A verse by verse commentary on Zechariah 11 dealing with the anger of God and His judgment on the shepherds of His people.

1. ZECHARIAH 11 COMME TARY
EDITED BY GLE PEASE
1 Open your doors, Lebanon,
so that fire may devour your cedars!
BAR ES, "Open thy doors, O Lebanon - Lebanon, whose cedars had stood, its
glory, for centuries, yet could offer no resistance to him who felled them and were
carried off to adorn the palaces of its conquerors (see above at Zep_2:14, and note 2. p.
276), was in Isaiah Isa_14:8; Isa_37:24 and Jeremiah Jer_22:6-7 the emblem of the
glory of the Jewish state; and in Ezekiel, of Jerusalem, as the prophet himself explains it
Eze_17:3, Eze_17:12; glorious, beauteous, inaccessible, so long as it was defended by
God; a ready prey, when abandoned by Him. The center and source of her strength was
the worship of God; and so Lebanon has of old been understood to be the temple, which
was built with cedars of Lebanon, towering aloft upon a strong. summit; the spiritual
glory and the eminence of Jerusalem, as Lebanon was of the whole country, and , “to
strangers who came to it, it appeared from afar like a mountain full of snow; for, where it
was not gilded, it was exceeding white, being built of marble.” But at the time of
destruction it was “a den of thieves” Mat_21:13, as Lebanon, amidst its beauty, was of
wild beasts.
Rup.: “I suppose Lebanon itself, that is, “the temple,” felt the command of the
prophet’s words, since, as its destruction approached, its doors opened without the hand
of man. Josephus relates how , “at the passover, the eastern gate of the inner temple,
being of brass and very firm, and with difficulty shut at eventide by twenty men;
moreover with bars strengthened with iron, and having very deep bolts, which went
down into the threshold, itself of one stone, was seen at six o’clock at night to open of its
own accord. The guards of the temple running told it to the officer, and he, going up,
with difficulty closed it. This the uninstructed thought a very favorable sign, that God
opened to them the gate of all goods. But those taught in the divine words, understood
that the safety of the temple was removed of itself, and that the gate opened.”
A saying of this sort is still exstant. : “Our fathers have handed down, forty years
before the destruction of the house, the lot of the Lord did not come up on the right
hand, and the tongue of splendor did not become white, nor did the light from the
evening burn, and the doors of the temple opened of their own accord, until Rabbi
Johanan ben Zaccai rebuked them, and said, ‘O temple, why dost thou affright thyself? I
know of thee that thy end is to be destroyed, and of this Zechariah prophesied, “Open
thy doors, O Lebanon, and let the fire devour thy cedars.’” The “forty years” mentioned
in this tradition carry back the event exactly to the Death of Christ, the temple having
been burned 73 a.d. . Josephus adds that they opened at the passover, the season of His
Crucifixion. On the other hand, the shutting of the gates of the temple, when they had
“seized Paul and dragged him out of the temple” Act_21:30, seems miraculous and

2. significant, that, having thus violently refused the preaching of the Gospel, and cast Paul
out, they themselves were also shut out, denoting that an entrance was afterward to be
refused them.
And let afire devour thy cedars - Jerusalem, or the temple, were, after those
times, burned by the Romans only. The destruction of pride, opposed to Christ, was
prophesied by Isaiah in connection with His Coming Isa_10:34; Isa_11:1.
CLARKE, "Open thy doors, O Lebanon - I will give Mr. Joseph Mede’s note
upon this verse: -
“That which moveth me more than the rest, is in chap. 11, which
contains a prophecy of the destruction of Jerusalem, and a description of
the wickedness of the inhabitants, for which God would give them to the
sword, and have no more pity upon them. It is expounded of the
destruction by Titus; but methinks such a prophecy was nothing
seasonable for Zachary’s time, (when the city yet for a great part lay in her
ruins, and the temple had not yet recovered hers), nor agreeable to the
scope. Zachary’s commission, who, together with his colleague Haggai,
was sent to encourage the people, lately returned from captivity, to build
their temple, and to instaurate their commonwealth. Was this a fit time to
foretell the destruction of both, while they were yet but a-building? And
by Zachary too, who was to encourage them? Would not this better befit
the desolation by Nebuchadnezzar?” I really think so. See Mr. J. Mede’s
61. Epistle.
Lebanon signifies the temple, because built of materials principally brought from that
place.
GILL, "Open thy doors, O Lebanon,.... By which may be meant, either the temple of
Jerusalem, which was built of the cedars of Lebanon;
"the gates of which are said (w) to open of themselves forty years before the destruction
of Jerusalem, when Jochanan ben Zaccai, who lived at the same time, rebuked them,
saying, O temple, temple, wherefore dost thou frighten thyself? I know thine end is to be
destroyed; for so prophesied Zechariah, the son of Iddo, concerning thee, "open thy
doors, O Lebanon".''
So Lebanon, in Zec_10:10, is interpreted of the sanctuary, both by the Targum and by
Jarchi; or else it may be understood of Jerusalem, and of the whole land of Judea,
because it was situated by it; it was the border of it on the north side.
That the fire may devour thy cedars; of which the temple was built, and the houses
of Jerusalem, which were consumed by fire; unless the fortresses of the land are meant.
So the Targum paraphrases it,
"and the fire shall consume your fortresses.''
HE RY 1-3, "In dark and figurative expressions, as is usual in the scripture

3. predictions of things at a great distance, that destruction of Jerusalem and of the Jewish
church and nation is here foretold which our Lord Jesus, when the time was at hand,
prophesied of very plainly and expressly. We have here, 1. Preparation made for that
destruction (Zec_11:1): “Open thy doors, O Lebanon! Thou wouldst not open them to let
thy king in - he came to his own and his own received him not; now thou must open
them to let thy ruin in. Let the gates of the forest, and all the avenues to it, be thrown
open, and let the fire come in and devour its glory.” Some by Lebanon here understand
the temple, which was built of cedars from Lebanon, and the stones of it white as the
snow of Lebanon. It was burnt with fire by the Romans, and its gates were forced open
by the fury of the soldiers. To confirm this, they tell a story, that forty years before the
destruction of the second temple the gates of it opened of their own accord, upon which
prodigy Rabbi Johanan made this remark (as it is found in one of the Jewish authors),
“Now I know,” said he, “that the destruction of the temple is at hand, according to the
prophecy of Zechariah, Open thy doors, O Lebanon! that the fire may devour thy
cedars.” Others understand it of Jerusalem, or rather of the whole land of Canaan, to
which Lebanon was an inlet on the north. All shall lie open to the invader, and the
cedars, the mighty and eminent men, shall be devoured, which cannot but alarm those of
an inferior rank, Zec_11:2. If the cedars have fallen (if all the mighty are spoiled, and
brought to ruin), let the fir-tree howl. How can the slender fir-trees stand if stately
cedars fall? If cedars are devoured by fire, it is time for the fir-trees to howl; for no wood
is so combustible as that of the fir. And let the oaks of Bashan, that lie exposed to every
injury, howl, for the forest of the vintage (or the flourishing vineyard, that used to be
guarded with a particular care) has come down, or (as some read it) when the defenced
forests, such as Lebanon was, have come down. Note, The falls of the wise and good into
sin, and the falls of the rich and great into trouble, are loud alarms to those that are
every way their inferiors not to be secure. 2. Lamentation made for the destruction (Zec_
11:3): There is a voice of howling. Those who have fallen howl for grief and shame, and
those who see their own turn coming howl for fear. But the great men especially receive
the alarm with the utmost confusion. Those who were roaring in the day of their revels
and triumphs are howling in the day of their terrors; for now they are tormented more
than others. Those great men were by office shepherds, and such should have protected
God's flock committed to their charge; it is the duty both of princes and priests. But they
were as young lions, that made themselves a terror to the flock with their roaring and
the flock a prey to themselves with their tearing. Note, It is sad with a people when those
who should be as shepherds to them are as young lions to them. But what is the issue?
The shepherds howl, for their glory is spoiled. Their pastures, and the flocks which
covered them, which were the glory of the swains, are laid waste. The young lions howl,
for the pride of Jordan is spoiled. The pride of Jordan was the thickets on the banks, in
which the lions reposed themselves; and therefore, when the river overflowed and
spoiled them, the lions came up from them (as we read Jer_49:19), and they came up
roaring. Note, When those who have power proudly abuse their power, and, instead of
being shepherds, are as young lions, they may expect that the righteous God will humble
their pride and break their power.
JAMISO , "Zec_11:1-17. Destruction of the second Temple and Jewish polity for the
rejection of Messiah.
Open thy doors, O Lebanon — that is, the temple so called, as being constructed of
cedars of Lebanon, or as being lofty and conspicuous like that mountain (compare Eze_
17:3; Hab_2:17). Forty years before the destruction of the temple, the tract called

