The Meaning of Zechariah 11:11 Explained

Zechariah 11:11

KJV: And it was broken in that day: and so the poor of the flock that waited upon me knew that it was the word of the LORD.

YLT: and it is broken in that day, and know well do the afflicted of the flock who are observing me, that it is a word of Jehovah.

Darby: And it was broken in that day; and so the poor of the flock that gave heed to me knew that it was the word of Jehovah.

ASV: 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.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And it was broken  in that day:  and so the poor  of the flock  that waited  upon me knew  that it [was] the word  of the LORD. 

What does Zechariah 11:11 Mean?

Study Notes

poor
The "poor of the flock": i.e. the "remnant according to the election of grace" Romans 11:5 those Jews who did not wait for the manifestation of Christ in glory, but believed on Him at His first coming, and since. Of them it is said that they "waited upon Me," and "knew." Neither the Gentiles nor the Gentile church, corporately, are in view: only the believers out of Israel during this age. The church, corporately, is not in O.T. prophecy Ephesians 3:8-10 .

Verse Meaning

The faithful Israelites who were listening to Zechariah , the afflicted of God"s flock (cf. Zechariah 11:7), realized that what he had done in breaking the staff was in harmony with the word of the Lord. Another view is that the afflicted were a group within Zechariah"s society, not the whole postexilic community. [1] God had promised in the Mosaic Law that if His people apostatized He would cast them off, temporarily, and allow the nations to punish them (cf. Matthew 23:13; Matthew 23:23-24; Matthew 23:33-39).
"The "poor of the flock" i.e. the "remnant according to the election of grace" ( Romans 11:5), are those Jews who did not wait for the manifestation of Christ in glory but believed on Him at His first coming and subsequently. Of them it is said that they "waited upon me," and "knew."" [2]

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 He broke his staff of Beauty, or Grace, Zechariah 11:10, r.v. margin, as if God's tender love had withdrawn from its struggle with evil; and when he challenged the people to set a value on his services, they weighed him out thirty pieces of silver, the price of a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 11:11 mean?

So it was broken on day that thus knew so the poor of the flock who were watching me that the word of Yahweh it [was]
וַתֻּפַ֖ר בַּיּ֣וֹם הַה֑וּא וַיֵּדְע֨וּ כֵ֜ן עֲנִיֵּ֤י הַצֹּאן֙ הַשֹּׁמְרִ֣ים אֹתִ֔י כִּ֥י דְבַר־ יְהוָ֖ה הֽוּא

וַתֻּפַ֖ר  So  it  was  broken 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Hofal, Consecutive imperfect, third person feminine singular
Root: פָּרַר 
Sense: to break, frustrate.
בַּיּ֣וֹם  on  day 
Parse: Preposition-b, Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: יׄום 
Sense: day, time, year.
הַה֑וּא  that 
Parse: Article, Pronoun, third person masculine singular
Root: הוּא 
Sense: he, she, it.
וַיֵּדְע֨וּ  thus  knew 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: דָּעָה 
Sense: to know.
כֵ֜ן  so 
Parse: Adverb
Root: כֵּן 
Sense: so, therefore, thus.
עֲנִיֵּ֤י  the  poor 
Parse: Adjective, masculine plural construct
Root: עָנִי  
Sense: poor, afflicted, humble, wretched.
הַצֹּאן֙  of  the  flock 
Parse: Article, Noun, common singular
Root: צֹאן  
Sense: small cattle, sheep, sheep and goats, flock, flocks.
הַשֹּׁמְרִ֣ים  who  were  watching 
Parse: Article, Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine plural
Root: שָׁמַר  
Sense: to keep, guard, observe, give heed.
אֹתִ֔י  me 
Parse: Direct object marker, first person common singular
Root: אֹות 
Sense: sign of the definite direct object, not translated in English but generally preceding and indicating the accusative.
כִּ֥י  that 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: כִּי 
Sense: that, for, because, when, as though, as, because that, but, then, certainly, except, surely, since.
דְבַר־  the  word 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: דָּבָר  
Sense: speech, word, speaking, thing.
יְהוָ֖ה  of  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
הֽוּא  it  [was] 
Parse: Pronoun, third person masculine singular
Root: הוּא 
Sense: he, she, it.