Zechariah 11:17

Woe to the idol shepherd that leaveth the flock! the sword shall be upon his arm, and upon his right eye: his arm shall be clean dried up, and his right eye shall be utterly darkened.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
Woe	ה֣וֹי Ho	H1945	oh! · interjection
idol	הָֽאֱלִיל֙ ha.'e.Lil	H457	good for nothing · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
shepherd	רֹעִי rôʻîy	H7473	pastoral
leaveth	עֹזְבִ֣י 'o.ze.Vi	H5800	to loosen · verb, qal active participle, masculine singular construct
flock	הַצֹּ֔אן ha.Tzon	H6629	a collective name for a flock (of sheep or goats) · definite article + noun, common both genders singular absolute
sword	חֶ֥רֶב Che.rev	H2719	drought · noun, common feminine singular absolute
arm	זְרוֹע֖וֹ ze.ro.'O	H2220	the arm (as stretched out) · noun, common feminine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
right	יְמִינ֑וֹ ye.mi.No	H3225	the right hand or side (leg · noun, common feminine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
eye	עֵ֣ין 'ein	H5869	an eye (literally or figuratively) · noun, common feminine singular construct
arm	זְרֹעוֹ֙ ze.ro.'O	H2220	the arm (as stretched out) · noun, common feminine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
clean	יָב֣וֹשׁ ya.Vo.osh	H3001	to be ashamed · verb, qal infinitive absolute
up	תִּיבָ֔שׁ ti.Vash	H3001	to be ashamed · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person feminine singular
right	יְמִינ֖וֹ ye.mi.No	H3225	the right hand or side (leg · noun, common feminine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
eye	וְעֵ֥ין ve.'Ein	H5869	an eye (literally or figuratively) · conjunction + noun, common feminine singular construct
utterly	כָּהֹ֥ה ka.Hoh	H3543	to be weak · verb, qal infinitive absolute
darkened	תִכְהֶֽה tikh.Heh	H3543	to be weak · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person feminine singular

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Jeremiah 23:1 Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! saith the LORD.
Ezekiel 13:3 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe unto the foolish prophets, that follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing!
1 Corinthians 8:4 As concerning therefore the eating of those things that are offered in sacrifice unto idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, a…
Ezekiel 34:2 Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD unto the shepherds; Woe be to the…
Isaiah 42:19-20 Who is blind, but my servant? or deaf, as my messenger that I sent? who is blind as he that is perfect, and blind as the LORD’s servant?
Matthew 23:16 Woe unto you, ye blind guides, which say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the t…
1 Corinthians 10:19-20 What say I then? that the idol is any thing, or that which is offered in sacrifice to idols is any thing?
Isaiah 6:9-10 And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not.

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Zechariah 11:15–end

God, having shown the misery of this people in their being justly abandoned by the good Shepherd, here shows their further misery in being shamefully abused by a foolish shepherd. The prophet is himself to personate and represent this pretended shepherd (Zac 11:15): Take unto thee the instruments or accoutrements of a foolish shepherd, that are no way fit for the business, such a shepherd's coat, and bag, and staff, as a foolish shepherd would appear in; for such a shepherd shall be set over them (Zac 11:16), who, instead of protecting them, shall oppress them and do them mischief. 1. They shall be under the inspection of unfaithful ministers. Their scribes, and priests, and doctors of their…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Zechariah 11:17

the idol--The Hebrew expresses both vanity and an idol. Compare Isa 14:13; Dan 11:36; Th2 2:4; Rev 13:5-6, as to the idolatrous and blasphemous claims of Antichrist. The "idol shepherd that leaveth the flock" cannot apply to Rome, but to some ruler among the Jews themselves, at first cajoling, then "leaving" them, nay, destroying them (Dan 9:27; Dan 11:30-38). God's sword shall descend on his "arm," the instrument of his tyranny towards the sheep (Th2 2:8); and on his "right eye," wherewith he ought to have watched the sheep (Joh 10:12-13). However, Antichrist shall destroy, rather than "leave the flock." Perhaps, therefore, the reference is to the shepherds who left the flock to Antichrist'…

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Adam Clarke on Zechariah 11:17

Wo to the idol shepherd - רעי האליל roi haelil, "the worthless," or "good for nothing shepherd." The shepherd in name and office, but not performing the work of one. See Joh 10:11. The sword shall be upon his arm - Punishment shall be executed upon the wicked Jews, and especially their wicked kings and priests. See Zac 11:16. Arm - the secular power; right eye - the ecclesiastical state. His arm shall be clean dried up - The secular power shall be broken, and become utterly inefficient. His right eye shall be utterly darkened - Prophecy shall be restrained; and the whole state, ecclesiastical and civil, shall be so completely eclipsed, that none of their functions shall be performed. This ma…

Dictionary and topics

Shepherds · Illustrative: (Ignorant and foolish,) of bad ministers — Illustrative: (Ignorant and foolish,) of bad ministers

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Zechariah 11:17

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Zechariah 11:15–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Zechariah 11:17

Adam Clarke on Zechariah 11:17

Dictionary and topics

Zechariah 11:17

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Zechariah 11:15–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Zechariah 11:17

Adam Clarke on Zechariah 11:17

Dictionary and topics

John Gill on Zechariah 11:17

John Calvin on Zechariah 11:17–end

Keil & Delitzsch on Zechariah 11:15–end

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Zechariah 11:17

Rashi on Zechariah 11:17