4. “Massecheth Joma” states, its doors of their own accord opened, and Rabbi Johanan in
alarm said, I know that thy desolation is impending according to Zechariah’s prophecy.
Calvin supposes Lebanon to refer to Judea, described by its north boundary: “Lebanon,”
the route by which the Romans, according to Josephus, gradually advanced towards
Jerusalem. Moore, from Hengstenberg, refers the passage to the civil war which caused
the calling in of the Romans, who, like a storm sweeping through the land from
Lebanon, deprived Judea of its independence. Thus the passage forms a fit introduction
to the prediction as to Messiah born when Judea became a Roman province. But the
weight of authority is for the former view.
K&D 1-3, "The Devastation of the Holy Land. - Zec_11:1. “Open thy gates, O Lebanon,
and let fire devour thy cedars! Zec_11:2. Howl, cypress; for the cedar is fallen, for the
glory is laid waste! Howl, ye oaks of Bashan; for the inaccessible forest is laid low!
Zec_11:3. A loud howling of the shepherds; for their glory is laid waste! A loud roaring
of the young lions; for the splendour of Jordan is laid waste!” That these verses do not
form the commencement of a new prophecy, having no connection with the previous
one, but that they are simply a new turn given to that prophecy, is evident not only from
the omission of any heading or of any indication whatever which could point to the
commencement of a fresh word of God, but still more so from the fact that the allusion
to Lebanon and Bashan and the thickets of Judah points back unmistakeably to the land
of Gilead and of Lebanon (Zec_10:10), and shows a connection between ch. 11 and Zec_
10:1-12, although this retrospect is not decided enough to lay a foundation for the view
that Zec_11:1-3 form a conclusion to the prophecy in Zec_10:1-12, to which their
contents by no means apply. For let us interpret the figurative description in these verses
in what manner we will, so much at any rate is clear, that they are of a threatening
character, and as a threat not only form an antithesis to the announcement of salvation
in Zec_10:1-12, but are substantially connected with the destruction which will overtake
the “flock of the slaughter,” and therefore serve as a prelude, as it were, to the judgment
announced in Zec_11:4-7.; The undeniable relation in which Lebanon, Bashan, and the
Jordan stand to the districts of Gilead and Lebanon, also gives us a clue to the
explanation; since it shows that Lebanon, the northern frontier of the holy land, and
Bashan, the northern part of the territory of the Israelites to the east of the Jordan, are
synecdochical terms, denoting the holy land itself regarded in its two halves, and
therefore that the cedars, cypresses, and oaks in these portions of the land cannot be
figurative representations of heathen rulers (Targ., Eph. Syr., Kimchi, etc.); but if
powerful men and tyrants are to be understood at all by these terms, the allusion can
only be to the rulers and great men of the nation of Israel (Hitzig, Maurer, Hengst.,
Ewald, etc.). But this allegorical interpretation of the cedars, cypresses, and oaks,
however old and widely spread it may be, is not so indisputable as that we could say with
Kliefoth: “The words themselves do not allow of our finding an announcement of the
devastation of the holy land therein.” For even if the words themselves affirm nothing
more than “that the very existence of the cedars, oaks, shepherds, lions, is in danger; and
that if these should fall, Lebanon will give way to the fire, the forest of Bashan will fall,
the thicket of Jordan be laid waste;” yet through the destruction of the cedars, oaks, etc.,
the soil on which these trees grow is also devastated and laid waste. The picture is a
dramatic one. Instead of the devastation of Lebanon being announced, it is summoned
to open its gates, that the fire may be able to enter in and devour its cedars. The
cypresses, which hold the second place among the celebrated woods of Lebanon, are
then called upon to howl over the fall of the cedars, not so much from sympathy as

5. because the same fate is awaiting them.
The words ‫דוּ‬ ָ ֻ‫שׁ‬ ‫ם‬ ִ‫יר‬ ִ ፍ ‫ר‬ ֶ‫שׁ‬ ֲ‫א‬ contain a second explanatory clause. ‫ר‬ ֶ‫שׁ‬ ֲ‫א‬ is a conjunction
(for, because), as in Gen_30:18; Gen_31:49. 'Addırım are not the glorious or lofty ones
among the people (Hengst., Kliefoth), but the glorious ones among the things spoken of
in the context, - namely, the noble trees, the cedars and cypresses. The oaks of Bashan
are also called upon to howl, because they too will fall like “the inaccessible forest,” i.e.,
the cedar forest of Lebanon. The keri habbâtsır is a needless correction, because the
article does not compel us to take the word as a substantive. If the adjective is really a
participle, the article is generally attached to it alone, and omitted from the noun (cf.
Ges. §111, 2, a). ‫ת‬ ַ‫ל‬ ְ‫ל‬ִ‫י‬ ‫,קוֹל‬ voice of howling, equivalent to a loud howling. The shepherds
howl, because 'addartâm, their glory, is laid waste. We are not to understand by this their
flock, but their pasture, as the parallel member ‫ן‬ ֵ ְ‫ר‬ַ ַ‫ה‬ ּ‫ן‬‫או‬ְ and the parallel passage Jer_
25:26 show, where the shepherds howl, because their pasture is destroyed. What the
pasture, i.e., the good pasture ground of the land of Bashan, is to the shepherds, that is
the pride of Jordan to the young lions, - namely, the thicket and reeds which grew so
luxuriantly on the banks of the Jordan, and afforded so safe and convenient a lair for
lions (cf. Jer_12:5; Jer_49:9; Jer_50:44). Zec_11:3 announces in distinct terms a
devastation of the soil or land. It follows from this that the cedars, cypresses, and oaks
are not figures representing earthly rulers. No conclusive arguments can be adduced in
support of such an allegory. It is true that in Isa_10:34 the powerful army of Assyria is
compared to Lebanon; and in Jer_22:6 the head of the cedar forest is a symbol of the
royal house of Judah; and that in Jer_22:23 it is used as a figurative term for Jerusalem
(see at Hab_2:17); but neither men generally, nor individual earthly rulers in particular,
are represented as cedars or oaks. The cedars and cypresses of Lebanon and the oaks of
Bashan are simply figures denoting what is lofty, glorious, and powerful in the world of
nature and humanity, and are only to be referred to persons so far as their lofty position
in the state is concerned. Consequently we get the following as the thought of these
verses: The land of Israel, with all its powerful and glorious creatures, is to become
desolate. Now, inasmuch as the desolation of a land also involves the desolation of the
people living in the land, and of its institutions, the destruction of the cedars, cypresses,
etc., does include the destruction of everything lofty and exalted in the nation and
kingdom; so that in this sense the devastation of Lebanon is a figurative representation
of the destruction of the Israelitish kingdom, or of the dissolution of the political
existence of the ancient covenant nation. This judgment was executed upon the land and
people of Israel by the imperial power of Rome. This historical reference is evident from
the description which follows of the facts by which this catastrophe is brought to pass.
CALVI , "This Chapter contains severe threatenings, by which God designed in
time to warn the Jews, that if there was any hope of repentance, they might be
restored by fear to the right way, and that others, the wicked and the reprobate,
might be rendered inexcusable, and also that the faithful might fortify themselves
against the strong temptation to despond on seeing so dreadful a calamity awaiting
that nation.
This prophecy does not indeed seem consistent with the preceding prophecies; for

6. the Prophet has been hitherto not only encouraging the people to entertain hope, but
has also declared that their condition would be so happy that nothing would be
wanting to render them really blessed: but now he denounces ruin, and begins with
reprobation; for he says, that God had been long the shepherd of that nation, but
that now he renounced all care of them; for being wearied he would no longer bear
with that perverse wickedness, which he had found in them all. These things seem to
be inconsistent: but we may observe, that it was needful in the first place to set
before the Jews the benefits of God, that they might with more alacrity proceed with
the work of building the temple, and know that their labor would not be in vain;
and now it was necessary to change the strain, lest hypocrites, vainly confiding in
these promises, should become hardened, as it is commonly the case; and also, lest
the faithful should not entertain due fear, and thus go heedlessly before God; for
nothing is more ruinous than security, inasmuch as when a license is taken to sin,
God’s judgment impends over us. We hence see how useful and reasonable was this
warnings of the Prophet, as he made the Jews to understand, that God would not be
propitious to his people without punishing their wickedness and obstinacy.
In order to render his prophecy impressive, Zechariah addresses Libanon; as
though he was God’s herald, he bids it to open its gates, for the whole wood was now
given up to the fire. Had he spoken without a figure, his denunciation would not
have had so much force: he therefore denounces near ruin on Lebanon and on other
places. Almost all think that by Lebanon is to be understood the temple, because it
was built with timber from that mountain; but this view seems to me frigid, though
it is approved by the common consent of interpreters. For why should we think the
temple to be metaphorically called Lebanon rather than Bashan? And they think so
such thing of Bashan, though there is equally the same reason. I therefore regard it
simply as the Mount Lebanon; and I shall merely refer to what Joseph us declares,
that the temple was opened before the city was destroyed by Titus. But though that
history may be true, and it seems to me probable, it does not hence follow that this
prophecy was then fulfilled, according to what is said of Rabbi Jonathan, who then
exclaimed, “Lo! the prophecy of Zechariah; for he foretold that the temple would be
burnt, and that the gates would be previously opened.” These things seem plausible,
and at the first view gain our approbation. But I think that we must understand
something more solid, and less refined: for I doubt not but that the Prophet
denounces complete ruin on Mount Lebanon, and on Bashan and other places. (129)
But why does he bid Lebanon to open its gates? The reason is given, for shortly
after he calls it a fortified forest, which was yet without walls and gates. Lebanon,
we know, was nigh to Jerusalem, though far enough to be free from any hostile
attack. As then the place was by nature sufficiently safe from being assailed, the
Prophet speaks, as though Lebanon was surrounded by fortresses; for it was not
exposed to the attacks of enemies. The meaning is, — that though on account of its
situation the Jews thought that Lebanon was not exposed to any evils, yet the
wantonness of enemies would lead them even there. We have already said why the
Prophet bids Lebanon to open its gates, even because he puts on the character of a
herald, who threatens and declares, that God’s extreme vengeance was already nigh
at hand.

7. COFFMA , "This chapter has a dramatic and sudden warning in shocking
contrast to the glorious promises revealed in the previous two chapters, fully in
keeping with the pattern in all the sacred writings of depicting blessing and
punishment side by side, alternating from one to the other. The Saviour himself
recognized and used exactly that same device. For example, the same chapter speaks
of heaven and hell, blessing and cursing, light and darkness, etc.; and this invariable
pattern appears in practically all of the prophets. Thus Zechariah is absolutely
consistent in moving from the glorious promises just related to this sorrowful
prophecy of the final overthrow and destruction of the Chosen People, the removal
of their government, the destruction of vast numbers of their population, and the
delivery of those that remained into the hands of the false shepherds they had
preferred to the True Shepherd.
This is one of the easiest chapters in the Bible to interpret, due to the inspired
Matthew having applied the central incident in the chapter to the betrayal of Jesus
Christ for thirty pieces of silver by Judas Iscariot (Matthew 27:3-10). With that as
the key to the whole chapter, the whole passage unravels with remarkable boldness
and clarity.
It is amusing that liberal commentators who cannot find Jesus Christ anywhere in
this chapter are unanimous in their declaration that the chapter "is difficult," "no
concensus is possible," "it is impossible to identify these," etc., etc. For example, in
the case of the "three shepherds" removed in a month (Zechariah 11:8), more than
forty opinions have been expressed by the greatest liberal scholars of this century
concerning the interpretation of them. All such confusion merely demonstrates that
when the obvious, central meaning of Zechariah 11 is ignored, the whole passage
becomes impossible of any intelligent explanation. We are thankful for the clear
vision and vital faith of many of the older commentators who do not hesitate to
interpret the chapter as a reference to the rejection of Christ by Israel. Jamieson
gave the whole chapter a single rifle: "The Destruction of the Second Temple and
the Jewish Polity for their Rejection of the Messiah."[1] Amen! That is what every
word of this chapter is about. Deane titled the three subsections of the chapter thus:
[2]
"I. The Holy Land is threatened with judgment (Zechariah 11:1-3).
II. The punishment falls upon the people of Israel because they rejected the Good
Shepherd (personified by the prophet) (Zechariah 11:4-14).
III. In retribution for their rejection of the Good Shepherd, the people are given
over to a foolish shepherd who shall destroy them, but shall himself, in turn, perish
miserably (Zechariah 11:15-17)."SIZE>
Robinson summarized Zechariah 11 with one sentence: "Israel is to be punished for
rejecting the shepherding care of Jehovah."[3] Feinberg's summary has this:

