Zechariah 11:9 kjv
Then said I, I will not feed you: that that dieth, let it die; and that that is to be cut off, let it be cut off; and let the rest eat every one the flesh of another.
Zechariah 11:9 nkjv
Then I said, "I will not feed you. Let what is dying die, and what is perishing perish. Let those that are left eat each other's flesh."
Zechariah 11:9 niv
and said, "I will not be your shepherd. Let the dying die, and the perishing perish. Let those who are left eat one another's flesh."
Zechariah 11:9 esv
So I said, "I will not be your shepherd. What is to die, let it die. What is to be destroyed, let it be destroyed. And let those who are left devour the flesh of one another."
Zechariah 11:9 nlt
So I told them, "I won't be your shepherd any longer. If you die, you die. If you are killed, you are killed. And let those who remain devour each other!"
Zechariah 11 9 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Gen 6:3 | "My Spirit shall not strive with man forever..." | God's patience has limits; withdrawal of Spirit. |
| Lev 26:14-39 | Warnings of curses for disobedience... | Detailed consequences of breaking covenant, including internecine strife. |
| Deut 28:15-68 | Comprehensive list of curses for disobedience... | Severe judgments, including siege, cannibalism, mutual destruction. |
| Judg 2:21-23 | "...I will no longer drive out before them any of the nations..." | God ceases to protect a disobedient people. |
| Judg 21:25 | "In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes." | Societal breakdown, lack of leadership leading to chaos. |
| Isa 3:5 | "And the people shall be oppressed, every one by another, and every one by his neighbour..." | Internal oppression and civil discord. |
| Isa 6:9-10 | "Go and tell this people: ‘Hear indeed, but do not understand...'" | Judicial hardening and abandonment to spiritual blindness. |
| Isa 65:12 | "Therefore I will number you for the sword, and you shall all bow down to the slaughter..." | Consequences for forsaking God. |
| Jer 14:12 | "When they fast, I will not hear their cry; and when they offer burnt offering... I will not accept them..." | Rejection of prayers and offerings from a rebellious people. |
| Jer 19:9 | "I will make them eat the flesh of their sons and the flesh of their daughters..." | Literal and figurative self-destruction during siege. |
| Jer 23:1-4 | "Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of My pasture!" | Judgment on corrupt leaders, contrasts Zech 11. |
| Eze 5:10 | "Therefore fathers among you shall eat their sons, and sons shall eat their fathers..." | Extreme famine and cannibalism as divine judgment. |
| Eze 34:1-10 | Prophecy against the shepherds of Israel who neglected the flock... | Corrupt leadership led to scattering and suffering; divine judgment. |
| Hos 4:6 | "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge..." | Spiritual ignorance and rejection leading to ruin. |
| Amos 4:6-12 | Series of unheeded judgments (famine, plague, sword)... | God's repeated attempts to call to repentance before full judgment. |
| Zec 13:7 | "Strike the Shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered..." | Prophecy of Messiah's suffering and its impact on the flock. |
| Mt 23:37-38 | "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem... Your house is left to you desolate." | Jesus' lament over Jerusalem's rejection leading to desolation. |
| Lk 19:42-44 | "If you, even you, had known on this day the things that belong to your peace!" | Jesus weeping over Jerusalem, foretelling its destruction. |
| Rom 1:24, 28 | "Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness... God gave them over to a debased mind..." | Divine abandonment as a consequence of continued rebellion. |
| 2 Thes 2:11 | "And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie..." | Judicial sending of delusion to those who reject truth. |
| Rev 6:7-8 | "...power was given to them... to kill with sword, with hunger, with death, and by the beasts of the earth." | Description of destructive judgments on the earth. |
Zechariah 11 verses
Zechariah 11 9 Meaning
Zechariah 11:9 expresses God's withdrawal of shepherdly care and protection from His people due to their rejection of His covenant and guidance. It signifies a divine judgment where the consequences of rebellion are allowed to manifest fully: those destined for death will perish, those marked for destruction will be cut off, and the remainder will turn against each other in societal collapse and internal conflict, suffering from their own choices without divine intervention.
