar has fallen;

the glorious trees are destroyed!

Wail, oaks of Bashan,

for the stately forest has fallen!

3 Listen to the wail of the shepherds,

for their glory is destroyed.

Listen to the roar of young lions,

for the thickets of the Jordan are destroyed.

4 Yahweh my God says this: “Shepherd the flock intended for slaughter. 5 Those who buy them slaughter them but are not punished. Those who sell them say: Praise the Lord because I have become rich! Even their own shepherds have no compassion for them. 6 Indeed, I will no longer have compassion on the inhabitants of the land”—this is the Lord’s declaration. “Instead, I will turn everyone over to his neighbor and his king. They will devastate the land, and I will not deliver it from them.”

1 Open your doors, O Lebanon,

so that fire may devour your cedars!

2 Wail, O cypress, for the cedar has fallen,

for the glorious trees are ruined!

Wail, oaks of Bashan,

for the thick forest has been felled!

3 Listen, the wail of the shepherds,

for their glory is despoiled!

Listen, the roar of the lions,

for the thickets of the Jordan are destroyed!

4 “Thus says the Lord my God: Be a shepherd of the flock doomed to slaughter. 5 Those who buy them kill them and go unpunished, and those who sell them say, ‘Blessed be the Lord, for I have become rich,’ and their own shepherds have no pity on them. 6 For I will no longer have pity on the inhabitants of the earth, says the Lord. I will cause them, every one, to fall each into the hand of a neighbor and each into the hand of the king, and they shall devastate the earth, and I will deliver no one from their hand.”

1 Open your doors, O Lebanon,

so that fire will devour your cedars!

2 Wail, O juniper, for the cedar has fallen,

for the magnificent trees are ruined!

Wail, oaks of Bashan,

for the impenetrable forest has come down!

3 Listen to the wailing of the shepherds,

for their splendor is ruined!

Listen to the roar of the young lions,

for the thickets of the Jordan are ruined!

4 Thus says Yahweh my God: “Shepherd the flock doomed to slaughter. 5 The ones buying them kill them and go unpunished, and the ones selling them say, ‘Blessed be Yahweh, for I have become rich.’ Their own shepherds have no compassion for them. 6 For I will no longer have compassion on the inhabitants of the land,” declares Yahweh. “Look, I am going to cause humankind to fall, each into the hand of his neighbor, and into the hand of his king; and they will devastate the land, and I will not deliver anyone from their hand.”

1 Lebanon, open your doors!

Then fire can burn up your cedar trees.

2 Pine trees, cry out!

The cedar trees have fallen down.

The majestic trees are destroyed.

Cry out, you oak trees of Bashan!

The thick forest has been cut down.

3 Listen to the shepherds cry out!

Their rich grasslands are destroyed.

Listen to the lions roar!

The trees and bushes along the Jordan River are gone.

4 The Lord my God says, “Take care of the sheep that are set apart to be sacrificed. 5 Those who buy them kill them. And they are not punished for it. Those who sell them say, ‘Praise the Lord! We’re rich!’ And their own shepherds do not spare them.

6 “I will no longer have pity on the people in the land,” announces the Lord. “I will hand all of them over to their neighbors and their king. They will crush the people in the land. And I will not save them from their powerful hands.”

1 Open your doors, O Lebanon,

That a fire may feed on your cedars.

2 Wail, O cypress, for the cedar has fallen,

Because the glorious trees have been destroyed;

Wail, O oaks of Bashan,

For the impenetrable forest has come down.

3 There is a sound of the shepherds’ wail,

For their glory is ruined;

There is a sound of the young lions’ roar,

For the pride of the Jordan is ruined.

4 Thus says the Lord my God, “Pasture the flock doomed to slaughter.

5 “Those who buy them slay them and go unpunished, and each of those who sell them says, ‘Blessed be the Lord, for I have become rich!’ And their own shepherds have no pity on them.

6 “For I will no longer have pity on the inhabitants of the land,” declares the Lord; “but behold, I will cause the men to fall, each into another’s power and into the power of his king; and they will strike the land, and I will not deliver them from their power.”