8. "The events of this chapter are set in the time of the earthly ministry of the
Shepherd of Israel, and his rejection by them, with its consequences in 70 A.D. They
speak of the dark hour of Israel's national history."[4]
We concur fully in such views of this chapter and find it incredible, really, that the
hodge-podge of contradictory, foolish, unreasonable, and preposterous
interpretations of critical scholars should be received as acceptable by any believer
in the Lord Jesus Christ. Denials of this chapter's reference to Jesus Christ during
his earthly ministry, due to their phenomenal weakness, are not even effective
crutches of infidelity.
Zechariah 11:1
"Open thy doors, O Lebanon, that the fire may devour thy cedars."
The Jewish temple was made of cedars of Lebanon, and from this some have seen a
reference here to the destruction of the Second Temple. Oddly enough, the Jews
themselves so interpreted it. Josephus relates the story of how the massive doors of
the temple "opened of their own accord at Passover,"[5] some forty years before the
temple's destruction, corresponding exactly to the time of the Crucifixion;
Maimonides, one of the Jewish authors, has an account of Rabbi Johannan's
remark concerning that prodigy. He said:
" ow I know that the destruction of the temple is at hand, according to the
prophecy of Zechariah, "Open thy doors, O Lebanon! that the fire may devour thy
cedars."[6]
ow it must be freely admitted that Josephus' tales of several fantastic prodigies
that occurred prior to the fall of Jerusalem to the Romans are not held to be
reliable; still this particular one occurred forty years previously at the time of Jesus'
crucifixion, and there is trustworthy evidence from the ew Testament itself that
"the veil of the temple was rent in twain" (Matthew 27:51) upon what might have
been exactly the same occasion.
However one takes Josephus' story, there does not appear to be any good reason for
denying Rabbi Johannan's reference to this prophecy as applicable to the temple.
Certainly, this is as reasonable as any of the wild guesses about which kings,
whether the Ptolemies, the Seleucids, the Romans, etc. are prophetically represented
in this verse.
Whether the gate of the temple, the gate of Palestine through Lebanon, or some
other "door" is spoken of here; the import of the message is tragic. Disaster is in
store for Israel. Matthew Henry also mentioned the traditions we have cited and
said,
"Open thy doors, O Lebanon! thou wouldst not open them to let thy King come in
(He came to his own, and his own received him not); now thou must open them to let
thy ruin in. Let the gates of the forest, and all the avenues to it be thrown open, and
let the fire come in and devour its glory.[7]

9. These three verses (Zechariah 11:1-3) present in a vigorous picture a scene of
complete judgment and devastation upon the land to which such fair things had
been promised in Zechariah 9-10. To this literal understanding of the passage we
ought to adhere."[8]SIZE>
Marvelous and wonderful things concerning God's Israel had been depicted in the
two preceding chapters; but now all of that is held up in abeyance; for Israel would
reject the only One who could bring all of those beautiful things to pass. The wail of
despair that goes up from these three verses is starkly clear in the howling of the
false shepherds.
TRAPP, " Open thy doors, O Lebanon, that the fire may devour thy cedars.
Ver. 1. Open thy doors, O Lebanon] This chapter is no less comminatory than the
two former had been consolatory. The tartness of the threatening maketh men best
taste the sweetness of the promise. Sour and sweet make the best sauce; promises
and threatenings mingled serve to keep the heart in the best temper. Hypocrites
catch at the promises, as children do at deserts; and stuff themselves therewith a
pillow as it were, that they may sin more securely. Here therefore they are given to
understand, that God will so be merciful to the penitent, as that he will by no means
clear the guilty. That is the last letter in God’s name, Exodus 34:7, and must never
be forgotten. It is fitting that the wicked should be forewarned of their danger; and
the godly forearmed. This chapter hangs over Jerusalem as that blazing star in the
form of a bloody sword is said to have done for a whole year’s time, a little before
that last destruction of it, that is here foretold five hundred years before it
happened.
Open thy doors, O Lebanon] i.e. Lay open thou thyself to utter ruin; for it is
determined, and cannot be avoided. Lebanon was the confine of the country on that
side, whereby the Romans made their first irruption, as by an inlet. Doors or gates
are attributed to this forest; because against Libanus is set Antilibanus, another
mountain; which is joined into it as it were with a certain wall; so that these were
and are narrow passages and gates, kept sometimes by the kings of Persia by a
special officer, ehemiah 2:8, and fortified by nature; yet not so strongly but that
the Romans broke in this way, and much wasted the forest, employing the trees for
the besieging of Jerusalem, as Isaiah 14:8. (Hence it is here called the forest of the
vintage, or the defenced forest, Zechariah 11:2 marg.) The Chaldee paraphrast by
Lebanon here understandeth the temple, which was built by the cedars of Lebanon;
and Ezekiel 17:3, Lebanon is put for Jerusalem; which also had in it that house of
the forest of Lebanon built by Solomon, 1 Kings 7:2, wherein he had both his throne
of judgment, 1 Kings 7:7, and his armoury, 1 Kings 10:17. So that by Lebanon may
be very well meant the whole country of Judea; but especially the city and temple,
the iron gates whereof opened themselves of their own accord, that had not been
open in seven years before, and could scarcely be shut by twenty men, saith
Josephus (Lib. vii. de Bell. Jud. cap. 12). This happened not long before the city was
taken by Titus, whereupon Rabbi Jonathan, the son of Zechariah, cried out, En

10. vaticinium Zechariae, Behold the prophecy of Zechariah fulfilled; for he foretold
this, that this temple should be burned, and that the gates thereof should first be
opened.
That the fire may devour thy cedars] War is as a fire, that feedeth upon the people,
Isaiah 9:19, or like as a hungry man snatcheth, &c., Isaiah 9:20, there is in war no
measure or satiety of blood. The Greek word Pολεµος, for war, signifieth much
blood. The Hebrew word, ‫מלחמה‬ devouring and eating of men, as they eat bread.
The Latin Bellum, a belluis. destruction from wild beasts. It destroys the lord as well
as the losel, the cedar as well as the shrub. Tamerlane’s coach horses were
conquered kings. Adonibezek’s dogs, seventy kings gathering crumbs under his
table. "Let fire come out of the bramble, and devour the cedars of Lebanon," 9:15,
that is, let fire come out from Abimclech, and devour the men of Shechem, 9:20.
COKE, "Zechariah 11:1. Open thy doors, &c.— This manner of expression
sufficiently shews, that Lebanon itself is not addressed, which had no doors, or
gates; but the temple, built of the cedars of Lebanon. In the three preceding
chapters, Zechariah spoke of the advantages and prosperities of Judah and
Jerusalem, after the return from Babylon, both before and after the times of the
Maccabees. Here he predicts the ruin of the temple, the rejection of the Jews, and
their subjection to the Romans. He foretels at the same time a remarkable
circumstance, in the passion of our Saviour, and marks out clearly the little flock of
the church, and the care which the great Shepherd takes of it. See Calmet.
BE SO , ". Open thy doors, O Lebanon — The prophet, having signified in the
foregoing prophecy that the Jewish nation should recover its prosperity, flourish for
some time, and become considerable; and having announced to Zion the coming of
Messiah her king, and congratulated her on the peaceable nature and great extent of
his kingdom, with the blessed effects which his rule should produce, proceeds now
to foretel the ruin which should come on the body of the Jewish nation for rejecting
him, with the destruction of their temple and capital city. To this only can the first
three verses of this chapter relate; for no calamities happened to that people, from
the time of Zechariah till that event, of which the expressions here used can with
propriety be understood. Lebanon itself cannot be here addressed, which had no
doors or gates: but it is figuratively put, either for the temple, built of the cedars of
Lebanon, as it is Ezekiel 17:3; and Habakkuk 2:17; or for the city of Jerusalem,
whose lofty buildings resembled the stately ranks of trees in a forest: but the former
is more probably intended. And, if the Jewish writers may be credited, such was the
application made of this prophecy by the Rabbi Johanan, when the doors of the
temple opened of their own accord, a little before the temple was burned, a
circumstance attested by Josephus, Bell. Jud. lib. 6. cap. 5: “Then R. Johanan, a
disciple of R. Hillel, directing his speech to the temple, said, ‘I know thy destruction
is at hand, according to the prophecy of Zechariah:’ Open thy doors, O Lebanon,
&c.” That the fire — Either, figuratively, the wrath of God and the rage of the
enemy, or, literally, fire kindled by the enemy; may devour thy cedars — Thy
palaces and other fabrics built with cedars.

11. ELLICOTT, "(1-3) Here, as in Zechariah 9:1-8, we have intimation of an invasion
of the land of Israel from the north, only, whereas in the former case Philistia, as
well as Syria and Phœnicia, was to be the sufferer, here it is “the pride of Jordan
that is to be spoiled.” Some have considered the first three verses of this chapter to
be a distinct prophecy by themselves. To this supposition no valid objection can be
made. But the terms of the prophecy are so vague that it is impossible to decide with
any degree of satisfaction to what particular invasion it refers. It might be
descriptive of any invasion which took place from the north, whether Assyrian,
Babylonian, Greek, or Roman. Others take these verses as introductory to the
prophecy that follows, and consider them to be descriptive either of a storm
breaking over the country (comp. Psalms 29 and, with some, Isaiah 2:10-22) from
the north, or else of some terrible visitation which would come upon the land,
similar to the invasions which had taken place in the days of old. In any case, these
verses have so little necessary connection with what follows, that it will make little
difference to our interpretation of the remainder of the chapter which of the above
theories we adopt. (Compare for similar expressions, Isaiah 37:24; Isaiah 14:8;
Jeremiah 25:34-36.)
WHEDO , "Verses 1-3
LAME TATIO OF THE HUMILIATED E EMIES, Zechariah 11:1-3.
These verses do not form an independent piece, nor are they to be connected with
Zechariah 11:4 ff., for the opening words of Zechariah 11:4 show that there a new
prophecy begins. They are rather the conclusion to the promise in chapter 10, that
the exiles will be re-established in their own land (Zechariah 10:10), for they state
what will become of the present occupants of the land: they will be completely
annihilated. What has been said indicates that the judgment announced in these
verses is not, as is commonly assumed, a judgment upon Israel, but upon the
foreigners who now occupy their territory. The language used is highly poetic
(compare Isaiah 2:12 ff.).
1. The enemies are pictured as magnificent forests (Isaiah 10:33-34), in danger of
being devoured by fire. The prophet calls upon Lebanon to open its doors so that
the fire may come in.
Lebanon — See on Zechariah 10:10, and reference there.
Cedars — These were the glory of Lebanon. At one time they were very abundant.
Solomon used them in the temple (1 Kings 5:6), and several of the Assyrian kings
claim to have cut them and carried them to Assyria (compare Habakkuk 2:17; see
Hastings’s Dictionary of the Bible, article “Cedar”).
2. Howl, fir tree — Or, cypress. ext to the cedar the choicest tree of Lebanon
(Isaiah 14:8; Isaiah 37:24); it also was used in the construction of the temple (1
Kings 5:22, 24).

