Then I said to them, “If it is agreeable to you, give me my wages; and if not, refrain.” So they weighed out for my wages thirty pieces of silver.
Parallel translations
- WEB I said to them, “If you think it best, give me my wages; and if not, keep them.” So they weighed for my wages thirty pieces of silver.
- KJV 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.
- BSB Then I told them, “If it seems right to you, give me my wages; but if not, keep them.” So they weighed out my wages, thirty pieces of silver.
- NASB And I said to them, “If it is good in your sight, give me my wages; but if not, never mind!” So they weighed out thirty shekels of silver as my wages.
- NLT And I said to them, “If you like, give me my wages, whatever I am worth; but only if you want to.” So they counted out for my wages thirty pieces of silver.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The Shepherd asks for His wages, and they weigh out thirty pieces of silver—the price of a slave. It matters because this insulting valuation of God's Shepherd is fulfilled in the betrayal of Jesus.
Overview
Asked to set His worth, the flock values the Shepherd at thirty pieces of silver, the compensation for a gored slave (Exod. 21:32)—a deliberate insult. This prophecy is strikingly fulfilled when Judas betrays Jesus for exactly thirty pieces of silver (Matt. 26:15). The verse exposes how lightly the world esteems the One who is beyond price.
Cross-references & the web
Fulfillment
- Matt 26:15and said, “What are you willing to give me, that I should deliver him to you?” They weighed out for him thirty pieces of silver.
Cross-references · 9
- Matt 26:15and said, “What are you willing to give me, that I should deliver him to you?” They weighed out for him thirty pieces of silver.
- Exod 21:32If the bull gores a male servant or a female servant, thirty shekels of silver shall be given to their master, and the ox shall be stoned.
- Luke 22:3–6Satan entered into Judas, who was also called Iscariot, who was counted with the twelve.
- Mark 14:10–11Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve, went away to the chief priests, that he might deliver him to them.
- John 13:27–30After the piece of bread, then Satan entered into him. Then Jesus said to him, “What you do, do quickly.”
- Gen 37:28Midianites who were merchants passed by, and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. They brought Joseph into Egypt.
- 1 Kgs 21:2Ahab spoke to Naboth, saying, “Give me your vineyard, that I may have it for a garden of herbs, because it is near my house; and I will give you for it a better vineyard than it. Or, if it seems good to you, I will give you its worth in money.”
- John 13:2During supper, the devil having already put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him,
- 2 Chr 30:4The thing was right in the eyes of the king and of all the assembly.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
The Branch who is both priest and king, the shepherd struck and the flock scattered, the king coming humble on a donkey, the one they pierced, the fountain opened for sin — Zechariah is dense with Christ.
How Zechariah 11:12 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.