Zechariah 11:3
New International Version
Listen to the wail of the shepherds; their rich pastures are destroyed! Listen to the roar of the lions; the lush thicket of the Jordan is ruined!

New Living Translation
Listen to the wailing of the shepherds, for their rich pastures are destroyed. Hear the young lions roaring, for their thickets in the Jordan Valley are ruined.

English Standard Version
The sound of the wail of the shepherds, for their glory is ruined! The sound of the roar of the lions, for the thicket of the Jordan is ruined!

Berean Standard Bible
Listen to the wailing of the shepherds, for their glory is in ruins. Listen to the roaring of the young lions, for the thickets of the Jordan are destroyed.

King James Bible
There is a voice of the howling of the shepherds; for their glory is spoiled: a voice of the roaring of young lions; for the pride of Jordan is spoiled.

New King James Version
There is the sound of wailing shepherds! For their glory is in ruins. There is the sound of roaring lions! For the pride of the Jordan is in ruins.

New American Standard Bible
There is a sound of the shepherds’ wail, For their splendor is ruined; There is a sound of the young lions’ roar, For the pride of the Jordan is ruined.

NASB 1995
There is a sound of the shepherds’ wail, For their glory is ruined; There is a sound of the young lions’ roar, For the pride of the Jordan is ruined.

NASB 1977
There is a sound of the shepherds’ wail, For their glory is ruined; There is a sound of the young lions’ roar, For the pride of the Jordan is ruined.

Legacy Standard Bible
There is a sound of the shepherds’ wail, For their might is destroyed; There is a sound of the young lions’ roar, For the pride of the Jordan is destroyed.

Amplified Bible
There is a sound of the shepherds’ wail, For their splendor (grazing land) is ruined; There is a sound of the young lions’ roar, For the pride of the Jordan is ruined.

Christian Standard Bible
Listen to the wail of the shepherds, for their glory is destroyed. Listen to the roar of young lions, for the thickets of the Jordan are destroyed.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Listen to the wail of the shepherds, for their glory is destroyed. Listen to the roar of young lions, for the thickets of the Jordan are destroyed.

American Standard Version
A voice of the wailing of the shepherds! for their glory is destroyed: a voice of the roaring of young lions! for the pride of the Jordan is laid waste.

Contemporary English Version
Listen! Shepherds are crying. Their glorious pastures have been ruined. Listen! Lions are roaring. The forests of the Jordan Valley are no more to be found.

English Revised Version
A voice of the howling of the shepherds! for their glory is spoiled: a voice of the roaring of young lions! for the pride of Jordan is spoiled.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Listen! The shepherds are crying, because their rich pastures are destroyed. Listen! The young lions are roaring, because the lush banks of the Jordan are destroyed.

Good News Translation
The rulers cry out in grief; their glory is gone! Listen to the roaring of the lions; their forest home along the Jordan is destroyed!

International Standard Version
Hear the wailing of the shepherds, for the magnificence of the forest is ruined! Hear the roar of the lions, for the Jordan's arrogance is ruined!

Majority Standard Bible
Listen to the wailing of the shepherds, for their glory is in ruins. Listen to the roaring of the young lions, for the thickets of the Jordan are destroyed.

NET Bible
Listen to the howling of shepherds, because their magnificence has been destroyed. Listen to the roaring of young lions, because the thickets of the Jordan have been devastated.

New Heart English Bible
A voice of the wailing of the shepherds. For their glory is destroyed: a voice of the roaring of young lions. For the pride of the Jordan is ruined.

Webster's Bible Translation
There is a voice of the howling of the shepherds; for their glory is destroyed: a voice of the roaring of young lions; for the pride of Jordan is laid waste.

World English Bible
A voice of the wailing of the shepherds! For their glory is destroyed—a voice of the roaring of young lions! For the pride of the Jordan is ruined.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
A voice of the howling of the shepherds! For their robe of honor was destroyed, "" A voice of the roaring of young lions! For the excellence of Jordan was destroyed.

Young's Literal Translation
A voice of the howling of the shepherds! For destroyed was their robe of honour, A voice of the roaring of young lions! For destroyed was the excellency of Jordan.