12. For the cedar is fallen — ot so much out of sympathy as because a similar fate is
awaiting the cypress.
The mighty are spoiled — R.V., “the goodly ones.” Expresses the same thought as
the preceding. The mighty ones are the noble trees of Lebanon.
Oaks of Bashan — See on Amos 4:1. Bashan was at one time exceedingly rich in oak
forests; even now fine specimens of oak trees may be seen east of the Jordan, but not
in as great numbers as formerly (compare Tristram, atural History, p. 369).
Forest of the vintage — Better, R.V., “strong forest”; or, better, with margin,
“fortified” — inaccessible. Both Bashan and Lebanon must fall before the anger of
Jehovah. The two forests with their majestic trees represent the heathen power that
is now occupying the former territory of Israel west and east of the Jordan (see on
Zechariah 10:10). To make room for the exiles about to return it must be driven out.
To simplify the Hebrew text, which is somewhat awkward, Marti proposes to omit
Zechariah 11:2 a; he reads Zechariah 11:1-2, “Open, O Lebanon, thy doors, that the
fire may devour thy cedars; howl, ye oaks of Bashan, for the strong forest is come
down.”
3. The prophet already hears the lament of those who have been robbed of their
power and glory.
A voice of the howling — Equivalent to loud howling. A more forceful rendering
would be, “Hark! howling!” (Compare G.-K., 146b; Zephaniah 1:14.)
Shepherds — As in Zechariah 10:3, the foreign rulers. The presence of extensive
herds in Bashan may have suggested the use of the term.
Their glory — The rich pasture of the shepherds; in the figure, the majesty and
splendor of the rulers.
Young lions — At one time lions seem to have been abundant in Palestine (see on
Hosea 5:14); here they represent the rulers and nobles.
The pride of Jordan — “The thickets and reeds which grew so luxuriantly on the
banks of the Jordan, and afforded so safe and convenient a lair for the lions”
(Jeremiah 49:19). In the figure, identical in meaning with glory, the wealth and
splendor of the rulers.
PETT, "Verses 1-3
A Lament Over The Condition Of Israel (Zechariah 11:1-3).
Zechariah 11:1-3
‘Open your doors, Oh Lebanon,
That the fire may devour your cedars.

13. Howl, Oh fir tree,
For the cedar is fallen,
Because the glorious ones are spoiled.
Howl, Oh you oaks of Bashan,
For the thick forest is come down.
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.’
Again Lebanon is seen as part of the land of promise. But as the prophet sees what
is to come he depicts catastrophe in terms of those things which were the pride of
the land. The cedars of Lebanon and the oaks of Bashan were proverbial for their
glory and strength. But now as far as Israel is concerned the cedars are burned and
the oaks are cut down. The pride of Jordan contains the same idea, referring to the
jungle thickets which provided a home for the lions. They too are spoiled. Thus even
the young lions will have cause for complaint.
The picture is one of invasion and the destroying of that of which the people are
most proud. The unfaithfulness of God’s people as a result of the teaching of false
shepherds will have the reverse effect to what Zechariah has previously described.
Prior to the coming of the Messianic king there will be devastation in the land. The
history of the Jews illustrates how this happened again and again.
It should be noted that usually invaders spared the trees. They recognised that they
were for future generations. A land despoiled of trees was truly a land despoiled.
‘A voice of the howling of the shepherds.’ The catastrophe is directly related to the
activities of false shepherds. They have proclaimed falsehood and will now see it
bring ruin to the land. Even the lions will roar because their homes are destroyed.
So while the prophet has been filled with hope he now recognises that coming
adversity will precede the fulfilment of his hopes. The future is not all one of
triumph, it must rise out of disaster. How quickly the revival of hope has to bow to
realities and be delayed. It is ever thus and will be until God directly intervenes.
Verses 1-17
A Prophecy in Which Zechariah Sees that Instead of True Shepherds There Will
Arise False Shepherds. He as The True Shepherd will be Rejected (Zechariah 11:1-
17).
Zchariah now returns to his theme of the false shepherds as found in Zechariah
10:2-3. Up to now the future has on the whole seemed rosy. But Zechariah
recognised the problem of the false shepherds. False shepherds have already arisen
(Zechariah 10:2-3) and will yet arise and doom will come on the land. Before the
eschatological salvation must come the period of darkness. Things will not quite go
as he had hoped.

14. PULPIT, "Zechariah 11:1
Open thy doors, O Lebanon. The prophet graphically portrays the punishment that
is to fall upon the people. The sin that occasions this chastisement, viz. the rejection
of their Shepherd and King, is denounced later (§ 9). Lebanon stood in the path of
an invader from the north, whence most hostile armies entered Palestine. The
"doors" of Lebanon are the mountain passes which gave access to the country.
Some commentators, following an old Jewish interpretation, take Lebanon to mean
the temple or Jerusalem; but we are constrained to adhere primarily to the literal
signification by the difficulty of carrying on the metaphorical allusions in the
following clauses. That the fire may devour thy cedars. That the invader may
wantonly destroy thy trees which are thy glory and thy boast.
BI 1-2, "That the fire may devour thy cedars, etc.
The fallen cedar
In this chapter there is an announcement of the judgment that was to come on the
Jewish State and nation because of their ungodliness, and especially their contemptuous
rejection of Him whom God sent to be their shepherd. The prophecy here is not in any
way connected with that in the preceding chapters, except as it may be regarded as
continuing the account of God’s dealings with Israel, and their behaviour towards Him
consequent on the events predicted in these chapters. Hitherto the prophet has been a
bearer of good tidings to Zion, tidings of deliverance from oppressors, and restoration to
former privilege and felicity. But there was a dark side to the picture as well as a bright
one. All trouble and conflict had not ceased with their restoration to their own land: nor
was their tendency to rebellion and apostasy from Jehovah, their Shepherd and King,
finally subdued. Treating Him with contempt, His favour should be withdrawn from
them, and the bonds that united them should be broken. The iron hand of foreign
oppression should again be laid heavily upon them, and the ruin of their State and
desolation of their land should mark the greatness of their sin by the severity of the
penalty it had entailed. The prophecy begins with a picture of ruin and desolation
overspreading the land, and then the process is detailed by which this was brought about
and the cause of it indicated. The description of the judgment commences dramatically.
Lebanon is summoned to open her doors, that the fire may enter to consume her cedars;
the cypress is admonished to howl or wail because the cedar is fallen, because the noble
and glorious trees are destroyed; the oaks of Bashan are called upon to join in the wail,
for the inaccessible forest is laid low. The cypress is here called to lament for the fall of
the cedar of Lebanon, the glory of the forest, not as deploring that calamity so much as
anticipating for itself a like fate. That this description is to be taken literally cannot be
supposed; the language is too forcible, and the picture too vivid to be understood merely
of the destruction by fire of a few trees, even though these were the finest of their kind.
On the other hand, there seems no sufficient reason for regarding this description as
symbolical and wholly figurative. The more simple and tenable view is that which Calvin
suggested, namely, that by the places here mentioned is intended the whole land of
Judea, the desolation of which is predicted by the prophet. The catastrophe thus
depicted was brought about by the misconduct of the people, and especially their
shepherds and rulers, towards the Great Shepherd of Israel, whom God sent forth to
feed and tend the flock. This is described in what follows, where the prophet is
represented as acting as the representative of another, and as such is addressed. It
cannot be supposed that the person addressed is the Angel of Jehovah, or the Messiah,

15. for the person addressed in Zec_11:4 is evidently the same as the person addressed in
Zec_11:15, and what is there said does not in any way apply to the Angel of Jehovah, or
the Messiah. Nor can it be supposed that the prophet is here addressed in his own
person, for as it was no part of the prophetic office to act as a shepherd of Israel, it could
not be to the prophet as such that the command here given was addressed. The only
supposition that can tenably be made is that what is here narrated passed as a vision
before the inner sense of the prophet, in which he saw himself as the representative of
another, first of the good shepherd who is sent to feed the flock, and then of the evil
shepherd by whom the flock was neglected, and who should be destroyed for his
iniquity. (W. L. Alexander, D. D.)
The cedars, fir trees, and oaks of society
This chapter, it has been said, divides itself into three sections.
1. The threat of judgment (Zec_11:1-3).
2. The description of the Good Shepherd (verse. 4-14).
3. The sketch of the foolish shepherd (Zec_11:15-17).
Lebanon, here, may be regarded as a symbol of the kingdom of Judah, its cedars as
denoting the chief men of the kingdom.
I. A variety of distinction. The “cedar” here, the “fir tree,” or cypress, and the “oaks,” are
employed to set forth some of the distinctions that prevailed amongst the Hebrew
people. Now, whilst all men have a common origin, a common nature, and common
moral obligations and responsibilities, yet in every generation there prevails a large
variety of striking distinctions. There are not only the cedars and fir trees, but even
briars and thistles. There is almost as great a distinction between the highest type of
man and the lowest, as there is between the lowest and the highest type of brute. There
are intellectual giants and intellectual dwarfs, moral monarchs and spiritual serfs. This
variety of distinction in the human family serves at least two important purposes.
1. To check pride in the highest and despondency in the lowest. The cedar has no
cause for boasting over the fir tree, or over the humblest plant it owes its existence to
the same God, and is sustained by the same common elements. And what have the
greatest men—the Shakespeares, the Schillers, the Miltons, the Goethes—to be proud
of? What have they that they have not received? And why should the weakest man
despond? He is what God made him, and his responsibilities are limited by his
capacities. This variety serves—
2. To strengthen the ties of human brotherhood. Were all men of equal capacity, it is
manifest that there would be no scope for that mutual ministry of interdependence
which tends to unite society together. The strong rejoices in bearing the infirmities of
the weak, and the weak rejoices in gratitude and hope on account of the succour
received.
II. A common calamity. “Howl, fir tree; for the cedar is fallen.” An expression which
implies that the same fate awaits the fir tree. There is one event that awaits men of every
type and class and grade, the tallest cedar and the most stunted shrub, that is death.
1. This common calamity levels all distinctions. “Though his excellency mount up to
the heavens, and his head reach unto the clouds, yet he shall perish forever.”

