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Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Zechariah 11:4-14

The prophet here is made a type of Christ, as the prophet Isaiah sometimes was; and the scope of these verses is to show that for judgment Christ came into this world (John 9:39), for judgment to the Jewish church and nation, which were, about the time of his coming, wretchedly corrupted and degenerated by the worldliness and hypocrisy of their rulers. Christ would have healed them, but they would not be healed; they are therefore left desolate, and abandoned to ruin. Observe here, I. The... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Zechariah 11:5

Whose possessors slay them, and hold themselves not guilty ,.... Not the Romans after Christ came, into whose hands they were delivered, and by whom they were slain in great numbers, not accounting it any sin to put them to death; but the priests, Scribes, Pharisees, and doctors, among the Jews, who ruined and destroyed their souls, by feeding them with poisonous doctrines; teaching them the commandments of men, and to observe the traditions of the elders; and to seek for life and salvation... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Zechariah 11:5

Whose possessors - Governors and false prophets, slay them, by leading them to those things that will bring them to destruction. And they that sell them - Give them up to idolatry; and bless God, strange to tell, that they get secular advantage by the establishment of this false religion. read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Zechariah 11:5

Verse 5 He afterwards adds another circumstance, which shows still further the wonderful and ineffable goodness of God, — that he had been a shepherd of a flock, which had not only been harassed by wolves and robbers, but also by its own shepherds. In short, the import of the whole is, — that though wolves and robbers had ranged with great barbarity among the people, yet God had always been their shepherd. He then enlarges on the subject and says, that they who possessed them had killed them,... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Zechariah 11:1-6

A final warning. "Open thy doors, O Lebanon," etc. The prophet, after having foretold ( Zechariah 10:6-12 ) the great future and final glory of the literal Israel, seems here, as it were, to "hark back" to a previous and very different scene, viz.—as most commentators, both Jewish and Christian, believe—to that which should happen in those evil days when Jerusalem should be destroyed. We noted a very similar transition at the beginning of ch, 9. (comp. also Luke 17:24 , Luke 17:25 ; ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Zechariah 11:4-5

Oppressed people, and their oppressors. "Thus saith the Lord my God; Feed the flock of the slaughter; whose possessors slay them, and hold themselves not guilty: and they that sell them say, Blessed be the Lord; for I am rich: and their own shepherds pity them not." Notice two things. I. HERE IS A DUTY ENJOINED TOWARDS OPPRESSED PEOPLES . "Thus saith the Lord my God; Feed the flock [sheep] of the slaughter." These shepherds, these rulers of the Hebrew people,... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Zechariah 11:4-14

§ 9. The punishment falls upon the people of Israel because they reject the good Shepherd, personified by the prophet, who rules the flock and chastises evildoers in vain, and at last flings up his office in indignation at their contumacy. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Zechariah 11:5

Possessors ; or, buyers. Those who claimed to be owners by right of purchase. Hold themselves not guilty. They are so blinded by self-interest that they see no sin in thus treating the flock. But the expression is better rendered, bear no blame, i.e. suffer no penalty, commit this wickedness with impunity. Septuagint, "repent not;" Vulgate, non dolebant, which Jerome explains, "did not suffer for it." Blessed be the Lord. So little compunction do they feel that they actually thank... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Zechariah 11:5-6

Oppressors and oppressed. I. GOD 'S JUDGMENT ON OPPRESSORS . Power great thing. Test of character. Few able to use it rightly. Even the "wise man" ( Ecclesiastes 7:7 ) may have his head turned, and act as if "mad." The "shepherds" false to their awful trust. Hence the people became the prey of oppressors. Merciless, avaricious, godless, neither fearing God nor regarding man. Such oppressors are found in various forms. Landlords and other "possessors" have need to take warning.... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Zechariah 11:5

Whose possessors - (buyers) slay them and hold themselves not guilty, rather, are not guilty either in their own eyes, or in the sight of God, since He gave them up and would no more avenge them. They contract no guilt. Aforetime God said; “Israel was holiness to the Lord, the first-fruits of His increase; all that devour him shall be guilty: evil shall come upon them, saith the Lord” Jeremiah 2:3. Now God reversed this, as He said by the same prophet, “My people hath been lost sheep; their... read more

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