Zechariah 11:17

King James Version

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.

Parallel Translations

Easy-to-Read Version
Too bad for you, you worthless shepherd! You abandoned my sheep. Punish him! Strike his arm and right eye with a sword. His arm will be useless. His right eye will be blind.

New American Standard Bible
"Woe to the worthless shepherd Who abandons the flock! A sword will be on his arm And on his right eye! His arm will be totally withered, And his right eye will be blind."

New Century Version
"How terrible it will be for the useless shepherd who abandoned the flock. A sword will strike his arm and his right eye. His arm will lose all its strength, and his right eye will go blind."

Update Bible Version
Woe to the worthless shepherd that leaves the flock! the sword shall be on his arm, and on his right eye: his arm shall be clean dried up, and his right eye shall be completely darkened.

Webster's Bible Translation
Woe to the idle shepherd that leaveth the flock! the sword [shall be] upon his arm, and upon his right eye: his arm shall be wholly dried up, and his right eye shall be utterly darkened.

Amplified Bible
"Woe (judgment is coming) to the worthless and foolish shepherd Who deserts the flock! The sword will strike his arm And his right eye! His arm shall be totally withered And his right eye completely blinded."

English Standard Version
"Woe to my worthless shepherd, who deserts the flock! May the sword strike his arm and his right eye! Let his arm be wholly withered, his right eye utterly blinded!"

World English Bible
Woe to the worthless shepherd who leaves the flock! The sword will be on his arm, and on his right eye. His arm will be completely withered, and his right eye will be totally blinded!"

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
A! the scheepherd, and ydol, forsakynge the floc; swerd on his arm, and on his riyt iye; the arm of hym schal be dried with drynesse, and his riyt iye wexynge derk schal be maad derk.

English Revised Version
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.

Berean Standard Bible
Woe to the worthless shepherd, who deserts the flock! May a sword strike his arm and his right eye! May his arm be completely withered and his right eye utterly blinded!"

Contemporary English Version
You worthless shepherd, deserting the sheep! I hope a sword will cripple your arm and blind your right eye.

American Standard Version
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.

Bible in Basic English
A curse on the foolish keeper who goes away from the flock! the sword will be on his arm and on his right eye: his arm will become quite dry and his eye will be made completely dark.

Complete Jewish Bible
"Woe to the worthless shepherd who abandons the sheep! May a sword strike his arm and his right eye. May his arm be completely withered and his right eye totally blinded."

Darby Translation
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.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
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.

King James Version (1611)
Woe to the idoll shepheard that leaueth the flocke: the sword shall be vpon his arme, and vpon his right eye: his arme shall be cleane dryed vp, and his right eye shall be vtterly darkened.

New Living Translation
"What sorrow awaits this worthless shepherd who abandons the flock! The sword will cut his arm and pierce his right eye. His arm will become useless, and his right eye completely blind."

New Life Bible
It is bad for the shepherd who has no worth and who leaves the flock! A sword will destroy his arm and his right eye! His arm will be all dried up, and his right eye will be blind."

New Revised Standard
Oh, my worthless shepherd, who deserts the flock! May the sword strike his arm and his right eye! Let his arm be completely withered, his right eye utterly blinded!

Geneva Bible (1587)
O idole shepheard that leaueth the flocke: the sword shalbe vpon his arme, & vpon his right eye. His arme shall be cleane dryed vp, and his right eye shall be vtterly darkened.

George Lamsa Translation
Woe to you, O foolish shepherd, for you have left the flock neglected on your side and before your eyes! Let your right arm be withered and your right eye be blinded.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Alas! for my worthless shepherd, who forsaketh the flock, A sword upon his arm, and upon his right eye! - his arm, shall be, utterly withered, and, his right eye, shall be, wholly darkened.

Douay-Rheims Bible
O shepherd, and idol, that forsaketh the flock: the sword upon his arm and upon his right eye: his arm shall quite wither away, and his right eye shall be utterly darkened.

Revised Standard Version
Woe to my worthless shepherd, who deserts the flock! May the sword smite his arm and his right eye! Let his arm be wholly withered, his right eye utterly blinded!"

Bishop's Bible (1568)
O idol shepheard that leaueth the flocke, the sworde shall come vpon his arme, and vpon his right eye: his arme shalbe cleane dryed vp, and his right eye shalbe sore blynded.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
Alas for the vain shepherds that have forsaken the sheep! the sword shall be upon the arms of such a one, and upon his right eye: his arm shall be completely withered, and his right eye shall be utterly darkened.

Good News Translation
That worthless shepherd is doomed! He has abandoned his flock. War will totally destroy his power. His arm will wither, and his right eye will go blind."

Christian Standard Bible®
Woe to the worthless shepherdwho deserts the flock!May a sword strike his armand his right eye!May his arm wither awayand his right eye go completely blind!”

Hebrew Names Version
Woe to the worthless shepherd who leaves the flock! The sword will be on his arm, and on his right eye. His arm will be completely withered, and his right eye will be totally blinded!"