16. 2. This common calamity should dematerialise all souls. Since we are only here on
this earth for a few short years at most, why should we live to the flesh, and thus
materialise our souls?
III. A natural alarm. “Howl, fir tree.” The howl, not of rage, not of sympathy, but of
alarm. When the higher falls, the lower may well take the alarm. If the cedar gives way,
let the cypress look out. This principle may apply to—
1. Communities. Amongst the kingdoms of the earth there are the “cedar” and the
“fir tree.” The same may be said of markets. There are the cedars of the commercial
world; great houses regulating almost the merchandise of the world.
2. Individuals. When men who are physically strong fall, let weaker men beware.
When men who are moral cedars—majestic in character, and mighty in beneficent
influences—fall, let the less useful take the alarm, and still more the useless.
(Homilist.)
Howl, fir tree; for the cedar is fallen—
The cedar and the fir
The prophecy, of which these words are a part, had its fulfilment in the destruction of
Jerusalem, and the dispersion of the Jews by the Romans. The text would become
applicable at a time of great national calamity. By the cedar tree the chief men of a
country are represented, those who occupy the more prominent positions, and are,
conspicuous by station and influence. When the cedar tree falls, when the princes of a
land are brought down by disaster and death, men of inferior rank who, in comparison
with these princes, are but as the fir tree compared with the cedar, may well tremble and
fear, as knowing that their own day of trial must be rapidly approaching. These words,
then, are universally applicable whenever calamity falls on those better or more exalted
than ourselves, and such calamity may serve as a warning, teaching us to expect our own
share of trouble. “Howl, fir tree”—tremble, and be afraid, ye sinful and careless ones,
who, though planted in the garden of the Lord, bring not forth the fruits of
righteousness. “The cedar is fallen,”—shall, then, the fir tree escape? “If judgment first
begin at the house of God, what shall the end be of them that obey not the Gospel of
Christ?” Take the text as setting forth the sufferings of the righteous as an evidence or
token of the far greater which, in due time, must be the portion of the wicked. If the
wicked were to ponder God’s dealings with the righteous, if the fir tree would observe
what was done to the cedar, it could hardly be that future and everlasting punishment
would be denied by any, or by any be practically disregarded. Let our blessed Saviour
Himself be the first cedar tree on which we gaze. “Smitten of God and afflicted.” “A Man
of Sorrows, and acquainted with grief.” His sufferings only then assume their most
striking character when they are seen as demonstrations of the evil of sin. The
atonement alone shows me what sin is in God’s sight. The Captain of our salvation was
“made perfect through sufferings,” but the same discipline has been employed, from the
first, in regard of all those whom God has conducted to glory. Under all dispensations
affliction is an instrument of purification. The nearer we approach the times of the
Gospel, the intenser becomes the discipline of suffering; as though God has designed to
prepare men for an increase in tribulation, with an increase of privilege. The fact is
undisputed, that, through much tribulation, men enter the kingdom of heaven. No fact
should be more startling to those who are living without God, and perhaps secretly
hoping for impunity at the last. They cannot deny that the cedar has been bent and

17. blighted by the hurricane, whilst, comparatively, sunshine and calm have been around
the fir. And from this they are bound to conclude the great fact of a judgment to come.
Suppose it to be for purposes of discipline that God employs suffering—what does this
prove but that human nature is thoroughly corrupt, requiring to be purged so as by fire,
ere it can be fitted for happiness? And if there must be this fiery purification, what is the
inference which ungodly men should draw, if not that they will be given up hereafter to
the unquenchable flame, given up to it when that flame can neither annihilate their
being, nor eradicate their corruption? It is probable enough that the wicked may be
disposed to congratulate themselves on their superior prosperity, and to look with pity,
if not with contempt, on the righteous, as the God whom they serve seems to reward
them with nothing but trouble. But this can only be through want of consideration. It
may certainly be inferred from these words, when applied in the modes indicated, that
the present afflictions of the righteous shall be vastly exceeded by the future of the
wicked. The “cedar is fallen,” and the fir tree is called upon to “howl,” as though it were
about to be rent and shivered, as by the tempest and the thunder. The sufferings of the
righteous might save the wicked from future torments, and that which prepares a good
man for heaven might snatch a bad one from hell. (H. Melvill, B. D.)
Fallen greatness
This word “cedar” applies to Jerusalem, to the temple, to Lebanon. It is a general and
symbolic term. It applies to all great characters, to all noble institutions, all sublime
purposes. There was an abundance of cedar wood in the temple, so the temple was often
called The Cedar, and what the temple was Jerusalem was. One element sometimes gives
its character to everything into which it enters. The eternal doctrine of the text is that
when the strong go down the weak should lay that significant circumstance to heart.
How can the fir tree stand when the cedar is blown down? How can the weak defend the
city when the mighty men have failed? What can the poor do after the kings of wealth?
And if God can smite the mighty, can He not overwhelm the weak and the little? if He
can rend the stars, and hurl the constellations out of their places, what about our clay
walls and huts of dust?—surely He could sweep them away as with the tempestuous
wind. And yet the weak have a place of their own. Trees have been blown down whilst
daisies have been left undisturbed. There is a strength of littleness, there is a majesty of
weakness, there is a charter of immunity granted to things that are very frail. The
whirlwind does not destroy the flower that bends before its fury, but it often destroys the
mighty tree that dares it to wrestle. How much we depend upon the cedar in all life, in all
society, in all institutions! What is done by one man may be comparatively insignificant
and may never be heard of, and that self-same thing done by another quality of man fills
the world with amazement. How is that? Simply because of the quality. There are people
who burrow in the earth, and what they do no man cares for, no man inquires; there are
persons who have lived themselves down to the vanishing point of influence, that it is of
no consequence whatsoever what they think or do. Other men can hardly breathe
without the fact being noted and commented upon; the pulse cannot be unsteady
without the whole journalism of the empire being filled with the tidings. The difference
is the difference between the cedar and the fir tree. What is impossible in nature is
possible in humanity: the fir tree can become the cedar, and the cedar can become the fir
tree, and these continual changes constitute the very tragedy of human experience. Let it
be known that some person has committed a theft in the city, and the theft will be
reported in very small type, it is really of no consequence to cruel society what that
person has done; but let a man of another sort do that very self-same thing, and there is

18. no type large enough in which to announce the fact. It is not always so with the good
deeds—“the good is oft interred with men’s bones.” There is no printer that cares to
report charity, nobleness, meekness, forgiveness, great exercises of patience and
forbearance. The printer was not made to intermeddle with that sacred fame. Such
reputation is registered in heaven, is watched and guarded by the angels, and carries
with itself its own guarantee of immortality. Yet this doctrine might easily be abused. A
man might be fool enough to say that it is of no consequence what he does. But it is in
reality of consequence, according to the circle within which he moves. Every man can
make his home unhappy, every man can lay a burden upon the back of his child which
the child is unable to sustain. That is the consummation of cruelty. If the man could but
put a dagger into himself, and cause his own life continual agony, he might be doing an
act of justice, he might be trying to compensate for the wrongs he has done to others: but
when it is felt that everything that man does tells upon the child to the third and fourth
generation, so that the child cannot get rid of the blood which the great-grandfather
shed, then every man becomes of importance in his own sphere and in relation to the
line of life which he touches. We apply this text personally and nationally, founding upon
it our lamentations over fallen greatness. The great statesman dies, and the Church at
once becomes filled with the eloquence of this text—“Howl, fir tree; for the cedar is
fallen,”—the lesson being, that the great man has gone, the great strength has vanished,
and now weakness is exposed to a thousand attacks; weakness feels its defencelessness.
Nor ought such eulogy be limited. Sentiment has to play a very serious part and a very
useful part in the education of life. When men cease to revere greatness they cease to
cultivate it. There is a philistinism that is near akin to impiety and profanity. All men are
not alike, all men are not of one value; some men have the genius of insight and
foresight, and some have it not; and when men who can see the coming time, and
interpret the time that now is into its largest significances, are taken away from us, then
those of us who occupy positions of commonplace may well feel that some tremendous
bankruptcy has supervened in history, and the world is made poor forever. Yet this is not
the spirit of the Gospel, which is always a spirit of good cheer and stimulus and
hopefulness. We are not dependent now upon men, except in a secondary sense; we are
dependent upon God alone:—The battle is not yours, but God’s; they that be for us are
more than all that can be against us; our cedar is the Cross, and the Cross has never
failed. Rome boasted that it had obliterated the Christian name but Rome boasted too
soon. Ten persecutions followed one another in rapid and devastating succession; yet
there were Christians still praying in secret, temples unknown and unnamed were
frequented by ardent and passionate worshippers. (Joseph Parker, D. D.)
The death of great men
Mr. Jay was generally chaste and dignified in his composition, but occasionally used a
quaintness of expression which in our day would be called “sensational.” The selection of
his texts was sometimes ingenious—e.g., on two occasions, after the death of Robert Hall
and Rowland Hill, his text was, “Howl, fir tree, for the cedar is fallen.” He always took
advantage of public events, and thus brought nature and providence to his aid in
instructing the people.
The cedar useful after it is fallen
The cedar is the most useful when dead. It is the most productive when its place knows it
no more. There is no timber like it. Firm in grain, and capable of the finest polish, the
tooth of no insect will touch it, and time himself can hardly destroy it. Diffusing a

19. perpetual fragrance through the chamber which it ceils, the worm will not corrode the
book which it protects, nor the moth corrupt the garment which it guards—all but
immortal itself, it transfuses its amaranthine qualities into the objects around it. Every
Christian is useful in his fife, but the goodly cedars are the most useful afterwards.
Luther is dead, but the Reformation fives.
2 Wail, you juniper, for the cedar has fallen;
the stately trees are ruined!
Wail, oaks of Bashan;
the dense forest has been cut down!
BAR ES, "Howl, O cypress, for the cedar is fallen - Jerusalem or the temple
having been likened to Lebanon and its cedars, the prophet carries on the image,
speaking of the priests princes and people, under the title of firs, cypresses and oaks,
trees inferior, but magnificent. He shows that it is imagery, by ascribing to them the
feelings of people. The more glorious and stately, “the cedars,” were destroyed. Woe then
to the rest, “the cypress;” as our Lord says, “If they do these things in the green tree,
what shall be done, in the dry?” Luk_23:31, and Peter, “If the righteous scarcely be
saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?” 1Pe_4:18.
For the defensed forest is come down - That which was closed and inaccessible
to the enemy. All which was high and lifted up was brought low, “came down,” even to
the ground .
CLARKE, "Howl, fir tree - This seems to point out the fall and destruction of all
the mighty men.
GILL, "Howl, fir tree; for the cedar is fallen,.... By which are designed the
princes, nobles, and magistrates of the land: so the Targum interprets them of kings and
princes; see Nah_2:3,
because all the mighty are spoiled; which is an explanation of the figurative
expressions in the former clause, and in the following; and designs rich men, as the
Targum paraphrases it, who at this time would be spoiled of their wealth and substance.