Zechariah 11 9 Context
Zechariah chapter 11 opens with a dramatic prophecy involving the prophet playing the role of a shepherd overseeing a "flock appointed for slaughter" (Zec 11:4). This imagery symbolizes the leaders and people of Israel. The passage critiques the bad shepherds (corrupt rulers) who exploit the flock (the people) and foretells God's judgment upon them. Zechariah 11:9 marks a decisive turning point in this symbolic drama. After having symbolically shepherded the flock, but seeing their rejection of His covenant (represented by breaking the staff "Favor" in Zec 11:10) and His symbolic payment of thirty pieces of silver (Zec 11:12-13, a significant price for a slave, hinting at the betrayal of Christ), God, through the prophet, declares He will no longer tend them. The immediate context shows God's patience running out and His hand of protection being removed, allowing natural and self-inflicted consequences to take hold. This leads to internal strife ("eating each other's flesh") and widespread destruction, foreshadowing historical events like the Roman destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70, which occurred after Israel's rejection of Jesus Christ, the true Shepherd.
Zechariah 11 9 Word analysis
- Then said I: The "I" here refers to the shepherd character played by the prophet Zechariah, who embodies God's voice and action in this symbolic narrative. It represents a divine declaration of withdrawal.
- I will not feed you: Hebrew:
לֹא אֶרְעֶה אֶתְכֶם(lo' er'eh 'etkhem).רָעָה(ra'ah) means "to pasture," "to shepherd," "to tend," "to feed." It signifies the cessation of divine provision, protection, and leadership. God, having functioned as their good shepherd, now declares the end of His direct oversight. This is a severe judgment, implying abandonment to their own devices. - that which dieth, let it die: Hebrew:
הַמֵּתָה תָּמוּת(hammetah tamut).מֵת(met) means "dead" or "dying." This phrase uses a grammatical construction (infinitive absolute) for emphasis, indicating that what is appointed for natural death or already in the process of perishing will be left to its fate. God will not intervene to preserve them from famine, pestilence, or natural causes of decay and death that typically befall a neglected flock. - and that which is to be cut off, let it be cut off: Hebrew:
וְהַנִּכְחֶדֶת תִּכָּחֵד(ve'hannikhedet tikached).כָּחַד(kachad) implies "to be cut off," "to be annihilated," "to be exterminated," "to be consumed." This refers to those destined for destruction, particularly through violence, war, or divine judgment, as opposed to natural death. The wordkaret(related root) often signifies divine judgment and excommunication, an ultimate removal from the covenant community. - and let the rest eat every one the flesh of another: Hebrew:
וְהַנִּשְׁאָרוֹת תֹּאכַלְנָה אִשָּׁה אֶת־בְּשַׂר רְעוּתָהּ(ve'hannish'arot tokhalnah 'ishshah 'et-besar re'utah). This phrase describes extreme internecine strife and civil war. "Eat the flesh of another" is a vivid metaphor for brutal self-destruction through internal conflict, societal breakdown, and intense oppression where people devour each other's livelihoods, security, and well-being. It is the antithesis of a united and well-tended flock. While potentially figurative for socio-economic devastation, in desperate siege conditions, this could even refer to literal cannibalism as found in Deut 28 and Eze 5.
Zechariah 11 9 Bonus section
The breaking of the two staffs, "Favor" (Ne'emah) and "Union" (Hobelim), in Zechariah 11 immediately precedes and follows this verse. "Favor" symbolized God's covenant with Israel and the blessings derived from it; its breaking (Zec 11:10) indicates the termination of that specific covenant relationship or God's protection under it. "Union" (Zec 11:14) represented the brotherhood between Judah and Israel (or among the tribes themselves); its breaking signified disunity and internecine strife, which directly ties into the "eat every one the flesh of another" in verse 9. Thus, Zechariah 11:9 is deeply embedded in the context of a broken covenant and impending societal fragmentation. It speaks to a divinely orchestrated "hands-off" policy, a withdrawal that allows the seeds of disobedience to fully blossom into a harvest of self-destruction.
Zechariah 11 9 Commentary
Zechariah 11:9 represents the grim outcome when God's people persistently reject their Divine Shepherd. It's a statement of judicial abandonment, where God lifts His hand of preservation and allows the natural and societal consequences of sin and rebellion to run their course. The imagery is powerful: instead of God protecting the flock, He steps back, letting those marked for death perish and those for destruction be annihilated. The ultimate tragedy is the remnant, turning upon itself in cannibalistic strife, consuming itself from within. This is not arbitrary punishment, but the logical culmination of a people who scorned divine wisdom and covenant. The ultimate historical fulfillment is often seen in the events surrounding the Roman siege and destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70, where internal factions literally fought each other amidst a common enemy and dire conditions. The spiritual parallel exists when believers reject God's Word, leading to self-inflicted spiritual wounds, division, and ultimate separation from His life-giving provision.