Zechariah 11:2-3

Zechariah 11:2-3. Howl, fir-tree By the several sorts of trees here mentioned, seem to be meant the several orders and degrees of men, who should be sharers in the common destruction: see Isaiah 2:13; Isaiah 10:33-34; and the notes. The fir-tree seems to denote the lower people, who are bid to howl because even their superiors, signified by the cedar, could not withstand the storm. Howl, O ye oaks of Bashan O ye rich, great, and powerful people of the land; Bashan was famous for its stately oaks. For the forest of the vintage Or rather, a forest, the fenced one, is come down “As the inhabitants are represented under the image of the trees, the city is aptly denoted by a forest; to which is added by way of distinction הבצר , the fenced one, the article ה being emphatic, and marking the extraordinary strength of its fortifications, or fence, which, however, proves insufficient for its security.” There is a voice of the howling of the shepherds That is, of the princes and rulers of the people. For their glory is spoiled Their magnificent houses are destroyed. A voice of the roaring of young lions Those who are in the foregoing sentence called shepherds, are here called young lions, because they were devourers of the people by their extortions and oppressions. The pride of Jordan is spoiled By the pride of Jordan, those woods and thickets are primarily intended that rose proudly above the banks of that river, and greatly decorated the scene. But as those were the receptacles of lions, they are here, in a secondary and metaphorical sense, put for the residences of those princes and grandees, who are denominated lions in the preceding clause for the reason now mentioned.