20. Howl, O ye oaks of Bashan; which the Targum interprets of governors of provinces;
and men of power and authority are doubtless intended; see Isa_2:13,
for the forest of the vintage is come down; or rather, "the fortified forest";
meaning the city of Jerusalem, which was a fortified place, and like a forest full of trees,
for number of inhabitants, but now cut down and destroyed; see Isa_10:16.
JAMISO , "fir tree ... cedar — if even the cedars (the highest in the state) are not
spared, how much less the fir trees (the lowest)!
forest of ... vintage — As the vines are stripped of their grapes in the vintage
(compare Joe_3:13), so the forest of Lebanon “is come down,” stripped of all its beauty.
Rather, “the fortified” or “inaccessible forest” [Maurer]; that is, Jerusalem dense with
houses as a thick forest is with trees, and “fortified” with a wall around. Compare Mic_
3:12, where its desolate state is described as a forest.
CALVI , "He then adds, Howl thou, fir-tree, for the cedar has fallen. o doubt the
Prophet by naming Lebanon, mentioning a part for the whole, meant the whole of
Judea: and it appears evident from the context that the most remarkable places are
here mentioned; but yet the Prophet’s design was to show, that God would punish
the whole people, so as not to spare Jerusalem or any other place. And then by the
fir-trees and cedars he meant whatever then excelled in Judea or in other places;
and for this reason he compares them to the cedars of Lebanon, as though he had
said, “There is no reason for the fir-trees to regard themselves as beyond the reach
of danger; for if he spares not the cedars what will become of the fir-trees, which
possess no such stateliness and grandeur?”
We now then perceive the Prophet’s meaning as to the trees: but he includes, as I
have said, under one kind, whatever was valuable in Judea; and this we learn more
clearly from what follows: for he adds, Fallen have, or laid waste have been, the
strong (130) Some read in the neuter gender, “Laid waste have been splendid
things;” but I am inclined to regard persons as intended. The Prophet then now
simply declares, that the vengeance of God was nigh all the great ones, whom
dignity sheltered, so that they thought themselves in no danger. And for the same
purpose he adds, Howl, ye oaks of Bashan. He joins, as we see, Bashan to Lebanon;
there is then no reason for allegorising only one of the words, when they are both
connected. And he says, For fallen has the fortified forest. Either this may be
applied to Lebanon, or the Prophet may be viewed as saying in general, that there
was no place so difficult of access, which would not be penetrated into, when the
Lord should give liberty to enemies to destroy all things. Though then the density of
trees protected these mountains, yet the Prophet says that nothing would obstruct
God’s vengeance from penetrating into the inmost recesses of strongholds.
COFFMA , ""Wail, O fir tree, for the cedar is fallen, because the goodly ones are
destroyed: wail, O ye oaks of Bashan, for the strong forest is come down. A voice of
the wailing of the shepherds! for their glory is destroyed: a voice of the roaring of
young lions! for the pride of the Jordan is laid waste."

21. Zechariah 11:3 "explains Zechariah 11:2. The cedars, firs, and oaks are the false
shepherds of Israel, "the goodly ones" who possessed the wealth and glory of Israel
and whom Jesus himself spoke of in the parable as "rich, clothed in purple and fine
linen, and faring sumptuously every day" (Luke 16:19). one of the secular kings of
surrounding nations appears here in any sense.
These verses have the effect of introducing, not merely the certainty of Israel's
destruction, but also the reason for it, namely, their evil "shepherds" or leaders.
"Thus Zechariah builds up in picture form the vision of total irresistible
catastrophe."[9] These verses (Zechariah 11:1-3) are actually a prelude to the entire
judgment revealed in Zechariah 11. The theme is that of disaster falling upon the
false shepherds of Israel. We may forget about some alleged picture of the
destruction of Syria and Egypt (Mitchell), the fall of leaders of the nations that had
oppressed the Jews (Gailey). "The prophet is looking to the complete destruction of
the Jewish economy."[10] "Thus the devastation of Lebanon is a figurative
representation of the destruction of the Israelitish kingdom."[11]
The theme of the dramatic judgment having been announced, the prophet himself is
instructed to act out the part of the Good Shepherd in the tale of horrors leading up
to the catastrophe. "He is to feed the flock whose buyers slay them and hold
themselves guiltless."[12] The prophet goes forward here, not performing those
actions for himself but for Another, doing things, which in truth, " either
Zechariah nor any other prophet ever did, but only God through his Son."[13]
TRAPP, "Zechariah 11:2 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.
Ver. 2. Howl, fir tree] That is, ye of lower rank, or ye meaner cities, those daughters
of Jerusalem, that felt the Roman’s force; howl, take up a loud outcry, a doleful
ditty, after the manner of those that are carried captive by the enemy, Psalms 137:3.
For there they that carried us away captive required of us a song; and they that
wasted us, qui contumulabant nos, that threw us on heaps (so Tremellius rendereth
it, confer Isaiah 25:2), or those that made us howl, ululatores nostri (so Schindler),
required of us mirth.
Because all the mighty are spoiled] The magnificos, the men of power, as they are
called, Psalms 76:5, stout-hearted and every way able for strength, courage, and
riches; which often take away the life of the owners, Proverbs 1:19, and expose them
to spoil; as every man desireth to lop the tree that hath thick and large boughs and
branches.
Howl, O ye oaks of Bashan] Og’s country, who only remained of the remnant of
giants, Deuteronomy 3:11. The Jews fable that he escaped in the flood by riding

22. astride on the ark. By the oaks of his country understand the strong and eminent.
The Chaldee rendereth it, Satrapae provinciarum, ye provincial governors.
For the forest of the vintage] Or, the defenced forest, viz. of Lebanon, i.e. Jerusalem,
that seemed impregnable, but at length came down, ruit alto a culmine, as a cedar
that is felled by a mighty one, Isaiah 10:34. Death hewed its way through a wood or
forest of men in a minute of time from the mouth of a murdering piece, or some such
warlike engine. When the sword is once sharpened it makes a sore slaughter; "it
contemneth the rod," Ezekiel 21:10; q.d. what does this silly rod do here? these
lesser and lighter judgments? let me come, I will make work among them; down
with these oaks, down with this defenced forest, &c.
COKE, "Zechariah 11:2. Howl, fir-tree— O fir-tree; because the cedar is fallen,
because, &c. Howl, O ye oaks of Bashan, because the defenced forest is overthrown.
Houbigant. When any apologue or fable became celebrated for the art and beauty of
its composition, or for some extraordinary efficacy in its application, it was soon
converted and worn into a proverb. We have a fine instance of this in the message of
Jehovah to Amaziah, 2 Kings 14:9-10 where we see plainly that Jotham's satiric
apologue of the thistle and cedar was then become a proverb. Of the like kind is this
of the prophet, Howl, O fir-tree, &c. to denote the danger of the lower people, when
their superiors cannot withstand the tempest. See Div. Leg. b. 4: sect. 4.
BE SO , "Verse 2-3
Zechariah 11:2-3. Howl, fir-tree — By the several sorts of trees here mentioned,
seem to be meant the several orders and degrees of men, who should be sharers in
the common destruction: see Isaiah 2:13; Isaiah 10:33-34; and the notes. The fir-tree
seems to denote the lower people, who are bid to howl because even their superiors,
signified by the cedar, could not withstand the storm. Howl, O ye oaks of Bashan —
O ye rich, great, and powerful people of the land; Bashan was famous for its stately
oaks. For the forest of the vintage — Or rather, a forest, the fenced one, is come
down — “As the inhabitants are represented under the image of the trees, the city is
aptly denoted by a forest; to which is added by way of distinction ‫,הבצר‬ the fenced
one, the article ‫ה‬ being emphatic, and marking the extraordinary strength of its
fortifications, or fence, which, however, proves insufficient for its security.” There is
a voice of the howling of the shepherds — That is, of the princes and rulers of the
people. For their glory is spoiled — Their magnificent houses are destroyed. A voice
of the roaring of young lions — Those who are in the foregoing sentence called
shepherds, are here called young lions, because they were devourers of the people by
their extortions and oppressions. The pride of Jordan is spoiled — By the pride of
Jordan, those woods and thickets are primarily intended that rose proudly above
the banks of that river, and greatly decorated the scene. But as those were the
receptacles of lions, they are here, in a secondary and metaphorical sense, put for
the residences of those princes and grandees, who are denominated lions in the
preceding clause for the reason now mentioned.
CO STABLE, "Likewise the cypress (juniper, pine) and oaks of Bashan should

23. wail because they too would perish in the coming devastation. Bashan was famous
for its oak forests (cf. Isaiah 2:13; Ezekiel 27:6). Earlier Zechariah combined
Lebanon and Bashan to indicate the whole land ( Zechariah 10:10). All these trees
suggest the people of the land as well as the land itself. A judgment that would affect
the whole land of Palestine and all its people, including its rulers, is in view.
"Perhaps next in prominence to shepherd as metaphor for king is that of a plant,
especially a tree [cf. Judges 9:7-15; Isaiah 10:33-34; Ezekiel 31:3-18; Daniel 4:10;
Daniel 4:23]." [ ote: Merrill, p285.]
The cedar tree, in particular, is a metaphor for a king (cf. 2 Kings 14:9; Isaiah 14:8;
Ezekiel 17:3; Amos 2:9).
PULPIT, "Zechariah 11:2
Howl, fir tree. A species of cypress is intended, or, as some say, the Aleppo pine. It is
the tree of which Solomon made floors, doom, and ceiling in his temple (1 Kings
6:15, 1 Kings 6:34), and David harps (2 Samuel 6:5). The prophet dramatically calls
on this tree to wail for the fate of the cedar, as being about to suffer the same
destruction. The mighty; µεγιστᾶνες, "the chieftains". Trees are being spoken of,
and so the primary sense is, "the goodly" (Ezekiel 17:23) or "glorious trees."
Metaphorically, the chiefs of Israel may be intended. Bashan, famous for its oaks, is
next visited by the invading force, and its trees are felled for the use of the enemy.
The forest of the vintage. The Authorized Version here follows, very
inappropriately, the correction of the Keri. The original reading should be retained
and translated, "the inaccessible forest"—an expression appropriate to Lebanon. If
Lebanon is not spared, much less shall Bashan escape. LXX; ὁ δρυµὸς ὁ σύµφυτος,
"the close-planted wood;" Vulgate, saltus munitus, "defenced forest."
3 Listen to the wail of the shepherds;
their rich pastures are destroyed!
Listen to the roar of the lions;
the lush thicket of the Jordan is ruined!
BAR ES, "A voice of the howling of the shepherds, for their glory is

