The Meaning of Zechariah 11:17 Explained

Zechariah 11:17

KJV: Woe to the idol 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.

YLT: Woe to the worthless shepherd, forsaking the flock, A sword is on his arm, and on his right eye, His arm is utterly dried up, And his right eye is very dim!'

Darby: 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 utterly darkened.

ASV: 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.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Woe  to the idol  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. 

What does Zechariah 11:17 Mean?

Verse Meaning

God pronounced judgment on the worthless shepherd for abandoning the flock (cf. Jeremiah 50:35-37). This condemnation applies to all the evil kings of Israel and Judah who had let their people down, but one particular individual is in view primarily. Yahweh would paralyze this man"s power (arm) and nullify his intelligence (eye) rendering him incapable of hurting others or defending himself.
Who is this bad shepherd? Some students of history have seen Bar Kokhba as at least a partial fulfillment. He led the ineffective Jewish revolt against the Romans in A.D132-135 , and some in his day hailed him as the Messiah. Others see the fulfillment in "all those leaders of Israel, who, under the guise of shepherds, misled and harmed the poor flock ... ever since Zechariah"s day, especially since the time that the nation has rejected the Christ." [1] However the ultimate fulfillment must be the Antichrist who will make a covenant with Israel but then break it and proceed to persecute the Jews ( Ezekiel 34:2-4; Daniel 9:27; Daniel 11:36-39; John 5:43; 2 Thessalonians 2:3-10; Revelation 13:1-8). Perhaps the whole collective leadership of Israel from Zechariah"s time forward culminating in Antichrist is in view. [2]
"The judgment here ( Zechariah 11:17) brings to a close the cycle of prophecy which began with judgment ( Zechariah 9:1). Judgment has gone from the circumference (the nations) to the center (Israel); Zechariah will yet reveal that in blessing the direction will be from the center (Israel) to the circumference (the nations) as in chapter14." [3]
"With this climactic scene the first prophetic burden describing the first advent and rejection of Messiah, the Shepherd-King (chapters9-11) comes to a close. The way is thus opened for the second burden and the second advent and acceptance of Messiah, the King (chapters12-14)." [4]

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 11:17 mean?

Woe to shepherd the worthless who leaves the flock a sword [shall be] against his arm and against eye his right His arm completely shall wither and eye his right totally shall be blinded -
ה֣וֹי רֹעִ֤י הָֽאֱלִיל֙ עֹזְבִ֣י ! הַצֹּ֔אן חֶ֥רֶב עַל־ זְרוֹע֖וֹ וְעַל־ ! עֵ֣ין יְמִינ֑וֹ זְרֹעוֹ֙ יָב֣וֹשׁ תִּיבָ֔שׁ וְעֵ֥ין יְמִינ֖וֹ כָּהֹ֥ה תִכְהֶֽה ס

ה֣וֹי  Woe 
Parse: Interjection
Root: הֹוי  
Sense: ah!, alas!, ha!, ho!, O!, woe!.
רֹעִ֤י  to  shepherd 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular construct
Root: רָעָה  
Sense: shepherd (subst).
הָֽאֱלִיל֙  the  worthless 
Parse: Article, Adjective, masculine singular
Root: אֱלִיל  
Sense: of nought, good for nothing, worthless.
עֹזְבִ֣י  who  leaves 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular construct
Root: עָזַב 
Sense: to leave, loose, forsake.
! הַצֹּ֔אן  the  flock 
Parse: Article, Noun, common singular
Root: צֹאן  
Sense: small cattle, sheep, sheep and goats, flock, flocks.
חֶ֥רֶב  a  sword  [shall  be] 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: חֶרֶב  
Sense: sword, knife.
עַל־  against 
Parse: Preposition
Root: עַל 
Sense: upon, on the ground of, according to, on account of, on behalf of, concerning, beside, in addition to, together with, beyond, above, over, by, on to, towards, to, against.
זְרוֹע֖וֹ  his  arm 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: זְרֹועַ  
Sense: arm, forearm, shoulder, strength.
וְעַל־  and  against 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition
Root: עַל 
Sense: upon, on the ground of, according to, on account of, on behalf of, concerning, beside, in addition to, together with, beyond, above, over, by, on to, towards, to, against.
! עֵ֣ין  eye 
Parse: Noun, common singular construct
Root: עֹונָה 
Sense: eye.
יְמִינ֑וֹ  his  right 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: יָמִין  
Sense: right, right hand, right side.
זְרֹעוֹ֙  His  arm 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: זְרֹועַ  
Sense: arm, forearm, shoulder, strength.
יָב֣וֹשׁ  completely 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Infinitive absolute
Root: יָבֵשׁ  
Sense: to make dry, wither, be dry, become dry, be dried up, be withered.
תִּיבָ֔שׁ  shall  wither 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person feminine singular
Root: יָבֵשׁ  
Sense: to make dry, wither, be dry, become dry, be dried up, be withered.
וְעֵ֥ין  and  eye 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, common singular construct
Root: עֹונָה 
Sense: eye.
יְמִינ֖וֹ  his  right 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: יָמִין  
Sense: right, right hand, right side.
כָּהֹ֥ה  totally 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Infinitive absolute
Root: כָּהָה 
Sense: to grow weak, grow dim, grow faint, falter, be weak, be dim, be darkened, be restrained, be faint, fail.
תִכְהֶֽה  shall  be  blinded 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person feminine singular
Root: כָּהָה 
Sense: to grow weak, grow dim, grow faint, falter, be weak, be dim, be darkened, be restrained, be faint, fail.
ס  - 
Parse: Punctuation