Bible Strands
Zechariah 11:16
For behold, I will raise up a shepherd in the land who will neither care for the lost, nor seek the young, nor heal the broken, nor sustain the healthy, but he will devour the flesh of the choice sheep and tear off their hooves.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — YHWH speaks to Zechariah immediately after commanding him to take up the equipment of a foolish shepherd. This declaration occurs at the moment of prophetic enactment, introducing the warning that follows in verse 17.
The words — The text emphasizes מֵקִ֨ים (me.Kim), meaning "[am] about to raise up," and רֹעֶ֜ה (ro.'Eh), meaning "a shepherd." These terms mark the divine announcement of a leader whose appointment will produce ruin rather than care.
The thread — The condemnation of corrupt leaders runs through Jeremiah 23:2, where God accuses shepherds of scattering His flock, and Ezekiel 34:2, which pronounces woe against those who prioritize themselves over the sheep. The New Testament applies this pattern to unauthorized authorities in John 10:1.
Why it lands — The passage requires readers to measure leadership by its actions: whether it seeks the lost and sustains the weak or consumes the vulnerable for its own gain. It demands immediate discernment between divine appointment and self-serving exploitation.
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
For, lo, I will raise up a shepherd in the land, which shall not visit those that be cut off, neither shall seek the young one, nor heal that that is broken, nor feed that that standeth still: but he shall eat the flesh of the fat, and tear their claws in pieces.
Cross-references
- Jeremiah 23:2 Therefore this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says about the shepherds who tend My people: “You have scattered My flock and driven them away, and have not attended to them. Behold, I will attend to you for the evil of your deeds, declares the LORD.
- Ezekiel 34:2 “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Woe to the shepherds of Israel, who only feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed their flock?
- John 10:1 “Truly, truly, I tell you, whoever does not enter the sheepfold by the gate, but climbs in some other way, is a thief and a robber.
- John 10:12 The hired hand is not the shepherd, and the sheep are not his own. When he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf pounces on them and scatters the flock.
- Matthew 23:13 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let in those who wish to enter.
- Luke 12:45 But suppose that servant says in his heart, ‘My master will be a long time in coming,’ and he begins to beat the menservants and maidservants, and to eat and drink and get drunk.
- Genesis 31:38 I have been with you for twenty years now. Your sheep and goats have not miscarried, nor have I eaten the rams of your flock.
- Genesis 33:13 But Jacob replied, “My lord knows that the children are frail, and I must care for sheep and cattle that are nursing their young. If they are driven hard for even a day, all the animals will die.
- 1 Samuel 17:34 David replied, “Your servant has been tending his father’s sheep, and whenever a lion or a bear came and carried off a lamb from the flock,
- Isaiah 40:11 He tends His flock like a shepherd; He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart. He gently leads the nursing ewes.