24. spoiled - It echoes on from Jeremiah before the captivity, “Howl, ye shepherds - A voice
of the cry of the shepherds. and an howling of the principal of the flock; for the Lord
hath spoiled their pasture” Jer_25:34, Jer_25:36. There is one chorus of desolation, the
mighty and the lowly; the shepherds and the young lions; what is at other times opposed
is joined in one wailing. “The pride of Jordan” are the stately oaks on its banks, which
shroud it from sight, until you reach its edges, and which, after the captivity of the ten
tribes, became the haunt of lions and their chief abode in Palestine, “on account of the
burning heat, and the nearness of the desert, and the breadth of the vast solitude and
jungles” (Jerome). See Jer_49:19; Jer_50:44; 2Ki_17:25. The lion lingered there even to
the close of the 12th cent. Phocas in Reland Palaest. i. 274. Cyril says in the present,
“there are very many lions there, roaring horribly and striking fear into the
inhabitants”).
CLARKE, "Young lions - Princes and rulers. By shepherds, kings or priests may be
intended.
GILL, "There is a voice of the howling of the shepherds,.... Which may be
understood either of the civil rulers among the Jews, who now lose their honour and
their riches; and so the Targum, Jarchi, and Aben Ezra, interpret it of kings; or of the
ecclesiastical rulers, the elders of the people, the Scribes and Pharisees:
for their glory is spoiled; their power and authority; their riches and wealth; their
places of honour and profit; their offices, posts, and employments, whether in civil or
religious matters, are taken from them, and they are deprived of them:
a voice of the roaring of young lions; of princes, comparable to them for their
power, tyranny, and cruelty: the Targum is,
"their roaring is as the roaring of young lions:''
for the pride of Jordan is spoiled; a place where lions and their young ones
resorted, as Jarchi observes; See Gill on Jer_49:19. Jordan is here put for the whole land
of Judea now wasted, and so its pride and glory gone; as if the waters of Jordan were
dried up, the pride and glory of that, and which it showed when its waters swelled and
overflowed; hence called by Pliny (x) "ambitiosus amnis", a haughty and ambitious
swelling river.
JAMISO , "shepherds — the Jewish rulers.
their glory — their wealth and magnificence; or that of the temple, “their glory”
(Mar_13:1; Luk_21:5).
young lions — the princes, so described on account of their cruel rapacity.
pride of Jordan — its thickly wooded banks, the lair of “lions” (Jer_12:5; Jer_
49:19). Image for Judea “spoiled” of the magnificence of its rulers (“the young lions”).
The valley of the Jordan forms a deeper gash than any on the earth. The land at Lake
Merom is on a level with the Mediterranean Sea; at the Sea of Tiberias it falls six
hundred fifty feet below that level, and to double that depression at the Dead Sea, that is,
in all, 1950 feet below the Mediterranean; in twenty miles’ interval there is a fall of from
three thousand to four thousand feet.

25. BI, "For their glory is spoiled
Bad men in high office
I.
The men here reffered to called “shepherds,” which is a designation of men in power,
men who politically and ecclesiastically presided over the people, the leaders. The
“shepherds” have sometimes reached their positrons irrespective of the will of the
people. The “shepherds” referred to here had an ambitious character. Likened to “young
lions.”
1. That a man in high office who has a bad character is of all men the most
contemptible A bad character in a pauper makes him contemptible; but a bad
character in a king makes him ten times the more contemptible.
2. That it is the duty of all peoples to promote those alone to high office who have a
high moral character.
II. Bad men in high office greatly distressed. “There is a voice of the howling of the
shepherds,” etc. “The glory of these shepherds being spoiled,” says Wardlaw, “signifies
the bringing down of all their honour and power and the wealth and luxury which, by the
abuse of their power, they had acquired, all becoming a prey to the sacking and pillaging
besiegers. The pride of Jordan lay in its evergreens and brushwood with which its banks
were enriched and adorned; and these being the covert and habitation of the young
lions, the two parts of the figure are appropriate. As the lions howl and roar in dismay
and fury when dislodged from their refuges and dwelling places, whether by the swelling
flood sweeping over their lairs, or from the cutting down or the burning of their
habitations, so should the priests and rulers of Jerusalem be alarmed and struck with
desperation and rage, when they found their city, within whose walls they had counted
themselves secure from the very possibility of hostile entrance, laid open to the outrage
of an exasperated enemy, and all its resources given up to plunder and destruction—
country as well as city thrown into confusion and desolation!” Such rulers may well be
distressed—
1. Because all the keen-sighted and honest men over whom they preside despise
them.
2. Because the Righteous Governor of the world has denounced them. (Homilist.)
CALVI , "He then adds, The voice of the howling of shepherds; for their
excellency, or their courage, is laid waste. Here he has ‫,אדר‬ ader, and before ‫,אדירים‬
adirim, in the masculine gender. We see then that the Prophet confirms the same
thing in other words, “Howl now,” he says, “shall the shepherds.” He intimates that
the beginning of this dreadful judgment would be with the chief men, as they were
especially the cause of the public ruin. He then says, that the dignity of the great was
now approaching its fall, and hence he bids them to howl. He does not in these
words exhort them to repentance, but follows the same strain of doctrine. By God’s
command he here declares, that the shepherds who took pride in their power, could
not escape the judgment which they had deserved: and as this is a mode of speaking
usually adopted by the Prophets, I shall no longer dwell on the subject.

26. He afterwards adds, The voice of the roaring of lions. He no doubt gives here the
name of lions, by way of metaphor, to those who cruelly exercised their power over
the people. But he also alludes to the banks of Jordan, where there were lions, as it
is well known. Since then lions were found along the whole course of Jordan, as it is
evident from many passages, he compares shepherds to lions, even the governors
who had abused their authority by exercising tyranny over the people: Fallen then
has the pride or the excellency of Jordan. In short, it is now sufficiently evident, that
the Prophet threatens final destruction both to the kingdom of Judah and to the
kingdom of Israel. Both kingdoms were indeed then abolished; but I speak of the
countries themselves. The meaning is — that neither Judea nor the land of the ten
tribes would be free from God’s vengeance. (131) He afterwards adds —
1.Open, Lebanon, thy doors, That consume may the fire thy cedars:
2.Howl thou the fir-tree; For fallen is the cedar, Because the magnificent are wasted.
Howl, ye oaks of Bashan; For come down is the forest, the fenced one.
3.The voice of the howling of shepherds! Because wasted is their magnificence; The
voice of the roaring of lions! For wasted is the pride of Jordan.
There is a correspondence between “consume” and “wasted.” The Jewish rulers
were called “shepherds” with regard to their office, and “lions” on account of their
rapidity. Their “magnificence” was wasted, like that of the cedars when consumed
by fire. The “pride of Jordan” were the trees growing on its borders, which afforded
shelter for lions. These became wasted or destroyed, so that the lions could find
there no receptacle. All these things intimate the entire destruction of the Jewish
state. — Ed.
TRAPP, "Zechariah 11:3 [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.
Ver. 3. There is a voice of the howling of the shepherds] Potentes potenter
torquebuntur. "The loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of
men shall be made low: and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day," Isaiah
2:17. The shepherds were grown foolish, Zechariah 11:15, idol shepherds,
Zechariah 11:17, they cared for no other instruments but forcipes et mulctram, the
shears and the milk pail; they were become "greedy dogs, which could never have
enough," Isaiah 56:11 (they were sick of the bulimy, or appetitus caninus a greedy
dog), yea, they were so many young lions, ramping and ravening, as it is here and
Ezekiel 19:2-3. Both princes and priests were turned tyrants, and instead of feeding
the people in the integrity of their hearts, and guiding them with the skilfulness of
their hands, Psalms 78:72, preyed upon them, and "plucked the skin from off them,
and their flesh from off their bones," Micah 3:2.

27. For the pride of Jordan is spoiled] The swelling of Jordan dried up by the Romans,
as Jerome interprets it; or, the proud and stately palaces and possessions that the
great ones had gotten upon the banks of Jordan for fruitfulness and pleasance, as a
Lapide; or the numerous and proud nation of the Jews likened to the yearly
overflowing of Jordan, whereof see Joshua 3:15, Jeremiah 49:19, as Diodati.
COKE, "Zechariah 11:3. For the pride of Jordan is spoiled— Because the waters of
Jordan have overflowed, so that the lions can no more rest among its reeds, and on
its banks; that is, no place in Judaea is safe whither the warriors and great men may
betake themselves. Houbigant. Dr. Blayney observes, that by "the pride of Jordan,"
those woods and thickets are primarily intended, which rise proudly above the
banks of that river, and greatly decorate the scene. But here, in a secondary and
metaphorical sense, they are put for the residences of those princes and grandees,
who too often like lions devour and oppress the people under them. In Jeremiah
12:5 those thickets, the haunt of lions and wild beasts, consequently places of great
alarm and danger, are aptly opposed to a land of peace and security.
PULPIT, "There is a voice. The Hebrew is more terse and forcible, "A voice of the
howling of the shepherds!" or, "Hark! a howling," etc. (Jeremiah 25:34, etc.). The
destruction spreads from the north southwards along the Jordan valley. Their glory.
The noble trees in whose shadow they rejoiced. Young lions. Which had their lairs
in the forests now laid waste (Jeremiah 49:19). The pride of Jordan. The thickets
that clothed the banks of Jordan are called its "pride" (Jeremiah 12:5). The lion is
not now found in Palestine, but must have been common in earlier times, especially
in such places as the brushwood and reedy coverts which line the margin of the
Jordan. The prophet introduces the inanimate and animate creation—trees, men,
beasts—alike deploring the calamity. And the terms in which this is depicted point
to some great disaster and ruin, and, as it seems, to the final catastrophe of the
destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans, the punishment of the rejection of
Messiah. This reference becomes plainer as we proceed. It is inadmissible to refer
the passage (as some do) to the Assyrian invasions mentioned in 2 Kings 15:29 and 1
Chronicles 5:26. Holding the post-exilian origin of the prophecy, we are bound to
interpret it in accordance with this view, which, indeed, presents fewer difficulties
than the other.
Two Shepherds
4 This is what the Lord my God says: “Shepherd
the flock marked for slaughter.

