Page:Visions and Prophecies of Zechariah (Baron, David).djvu/390



Open thy doors, O Lebanon, that the fire may devour thy cedars. Wail, O fir-trees, 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. Thus said Jehovah my God : Feed the flock of slaughter ; whose possessors slay them, and hold themselves not guilty ; and they that sell them say, Blessed be Jehovah, for I am rich : and their own shepherds pity them not. For I will no more pity the inhabitants of the land, saith Jehovah : but, lo, I will deliver the men every one into his neighbour s hand, and into the hand of his king : and they shall smite the land, and out of their hand I will not deliver them. So I fed the flock of slaughter, verily the poor of the flock. And I took unto me two staves : the one I called Beauty, and the other I called Bands, and I fed the flock. And I cut off the three shepherds in one month ; for my soul was weary of them, and their soul also loathed me. Then said I, I will not feed you ; that which dieth, let it die ; and that which is to be cut off, let it be cut off; and let them that are left eat every one the flesh of another. And I took my staff Beauty, and cut it asunder, that I might break my covenant which I had made with all the peoples. And it was broken in that day ; and thus the poor of the flock that gave heed unto me knew that it was the word of Jehovah. And I said unto them, If ye think good, give me my hire ; and if not, forbear. So they weighed for my hire thirty pieces of silver. And Jehovah said unto me, Cast it unto the potter, the goodly price that I was prised at by them. And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them unto the potter, in the house of Jehovah. Then I cut asunder mine other staff, even Bands, that I might break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel. And Jehovah said unto me, Take unto thee yet again the instruments of a foolish shepherd. For, lo, I will raise up a shepherd in the land, who will not visit those that are cut off, neither will seek those that are scattered, nor heal that which is broken, nor feed that which is sound ; but he will eat the flesh of the fat sheep, and will tear their hoofs in pieces. Woe to the worthless shepherd that leaveth the flock ! the sword shall be upon his arm, and upon his right eye : his arm shall be clean dried up, and his right eye shall be utterly darkened.