The Meaning of Zechariah 11:3 Explained

Zechariah 11:3

KJV: 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.

YLT: A voice of the howling of the shepherds! For destroyed was their robe of honour, A voice of the roaring of young lions! For destroyed was the excellency of Jordan.

Darby: A voice of howling of the shepherds; for their glory is spoiled: a voice of roaring of young lions; for the pride of Jordan is spoiled.

ASV: 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.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

[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. 

What does Zechariah 11:3 Mean?

Verse Meaning

The shepherds and lions (the rulers and leaders of Israel, cf. Jeremiah 25:34-38) would wail because a coming destruction would leave no pasture for their flocks and no lairs or food for beasts.
"The pride of the Jordan is not the river itself; this expression personifies it, referring to that in which the Jordan may take pride: the topography through which it flows-its beautiful valleys and hills-hence the land itself." [1]
In view of what follows in Zechariah 11:4-14, Zechariah 11:1-3 seem to be a description of the devastation of Palestine due to the rejection of the Messiah. Another view is that it is a lament over the destruction of the nations" power and arrogance described in chapter10. This prediction had an initial fulfillment in the Roman destruction of Jerusalem and the scattering of the Jews in A.D70. Its complete fulfillment, however, lies in the future, specifically the destruction that will overtake the land and its people in the Tribulation.

Context Summary

Zechariah 11:1-17 - Beauty And Bands
The times were very dark when Zechariah felt called upon to act as shepherd to Jehovah's harried flock. Rulers and priests were actuated by selfish greed and mutual antagonism. Three shepherds had already failed. After a brief effort Zechariah renounced the attempt. He broke his staff of Beauty, or Grace, Zechariah 11:10, r.v. margin, as if God's tender love had withdrawn from its struggle with evil; and when he challenged the people to set a value on his services, they weighed him out thirty pieces of silver, the price of a slave. Thereupon he broke the other staff, disrupting the brotherhood between Judah and Israel. In the following paragraph, Zechariah 11:15-17, there is an evident reference to the terrible reign of Antiochus whose cruelties led to the heroic uprising of the Maccabees. Five centuries afterwards Jesus was sent to gather the flock with the same result, Matthew 27:9-10. [source]

Chapter Summary: Zechariah 11

1  The destruction of Jerusalem
3  The elect being cared for, the rest are rejected
10  The staves of Beauty and Bands broken by the rejection of Christ
15  The type and curse of a foolish shepherd

What do the individual words in Zechariah 11:3 mean?

[There is] the sound of wailing shepherds for is in ruins their glory of roaring lions is in ruins The pride of Jordan -
ק֚וֹל יִֽלְלַ֣ת הָרֹעִ֔ים כִּ֥י שֻׁדְּדָ֖ה אַדַּרְתָּ֑ם שַׁאֲגַ֣ת כְּפִירִ֔ים שֻׁדַּ֖ד גְּא֥וֹן הַיַּרְדֵּֽן ס

ק֚וֹל  [There  is]  the  sound 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: קֹול 
Sense: voice, sound, noise.
יִֽלְלַ֣ת  of  wailing 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: יְלָלָה  
Sense: a howling (of distress), wailing.
הָרֹעִ֔ים  shepherds 
Parse: Article, Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine plural
Root: רָעָה 
Sense: to pasture, tend, graze, feed.
שֻׁדְּדָ֖ה  is  in  ruins 
Parse: Verb, Pual, Perfect, third person feminine singular
Root: שָׁדַד  
Sense: to deal violently with, despoil, devastate, ruin, destroy, spoil.
אַדַּרְתָּ֑ם  their  glory 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct, third person masculine plural
Root: אַדֶּרֶת  
Sense: glory, cloak.
שַׁאֲגַ֣ת  of  roaring 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: שְׁאָגָה  
Sense: roaring.
כְּפִירִ֔ים  lions 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: כְּפִיר 
Sense: young lion.
שֻׁדַּ֖ד  is  in  ruins 
Parse: Verb, Pual, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: שָׁדַד  
Sense: to deal violently with, despoil, devastate, ruin, destroy, spoil.
גְּא֥וֹן  The  pride 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: גָּאֹון  
Sense: exaltation, majesty, pride.
הַיַּרְדֵּֽן  of  Jordan 
Parse: Article, Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: יַרְדֵּן  
Sense: the river of Palestine running from the roots of Anti-Lebanon to the Dead Sea a distance of approx 200 miles (320 km).
ס  - 
Parse: Punctuation