Thus saith the LORD my God; Feed the flock of the slaughter;
Parallel translations
- WEB Yahweh my God says: “Feed the flock of slaughter.
- BSB This is what the LORD my God says: “Pasture the flock marked for slaughter,
- NKJV Thus says the Lord my God, “Feed the flock for slaughter,
- NASB This is what the Lord my God says: “Pasture the flock doomed to slaughter.
- NLT This is what the Lord my God says: “Go and care for the flock that is intended for slaughter.
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 LORD commissions the prophet to shepherd a 'flock of slaughter'—a people destined for judgment. It matters because it dramatizes God's compassion toward a people headed for ruin.
Overview
Zechariah is told to act out the role of a shepherd over a flock marked for slaughter, an enacted prophecy. The flock represents God's covenant people, exploited by their leaders and ripe for judgment. As the prophet takes up this thankless task, he prefigures the LORD Himself coming as Shepherd to a people who will reject Him—pointing forward to Christ's ministry to Israel (Matt. 9:36).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Zech 11:7And 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.
- Matt 23:37O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!
- Rom 15:8Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers:
- Zech 14:5And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the LORD my God shall come, and all the saints with thee.
- John 20:17Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.
- Ezek 34:23–24And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd.
- Mic 5:4And he shall stand and feed in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God; and they shall abide: for now shall he be great unto the ends of the earth.
- Matt 15:24But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
- Isa 49:4–5Then I said, I have laboured in vain, I have spent my strength for nought, and in vain: yet surely my judgment is with the LORD, and my work with my God.
- Luke 19:41–44And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it,
- Isa 40:9–11O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God!
- Eph 1:3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:
- John 21:15–17So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs.
Resources, by level
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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 11:4 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.