Zechariah 11:1-3

The Desolation of the Holy Land

v. 1. Open thy doors, O Lebanon, the district on the northernmost border of the Holy Land, that the fire may devour thy cedars. Instead of describing the destruction of the land outright, the prophet calls upon its border to open its doors for the consuming fire.

v. 2. Howl, fir-tree, the cypresses which occupied second place among the trees of the Lebanon forests, for the cedar is fallen, because the mighty are spoiled. Howl, O ye oaks of Bashan, the northernmost district of the Holy Land east of Jordan, for the forest of the vintage is come down, the high, the inaccessible forest is laid low.

v. 3. There is a voice of the howling of the shepherds, those occupying the rich meadow-lands of Bashan, for their glory, the fine pasture on which they depended, is spoiled; a voice of the roaring of young lions, for the pride of Jordan, the thickets along the river, which offered excellent opportunities for dens, is spoiled. The description is short and bold, but comprehensive enough to indicate that the Lord is speaking of another desolation of the Holy Land, by which everything that was great and mighty in the country would be overthrown and the Holy Land once more become a wilderness. It is an evident reference to the conquest of Palestine by the Romans.