Smith's Literal Translation
A voice of wailing of the shepherds, for their greatness was destroyed: a voice of the roaring of young lions, for the pride of Jordan was destroyed.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
The voice of the howling of the shepherds, because their glory is laid waste: the voice of the roaring of the lions, because the pride of the Jordan is spoiled.

Catholic Public Domain Version
The voice of the howling of the shepherds: for their magnificence has been devastated. The voice of the roaring of the lions: because the arrogance of the Jordan has been devastated.

New American Bible
Listen! the wailing of shepherds, their glory has been destroyed. Listen! the roaring of young lions, the thickets of the Jordan are destroyed.

New Revised Standard Version
Listen, the wail of the shepherds, for their glory is despoiled! Listen, the roar of the lions, for the thickets of the Jordan are destroyed!
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
There is a voice of the howling of shepherds; for their glory is ruined; a voice of the roaring of the lions; because the forest of Jordan is spoiled.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
A sound of the wailing of Shepherds, for their greatness is plundered! There is a sound of lions roaring, because the strength of Jordan is pillaged!
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
Hark! the wailing of the shepherds, For their glory is spoiled; Hark! the roaring of young lions, For the thickets of the Jordan are spoiled.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
There is a voice of the shepherds mourning; for their greatness is brought low: a voice of roaring lions; for the pride of Jordan is brought down.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
The Doomed Flock
2Wail, O cypress, for the cedar has fallen; the majestic trees are ruined! Wail, O oaks of Bashan, for the dense forest has been cut down! 3Listen to the wailing of the shepherds, for their glory is in ruins. Listen to the roaring of the young lions, for the thickets of the Jordan are destroyed. 4This is what the LORD my God says: “Pasture the flock marked for slaughter,…

Cross References
Jeremiah 25:34-36
Wail, you shepherds, and cry out; roll in the dust, you leaders of the flock. For the days of your slaughter have come; you will fall and be shattered like fine pottery. / Flight will evade the shepherds, and escape will elude the leaders of the flock. / Hear the cry of the shepherds, the wailing of the leaders of the flock, for the LORD is destroying their pasture.

Ezekiel 34:7-10
Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD: / ‘As surely as I live, declares the Lord GOD, because My flock lacks a shepherd and has become prey and food for every wild beast, and because My shepherds did not search for My flock but fed themselves instead, / therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD!’ ...

Isaiah 56:9-12
Come, all you beasts of the field; eat greedily, all you beasts of the forest. / Israel’s watchmen are blind, they are all oblivious; they are all mute dogs, they cannot bark; they are dreamers lying around, loving to slumber. / Like ravenous dogs, they are never satisfied. They are shepherds with no discernment; they all turn to their own way, each one seeking his own gain: ...

Jeremiah 23:1-2
“Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of My pasture!” declares the LORD. / Therefore this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says about the shepherds who tend My people: “You have scattered My flock and driven them away, and have not attended to them. Behold, I will attend to you for the evil of your deeds, declares the LORD.

Ezekiel 34:2-6
“Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Woe to the shepherds of Israel, who only feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed their flock? / You eat the fat, wear the wool, and butcher the fattened sheep, but you do not feed the flock. / You have not strengthened the weak, healed the sick, bound up the injured, brought back the strays, or searched for the lost. Instead, you have ruled them with violence and cruelty. ...

Jeremiah 10:21
For the shepherds have become senseless; they do not seek the LORD. Therefore they have not prospered, and all their flock is scattered.

Ezekiel 34:18-19
Is it not enough for you to feed on the good pasture? Must you also trample the rest of the pasture with your feet? Is it not enough for you to drink the clear waters? Must you also muddy the rest with your feet? / Why must My flock feed on what your feet have trampled, and drink what your feet have muddied?’

Isaiah 5:29-30
Their roaring is like that of a lion; they roar like young lions. They growl and seize their prey; they carry it away, and no one can rescue it. / In that day they will roar over it, like the roaring of the sea. If one looks over the land, he will see darkness and distress; even the light will be obscured by clouds.

Jeremiah 50:6
My people are lost sheep; their shepherds have led them astray, causing them to roam the mountains. They have wandered from mountain to hill; they have forgotten their resting place.

Ezekiel 22:25-28
The conspiracy of the princes in her midst is like a roaring lion tearing its prey. They devour the people, seize the treasures and precious things, and multiply the widows within her. / Her priests do violence to My law and profane My holy things. They make no distinction between the holy and the common, and they fail to distinguish between the clean and the unclean. They disregard My Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them. / Her officials within her are like wolves tearing their prey, shedding blood, and destroying lives for dishonest gain. ...

