Zechariah 11:13

And the LORD said to me, “Throw it to the potter”—this magnificent price at which they valued me. So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them to the potter in the house of the LORD.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — Yahweh commands the prophet to cast the thirty pieces of silver to the potter inside the house of the LORD, immediately after the prophet accepts the wages weighed out by the people.

The words — The imperative הַשְׁלִיכֵהוּ (hash.li.Khe.hu) literally means "throw it," directing the physical disposal of the silver, while אֶדֶר הַיָּקָר ('E.der ha.ya.qar) translates to "magnificent price" or "splendid value," marking the ironic contrast between the offered sum and the prophet's actual worth.

The thread — The discarded silver reappears in Matthew 27:3 when Judas returns the betrayal money, in Acts 1:18 where that same reward buys a field, and Isaiah 53:2 establishes the pattern of the coming figure growing without stately form or attractive majesty.

Why it lands — The passage requires the reader to confront the reality that divine service is often priced at contemptible market value, demanding an honest assessment of whether one pursues wages or obedience.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

King James Version

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.

Cross-references

Matthew 27:3 When Judas, who had betrayed Him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was filled with remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders.
Acts 1:18 (Now with the reward for his wickedness Judas bought a field; there he fell headlong and burst open in the middle, and all his intestines spilled out.
Isaiah 53:2 He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no stately form or majesty to attract us, no beauty that we should desire Him.
Isaiah 54:7 “For a brief moment I forsook you, but with great compassion I will bring you back.
Matthew 27:12 And when He was accused by the chief priests and elders, He gave no answer.
Acts 4:11 This Jesus is ‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.’