28. BAR ES, "Thus saith the Lord my God, Feed the flock of the slaughter -
The fulfillment of the whole prophecy shows, that the person addressed is the prophet,
not in, or for himself, but (as belongs to symbolic prophecy) as representing Another,
our Lord. It is addressed, in the first instance, to Zechariah. For Zechariah is bidden,
“take unto thee yet the instruments of a foolish shepherd” Zec_11:15, in words addressed
to himself, personally; “And the Lord said unto me.” But he who was to represent the
foolish shepherd, had represented the True Shepherd, since it is said to him, “Take unto
thee yet.” But He, the Shepherd addressed, who does the acts commanded, speaks with
the authority of God. He says, “I cut off three shepherds in one month” Zec_11:8; “I
broke My covenant which I had made with all the peoples” Zec_11:10; “the poor of the
flock waited upon Me” Zec_11:11; “I cut asunder Mine other staff, Bands, that I might
break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel” Zec_11:14. But in Zechariah’s time, no
three shepherds were cut off, the covenant made by God was not broken on His part,
there was no such visible distinction between those who waited on God, and those who,
outwardly too, rejected Him.
Feed the flock of the slaughter - Those who were, even before the end, slain by
their evil shepherds whom they followed, and who in the end would be given to the
slaughter, as the Psalmist says, “we are counted as sheep for the slaughter” Psa_44:22,
because they would not hear the voice of the True Shepherd, and were not His sheep.
They were already, by God’s judgment, a prey to evil shepherds; and would be so yet
more hereafter. As a whole then, they were “sheep of the slaughter.” It is a last Charge
given to feed them. As our Lord says, “Last of all, He sent unto them His Son, saying,
They will reverence My Son” Mat_21:37. This failing, nothing remained but that the
flock would be given up, as they themselves say, “He will miserably destroy those wicked
people, and will let out His vineyard unto other husbandmen, which shall render Him
the fruits in their seasons” Mat_21:41, that is, our Lord explains it, “The kingdom of
heaven shall be taken from them, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof.
Yet a remnant should be saved” Mat_21:43, for whose sake the larger flock was still to be
fed: and, as our Lord, as Man, wept over Jerusalem, whose sentence He pronounced, so
He still feeds those who would not turn to Him that they might be saved, and who would
in the end be “a flock of slaughter,” “Death their shepherd” Psa_49:14, since they chose
death rather than Life.
CLARKE, "Feed the flock of the slaughter - This people resemble a flock of
sheep fattened for the shambles; feed, instruct, this people who are about to be
slaughtered.
GILL, "Thus saith the Lord my God,.... The Syriac version adds, "to me"; not the
Prophet Zechariah, but the Messiah, who calls the Lord his God, as he was man and
Mediator, Joh_20:17 for what follow are the words of God the Father to him, calling
upon him, and giving him a commission to
Feed the flock of the slaughter; meaning the people of the Jews in general, to whom

29. Christ was sent as a prophet, to teach and instruct them by the ministry of the word; so
"feeding" is interpreted of prophesying, by the Targum and Jarchi: and these are called
"the flock of slaughter", because of the cruel usage they met with from their shepherds
and owners, mentioned in the next verse Zec_11:5; and because they were appointed and
given up to ruin and destruction of God, on account of their sins and transgressions;
though there was a remnant among them, a little flock, afterwards in this chapter called
the poor of the flock Zec_11:7, who were the special care of Christ, and were fed by him
in a spiritual manner; and may go by this name, because exposed to the cruelties of men,
and are accounted as sheep for the slaughter, Rom_8:36 these Christ was called upon by
his Father in the council of peace to take care of, which he did; and in the everlasting
covenant of grace he agreed to feed them; and in the fulness of time he was sent to the
lost sheep of the house of Israel, who were as sheep without a shepherd; and he fed them
with knowledge and with understanding.
HE RY, "The prophet here is made a type of Christ, as the prophet Isaiah sometimes
was; and the scope of these verses is to show that for judgment Christ came into this
world (Joh_9:39), for judgment to the Jewish church and nation, which were, about the
time of his coming, wretchedly corrupted and degenerated by the worldliness and
hypocrisy of their rulers. Christ would have healed them, but they would not be healed;
they are therefore left desolate, and abandoned to ruin. Observe here,
I. The desperate case of the Jewish church, under the tyranny of their own governors.
Their slavery in their own country made them as miserable as their captivity in strange
countries had done: Their possessors slay them and sell them, Zec_11:5. In Zechariah's
time we find the rulers and the nobles justly rebuked for exacting usury of their
brethren; and the governors, even by their servants, oppressive to the people, Neh_5:7,
Neh_5:15. In Christ's time the chief priests and the elders, who were the possessors of
the flock, by their traditions, the commandments of men, and their impositions on the
consciences of the people, became perfect tyrants, devoured their houses, engrossed
their wealth, and fleeced the flock instead of feeding it. The Sadducees, who were deists,
corrupted their judgments. The Pharisees, who were bigots for superstition, corrupted
their morals, by making void the commandments of God, Mat_15:16. Thus they slew the
sheep of the flock, thus they sold them. They cared not what became of them so they
could but gain their own ends and serve their own interests. And, 1. In this they justified
themselves: They slay them and hold themselves not guilty. They think that there is no
harm in it, and that they shall never be called to an account for it by the chief Shepherd;
as if their power were given them for destruction, which was designed only for
edification, and as if, because they sat in Moses's seat, they were not under the obligation
of Moses's law, but might dispense with it, and with themselves in the breach of it, at
their pleasure. Note, Those have their minds woefully blinded indeed who do ill and
justify themselves in doing it; but God will not hold those guiltless who hold themselves
so. 2. In this they affronted God, by giving him thanks for the gain of their oppression:
They said, Blessed be the Lord, for I am rich, as if, because they prospered in their
wickedness, got money by it, and raised estates, God had made himself patron of their
unjust practices, and Providence had become particeps criminis - the associate of their
guilt. What is got honestly we ought to give God thanks for, and to bless him whose
blessing makes rich and adds no sorrow with it. But with what face can we go to God
either to beg a blessing upon the unlawful methods of getting wealth or to return him
thanks for success in them? They should rather have gone to God to confess the sin, to
take shame to themselves for it, and to vow restitution, than thus to mock him by
making the gains of sin the gift of God, who hates robbery for burnt-offerings, and
reckons not himself praised by the thanksgiving if he be dishonoured either in the

30. getting or the using of that which we give him thanks for. 3. In this they put contempt
upon the people of God, as unworthy their regard or compassionate consideration: Their
own shepherds pity them not; they make them miserable, and then do not commiserate
them. Christ had compassion on the multitude because they fainted and were scattered
abroad, as if they had no shepherd (as really they had worse than none); but their own
shepherds pitied them not, nor showed any concern for them. Note, It is ill for a church
when its pastors have no tenderness, no compassion for precious souls, when they can
look upon the ignorant, the foolish, the wicked, the weak, without pity.
JAMISO , "The prophet here proceeds to show the cause of the destruction just
foretold, namely, the rejection of Messiah.
flock of ... slaughter — (Psa_44:22). God’s people doomed to slaughter by the
Romans. Zechariah here represents typically Messiah, and performs in vision the actions
enjoined: hence the language is in part appropriate to him, but mainly to the Antitype,
Messiah. A million and a half perished in the Jewish war, and one million one hundred
thousand at the fall of Jerusalem. “Feed” implies that the Jews could not plead ignorance
of God’s will to execute their sin. Zechariah and the other prophets had by God’s
appointment “fed” them (Act_20:28) with the word of God, teaching and warning them
to escape from coming wrath by repentance: the type of Messiah, the chief Shepherd,
who receives the commission of the Father, with whom He is one (Zec_11:4); and
Himself says (Zec_11:7), “I will feed the flock of slaughter.” Zechariah did not live to
“feed” literally the “flock of slaughter”; Messiah alone “fed” those who, because of their
rejection of Him, were condemned to slaughter. Jehovah-Messiah is the speaker. It is He
who threatens to inflict the punishments (Zec_11:6, Zec_11:8). The typical breaking of
the staff, performed in vision by Zechariah (Zec_11:10), is fulfilled in His breaking the
covenant with Judah. It is He who was sold for thirty pieces of silver (Zec_11:12, Zec_
11:13).
K&D 4-6, "This section contains a symbolical act. By the command of Jehovah the
prophet assumes the office of a shepherd over the flock, and feeds it, until he is
compelled by its ingratitude to break his shepherd's staff, and give up the flock to
destruction. This symbolical act is not a poetical fiction, but is to be regarded in strict
accordance with the words, as an internal occurrence of a visionary character and of
prophetical importance, through which the faithful care of the Lord for His people is
symbolized and exhibited. Zec_11:4. “Thus said Jehovah my God: Feed the
slaughtering-flock; Zec_11:5. whose purchasers slay them, and bear no blame, and
their sellers say, Blessed be Jehovah! I am getting rich, and their shepherds spare them
not. Zec_11:6. For I shall no more spare the inhabitants of the earth, is the saying of
Jehovah; and behold I cause the men to fall into one another's hands, and into the
king's hand; and they will smite the land, and I shall not deliver out of their hand.” The
person who receives the commission to feed the flock is the prophet. This is apparent,
both from the expression “my God” (Zec_11:5, comp. with Zec_11:7.), and also from
Zec_11:15, according to which he is to take the instruments of a foolish shepherd. This
latter verse also shows clearly enough, that the prophet does not come forward here as
performing these acts in his own person, but that he represents another, who does
things in Zec_11:8, Zec_11:12, and Zec_11:13, which in truth neither Zechariah nor any
other prophet ever did, but only God through His Son, and that in Zec_11:10 He is
identified with God, inasmuch as here the person who breaks the staff is the prophet,
and the person who has made the covenant with the nations is God. These statements