Matthew 9:36
When He saw the crowds, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.

John 10:11-13
I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. / The hired hand is not the shepherd, and the sheep are not his own. When he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf pounces on them and scatters the flock. / The man runs away because he is a hired servant and is unconcerned for the sheep.

Matthew 23:13-15
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let in those who wish to enter. / Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let in those who wish to enter. / Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You traverse land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are.

Luke 19:41-44
As Jesus approached Jerusalem and saw the city, He wept over it / and said, “If only you had known on this day what would bring you peace! But now it is hidden from your eyes. / For the days will come upon you when your enemies will barricade you and surround you and hem you in on every side. ...

John 10:1-2
“Truly, truly, I tell you, whoever does not enter the sheepfold by the gate, but climbs in some other way, is a thief and a robber. / But the one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep.


Treasury of Scripture

There is a voice of the howling of the shepherds; for their glory is spoiled: a voice of the roaring of young lions; for the pride of Jordan is spoiled.

a voice.

Zechariah 11:8,15-17
Three shepherds also I cut off in one month; and my soul lothed them, and their soul also abhorred me…

Jeremiah 25:34-36
Howl, ye shepherds, and cry; and wallow yourselves in the ashes, ye principal of the flock: for the days of your slaughter and of your dispersions are accomplished; and ye shall fall like a pleasant vessel…

Joel 1:13
Gird yourselves, and lament, ye priests: howl, ye ministers of the altar: come, lie all night in sackcloth, ye ministers of my God: for the meat offering and the drink offering is withholden from the house of your God.

for their.

1 Samuel 4:21,22
And she named the child Ichabod, saying, The glory is departed from Israel: because the ark of God was taken, and because of her father in law and her husband…

Isaiah 65:15
And ye shall leave your name for a curse unto my chosen: for the Lord GOD shall slay thee, and call his servants by another name:

Jeremiah 7:4,11-14
Trust ye not in lying words, saying, The temple of the LORD, The temple of the LORD, The temple of the LORD, are these…

a voice.

Psalm 22:21
Save me from the lion's mouth: for thou hast heard me from the horns of the unicorns.

Jeremiah 2:30
In vain have I smitten your children; they received no correction: your own sword hath devoured your prophets, like a destroying lion.

Ezekiel 19:3-6
And she brought up one of her whelps: it became a young lion, and it learned to catch the prey; it devoured men…

for the pride.

Jeremiah 49:19
Behold, he shall come up like a lion from the swelling of Jordan against the habitation of the strong: but I will suddenly make him run away from her: and who is a chosen man, that I may appoint over her? for who is like me? and who will appoint me the time? and who is that shepherd that will stand before me?

Jeremiah 50:44
Behold, he shall come up like a lion from the swelling of Jordan unto the habitation of the strong: but I will make them suddenly run away from her: and who is a chosen man, that I may appoint over her? for who is like me? and who will appoint me the time? and who is that shepherd that will stand before me?

Jump to Previous
Crying Despoiled Destroyed Excellency Flock Glory Hark Honour Howling Jordan Jungle Keepers Lions Loud Pride Rich Roar Roaring Robe Ruined Shepherds Sound Spoiled Thicket Thickets Voice Wail Wailing Waste Young
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Crying Despoiled Destroyed Excellency Flock Glory Hark Honour Howling Jordan Jungle Keepers Lions Loud Pride Rich Roar Roaring Robe Ruined Shepherds Sound Spoiled Thicket Thickets Voice Wail Wailing Waste Young
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.














Listen to the wail of the shepherds
The word "listen" in Hebrew is "שְׁמַע" (shema), which is a call to hear with attention and obedience. This is not merely a passive hearing but an active engagement with the message. The "wail of the shepherds" signifies a deep lamentation and distress. Shepherds, in biblical times, were leaders and caretakers of the flock, often symbolizing spiritual leaders or kings. Their wailing indicates a profound loss or calamity affecting their leadership and the people they guide. Historically, this could reflect the impending judgment and destruction that would come upon the leaders of Israel due to their unfaithfulness.

for their glory is in ruins
The term "glory" (Hebrew: "כָּבוֹד", kavod) often refers to honor, splendor, or the weightiness of one's reputation. In this context, the glory of the shepherds being in ruins suggests a complete collapse of their honor and authority. This ruin is a consequence of their failure to lead righteously and protect their flock. Theologically, it serves as a warning that God holds leaders accountable for their stewardship and that earthly glory is fleeting when not rooted in divine obedience.

