✶Gnosis
← Contents
Theme
0922 / 1189

Listen

Dhammapada · narration sample

A one-minute narration sample. Every book in the library is narrated end to end — hear the rest in the app.

The Bible · 922 of 1189

Zechariah 11

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. 7. And I will feed the flock of slaughter, even you, O poor of the flock. And I took unto me two staves; the one I called Beauty, and the other I called Bands; and I fed the flock. 8. Three shepherds also I cut off in one month; and my soul lothed them, and their soul also abhorred me. 9. 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.

10.And I took my staff, even Beauty, and cut it asunder, that I might break my covenant which I had made with all the people. 11. And it was broken in that day: and so the poor of the flock that waited upon me knew that it was the word of the LORD. 12. And I said unto them, If ye think good, give me my price; and if not, forbear. So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver. 13. 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. 14. Then I cut asunder mine other staff, even Bands, that I might break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.

15.And the LORD said unto me, Take unto thee yet the instruments of a foolish shepherd. 16. 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. 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.

Asked of Guide

Why does the shepherd break his two staves called Beauty and Bands?

The shepherd breaks Beauty and Bands to symbolize the ending of commitments: cutting Beauty severs the covenant he had with the people, and cutting Bands breaks the brotherhood between Judah and Israel. Verse 10 says he “cut it asunder, that I might break my covenant,” and verse 14 repeats the act to show political and social unity being torn apart.

Zechariah stages this as enacted prophecy — a visible sign so “the poor of the flock… knew that it was the word of the LORD” (v.11). The chapter’s hostile replacement of true care with a “foolish shepherd” who preys on the flock connects to prophetic warnings elsewhere, like Ezekiel’s condemned shepherds who scatter and devour their sheep.

Guide is the guide inside the Gnosis app, where every book on these shelves is free to read. Guide is the part you pay for — your guide has read all of them, and answers about the passage you’re actually on. Ask your guide your own question.