Commentary - Zechariah 11:4-6

Bird's-eye view

In this section of Zechariah, the prophet is given a dramatic and grim task. He is to act out the role of the true Shepherd, Yahweh Himself, who comes to shepherd His flock, the people of Israel. But this is no gentle pastoral scene. The flock is described as one "doomed to slaughter," not by foreign enemies initially, but by its own corrupt leadership. The passage is a searing covenant lawsuit against the worthless shepherds of Israel who exploit, sell, and abandon the sheep for their own profit. Their piety is a sham, blessing God for the wealth they've gained by devouring the flock. In response to this profound failure of leadership and the people's rejection of the Good Shepherd, Yahweh declares that His patience has run out. He will withdraw His sparing mercy and hand the inhabitants of the land over to the consequences of their sin: internal strife and oppressive rule. This is a prophecy of judgment that finds its ultimate fulfillment in the generation that rejected the Lord Jesus Christ, the ultimate Good Shepherd, leading to the catastrophic destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70.

This is God formally breaking His covenant staff of "Favor" with a people who have utterly despised His grace. The prophet's actions are a symbolic representation of God's own dealings with His people. He comes to care for them, but their appointed leaders are so rapacious and the people so compliant in their corruption that judgment is the only recourse. It is a stark reminder that leadership matters, and that God holds rulers, both civil and ecclesiastical, to account for how they treat the flock entrusted to them.

Outline

Context In Zechariah

This passage marks a significant shift in tone from the hopeful visions of the first eight chapters of Zechariah. Chapters 9-11 form a distinct oracle, focusing on the coming of the Messiah-King. Chapter 9 describes His humble arrival on a donkey, bringing salvation. Chapter 10 promises restoration and strength for His people. But chapter 11 introduces a tragic turn: the rejection of this Shepherd-King. The grim commission given to Zechariah here in verses 4-6 sets the stage for the symbolic drama that unfolds in the rest of the chapter, where the prophet, representing the Messiah, is valued at a paltry thirty pieces of silver, the price of a slave. This section provides the covenantal justification for the judgment that follows. The corruption of Israel's leadership is so complete that it necessitates the withdrawal of God's protection, paving the way for the scattering of the sheep when the true Shepherd is struck (Zech 13:7).

Key Issues

Shepherds Who Eat the Sheep

The central metaphor here is that of shepherds and sheep, a common biblical image for rulers and their people. God is the ultimate Shepherd of Israel (Psalm 23), and He delegates that authority to kings, priests, and prophets. The Old Testament is filled with denunciations of Israel's "bad shepherds," leaders who, instead of feeding and protecting the flock, feed on the flock. Ezekiel 34 is the classic text on this, where God promises to judge the corrupt shepherds and to come Himself to shepherd His people, a promise fulfilled in Christ (John 10). Zechariah is standing firmly in that prophetic tradition. The charge is not just incompetence; it is predatory evil. The leaders are not just failing to protect the sheep; they are actively participating in their slaughter for personal gain. This is the ultimate betrayal of their office. They are using the authority God gave them for the people's good to bring about the people's ruin, all while maintaining a veneer of religious devotion. This is a picture of a society rotting from the head down, where the very people responsible for justice and righteousness are the chief purveyors of injustice and corruption.

Verse by Verse Commentary

4 Thus says Yahweh my God, “Shepherd the flock doomed to slaughter.

The commission comes directly from Yahweh. Zechariah is commanded to take on the role of a shepherd. But notice the condition of the flock. This is not a healthy, thriving flock in green pastures. It is a flock doomed to slaughter. The original language points to a flock "of the killing." Their fate is already sealed, not because God is arbitrary, but because of the situation described in the next verse. The prophet's task is not to avert the ultimate judgment, but to demonstrate its necessity and to gather the true remnant out of the doomed nation. This is a dramatic sign-act, where the prophet's ministry embodies God's final, gracious, and yet rejected, offer of salvation before the axe falls. This is what the ministry of Jesus was like. He came to shepherd the lost sheep of the house of Israel, a people already on a trajectory toward destruction.

5 Those who buy them slaughter them and are not held guilty, and each of those who sell them says, ‘Blessed be Yahweh. Indeed, I have become rich!’ And their own shepherds do not spare them.

This verse lays out the indictment in three parts, exposing a completely corrupt system. First, the buyers of the sheep, likely foreign powers or wealthy opportunists, slaughter them without any sense of guilt or consequence. The moral fabric of the nation is so frayed that there is no accountability for this kind of predatory behavior. Second, the sellers, the corrupt leaders of Israel, are complicit. They are trafficking in their own people. And their response is not shame, but a grotesque parody of piety. They say, "Blessed be Yahweh," as they count their money. This is the pinnacle of hypocrisy: using religious language to sanctify greed. They treat God as their business partner in an extortion racket. Third, and most damningly, their own shepherds, the ones who should be laying down their lives for the sheep, have no pity. They are hirelings who do not care for the flock. The entire leadership structure is a conspiracy against the people it is supposed to serve.

6 For I will no longer spare the inhabitants of the land,” declares Yahweh; “but behold, I will cause the men to fall, each into another’s hand and into the hand of his king; and they will crush the land, and I will not deliver them from their hand.”

Here is the verdict, flowing directly from the indictment. The word "For" connects the judgment to the sin. Because the shepherds have no pity, God says, "I will no longer spare" them. God's common grace and longsuffering are being withdrawn. What does this withdrawal look like? First, social chaos. God will cause the men to fall, each into another's hand. This is civil strife, factionalism, anarchy. When God removes His restraining hand, society begins to devour itself. Think of the factional infighting within Jerusalem during the final Roman siege. Second, political tyranny. They will fall into the hand of his king. This likely refers to a foreign oppressor, a new "buyer" like the Roman emperor, who will crush the land. Their own corrupt leadership has sold them into the hands of a far more efficient and brutal tyrant. And the final word is one of utter finality: I will not deliver them. The time for rescue has passed. The day of judgment has arrived. This was fulfilled historically in the generation that rejected Christ, the generation upon whom all the righteous blood shed on earth came to fall (Matt 23:35-36).

Application

The warning of Zechariah 11 is perennial. Any time the shepherds of God's people begin to love money, power, and their own comfort more than the flock, this passage becomes immediately relevant. The church is always just one generation away from creating a class of leaders who say, "Blessed be the Lord, for I have become rich," while the sheep are being fleeced and scattered.

We must learn to recognize the marks of a bad shepherd. He is a hireling. He is more concerned with the financial bottom line than with the spiritual health of the flock. He uses pious language to cover a rapacious heart. He has no pity on the struggling and the weak. He is a pragmatist who will sell out the flock for a bit of political advantage or worldly peace. And when such shepherds take over, judgment is not far behind. A church or a nation led by such men is a flock doomed to slaughter.

The only hope is the Good Shepherd, the Lord Jesus, who is the antithesis of everything described here. He does not sell the sheep; He buys them with His own blood. He does not feed on the sheep; He feeds them with His own body. He does not spare His own life; He lays it down for the sheep. Our duty as Christians is to ensure that we are following Him, and that the undershepherds we appoint in His church are men who imitate His sacrificial love, not the self-serving greed of the worthless shepherds of Israel. We must pray for our leaders, hold them accountable, and refuse to tolerate any system where men get rich by trafficking in the souls of God's people.