Bible Strands
Zechariah 11:9
Then I said, “I will no longer shepherd you. Let the dying die, and the perishing perish; and let those who remain devour one another’s flesh.”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The prophet speaks in the first person as the appointed shepherd addressing the flock he previously led, immediately after dismissing three other shepherds and experiencing mutual impatience and detestation. This declaration occurs at the precise moment of abandoning pastoral care before the symbolic breaking of the covenant staff.
The words — The Hebrew phrase לֹא אֶרְעֶה אֶתְכֶם (lo' 'er'eh 'etkhem) literally translates to "I will no longer shepherd you," marking a definitive cessation of oversight. The parallel construction הַמֵּתָה תָמוּת וְהַנִּכְחֶדֶת תִּכָּחֵד (ha'metah tamut ve'hannikh'edet tik'ched) uses the roots for dying and being destroyed to describe the flock's self-directed ruin.
The thread — This pattern of abandoned judgment appears in Jeremiah 43:11, where death and captivity are assigned to those already destined for them, and echoes in Revelation 22:11, where the unrighteous are left to continue in unrighteousness. The thematic progression moves from prophetic withdrawal to a final state of moral fixation.
Why it lands — The text demands recognition that divine withdrawal precedes self-consumption, requiring the reader to acknowledge the consequences of rejected oversight. It asks for a clear-eyed assessment of how abandoned leadership results in internal destruction rather than external rescue.
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
Then said I, I will not feed you: that that dieth, let it die; and that that is to be cut off, let it be cut off; and let the rest eat every one the flesh of another.
Cross-references
- Jeremiah 43:11 He will come and strike down the land of Egypt, bringing death to those destined for death, captivity to those destined for captivity, and the sword to those destined for the sword.
- Matthew 13:10 Then the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Why do You speak to the people in parables?”
- Revelation 22:11 Let the unrighteous continue to be unrighteous, and the vile continue to be vile; let the righteous continue to practice righteousness, and the holy continue to be holy.”
- Deuteronomy 28:53 Then you will eat the fruit of your womb, the flesh of the sons and daughters whom the LORD your God has given you, in the siege and distress that your enemy will inflict on you.
- Psalms 69:22 May their table become a snare; may it be a retribution and a trap.
- Isaiah 9:19 By the wrath of the LORD of Hosts the land is scorched, and the people are fuel for the fire. No man even spares his brother.
- Jeremiah 15:2 If they ask you, ‘Where shall we go?’ you are to tell them that this is what the LORD says: ‘Those destined for death, to death; those destined for the sword, to the sword; those destined for famine, to famine; and those destined for captivity, to captivity.’
- Jeremiah 19:9 I will make them eat the flesh of their sons and daughters, and they will eat one another’s flesh in the siege and distress inflicted on them by their enemies who seek their lives.’
- Jeremiah 23:33 “Now when this people or a prophet or priest asks you, ‘What is the burden of the LORD?’ you are to say to them, ‘What burden? I will forsake you, declares the LORD.’
- Jeremiah 23:39 therefore I will surely forget you and will cast you out of My presence, both you and the city that I gave to you and your fathers.