Listen to the roar of the young lions
The "roar" (Hebrew: "שְׁאָגָה", she'agah) of the young lions conveys a sense of power and ferocity. Lions, particularly young ones, symbolize strength and dominance. The imagery of lions roaring could represent the rising of new, powerful forces or nations that threaten the current order. In a spiritual sense, it may also reflect the chaos and destruction that ensue when God's protective presence is withdrawn due to the people's disobedience.

for the thickets of the Jordan are destroyed
The "thickets of the Jordan" refers to the dense, lush vegetation along the Jordan River, which was a symbol of fertility and life. The destruction of these thickets signifies a loss of prosperity and security. Historically, the Jordan River was a significant geographical and spiritual landmark for Israel, representing both physical sustenance and spiritual milestones (such as the crossing into the Promised Land). The destruction here can be seen as a metaphor for the spiritual desolation that results from turning away from God.

Verse 3. - There is a voice. The Hebrew is more terse and forcible, "A voice of the howling of the shepherds!" or, "Hark! a howling," etc. (Jeremiah 25:34, etc.). The destruction spreads from the north southwards along the Jordan valley. Their glory. The noble trees in whose shadow they rejoiced. Young lions. Which had their lairs in the forests now laid waste (Jeremiah 49:19). The pride of Jordan. The thickets that clothed the banks of Jordan are called its "pride" (Jeremiah 12:5). The lion is not now found in Palestine, but must have been common in earlier times, especially in such places as the brushwood and reedy coverts which line the margin of the Jordan. The prophet introduces the inanimate and animate creation - trees, men, beasts - alike deploring the calamity. And the terms in which this is depicted point to some great disaster and ruin, and, as it seems, to the final catastrophe of the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans, the punishment of the rejection of Messiah. This reference becomes plainer as we proceed. It is inadmissible to refer the passage (as some do) to the Assyrian invasions mentioned in 2 Kings 15:29 and 1 Chronicles 5:26. Holding the post-exilian origin of the prophecy, we are bound to interpret it in accordance with this view, which, indeed, presents fewer difficulties than the other.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
Listen to
ק֚וֹל (qō·wl)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 6963: A voice, sound

the wail
יִֽלְלַ֣ת (yil·laṯ)
Noun - feminine singular construct
Strong's 3215: A howling

of the shepherds,
הָרֹעִ֔ים (hā·rō·‘îm)
Article | Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine plural
Strong's 7462: To tend a, flock, pasture it, in, to graze, to rule, to associate with

for
כִּ֥י (kî)
Conjunction
Strong's 3588: A relative conjunction

their glory
אַדַּרְתָּ֑ם (’ad·dar·tām)
Noun - feminine singular construct | third person masculine plural
Strong's 155: Something ample

is in ruins.
שֻׁדְּדָ֖ה (šud·də·ḏāh)
Verb - Pual - Perfect - third person feminine singular
Strong's 7703: To deal violently with, despoil, devastate, ruin

Listen to the howl
שַׁאֲגַ֣ת (ša·’ă·ḡaṯ)
Noun - feminine singular construct
Strong's 7581: A rumbling, moan

of the young lions,
כְּפִירִ֔ים (kə·p̄î·rîm)
Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 3715: A village, a young lion

for
כִּ֥י (kî)
Conjunction
Strong's 3588: A relative conjunction

the thickets
גְּא֥וֹן (gə·’ō·wn)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 1347: Arrogance, majesty, ornament

of the Jordan
הַיַּרְדֵּֽן׃ (hay·yar·dên)
Article | Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 3383: Jordan -- the principal river of Palestine

are destroyed.
שֻׁדַּ֖ד (šud·daḏ)
Verb - Pual - Perfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 7703: To deal violently with, despoil, devastate, ruin


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OT Prophets: Zechariah 11:3 A voice of the wailing (Zech. Zec Zc)
Zechariah 11:2
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