Lexham English Bible
"Woe, my worthless shepherd who deserts the flock! May a sword fall on his arm and on his right eye! May his arm wither completely and his right eye be utterly blinded!"

Literal Translation
Woe to the worthless shepherd who abandons the flock! The sword shall be against his arm and against his right eye. His arm shall be completely withered, and his right eye shall be totally darkened.

Young's Literal Translation
Wo [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!'

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
O Idols shepherde, that leaueth the flocke. The swerde shal come vpon his arme and vpon his right eye. His arme shalbe clene dried vp, and his right eye shalbe sore blynded.

THE MESSAGE
"Doom to you, useless shepherd, walking off and leaving the sheep! A curse on your arm! A curse on your right eye! Your arm will hang limp and useless. Your right eye will go stone blind."

New English Translation
Woe to the worthless shepherd who abandons the flock! May a sword fall on his arm and his right eye! May his arm wither completely away, and his right eye become completely blind!"

New King James Version
"Woe to the worthless shepherd, Who leaves the flock! A sword shall be against his arm And against his right eye; His arm shall completely wither, And his right eye shall be totally blinded."

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"Woe to the worthless shepherd Who leaves the flock! A sword will be on his arm And on his right eye! His arm will be totally withered And his right eye will be blind."

Legacy Standard Bible
Woe to the worthless shepherdWho forsakes the flock!A sword will be on his armAnd on his right eye!His arm will be totally dried up,And his right eye will be utterly dimmed."

Contextual Overview

¹⁵ And the Lord said unto me, Take unto thee yet the instruments of a foolish shepherd. ¹⁶ For, lo, I will raise up a shepherd in the land, which shall not visit those that be cut off, neither shall seek the young one, nor heal that that is broken, nor feed that that standeth still: but he shall eat the flesh of the fat, and tear their claws in pieces. ¹⁷ 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.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Woe: Jeremiah 22:1, Ezekiel 13:3, Ezekiel 34:2, Matthew 23:13, Matthew 23:16, Luke 11:42-52

idol: Isaiah 9:15, Isaiah 44:10, Jeremiah 23:32, 1 Corinthians 8:4, 1 Corinthians 10:19, 1 Corinthians 10:20

that leaveth: John 10:12, John 10:13

the sword: Isaiah 6:9, Isaiah 6:10, Isaiah 29:10, Isaiah 42:19, Isaiah 42:20, Jeremiah 50:35-37, Hosea 4:5-7, Amos 8:9, Amos 8:10, Micah 3:6, Micah 3:7, John 9:39, John 12:40, Romans 11:7

his arm: 1 Samuel 2:31, 1 Kings 13:4, Ezekiel 30:22-24

Reciprocal: Psalms 10:15 - Break Psalms 137:5 - let my right Jeremiah 13:20 - where Jeremiah 22:22 - thy pastors Jeremiah 23:1 - Woe Ezekiel 34:21 - ye have Zechariah 10:3 - anger Matthew 12:10 - which Luke 6:6 - there Luke 10:2 - are Luke 20:7 - that John 5:3 - withered Acts 20:29 - not Romans 11:10 - their eyes 1 Peter 5:2 - the flock

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Woe to the idol shepherd,.... Or, "the shepherd of nothing" w; that is, no true shepherd, that is good for nothing, for an idol is nothing in the world, 1 Corinthians 8:4 and who is an idol himself, sits in the temple of God, and is worshipped as if he was God. 2 Thessalonians 2:4 and is an encourager and defender of idolatry:

that leaveth the flock; has no regard to its spiritual concerns; does not feed it, but fleece it, and leaves it to the cruelty and avarice of his creatures under him:

the sword [shall be] upon his arm; with which he should feed the flock:

and upon his right eye; with which he should watch over it:

his arm shall be clean dried up; his power shall be taken away from him; the antichristian states, which supported him, shall withdraw from him; the ten kings shall hate the whore, strip her naked, eat her flesh, and burn her with fire, Revelation 17:16:

and his right eye shall be utterly darkened; not only given up to judicial blindness, which has been always his case; but his kingdom shall be full of darkness, Revelation 16:10 his hidden things of darkness shall be exposed; all his crafty schemes will be confounded; and all his wit, cunning, and subtlety, will cease; and everything desirable to him will be taken away from him. His "arm" may denote his secular power, which shall be taken away from him: and his "right eye" his knowledge of the Scriptures, judgment in controversies, and infallibility pretended to by him, which wilt cease, even in the opinion of men. Ben Melech interprets it the eye of his heart or mind; and so Aben Ezra.

w רעי האליל "pastori nihili", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Drusius, So R. So. Urbin. Ohel Moed, fol. 4. 2.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Woe to the idol shepherd - (A shepherd of nothingness, one who hath no quality of a shepherd ;) “who leaveth the flock.” The condemnation of the evil shepherd is complete in the abandonment of the sheep; as our Lord says, “He that is an hireling and not the Shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming and leaveth the sheep and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them and scattereth the sheep. The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling and careth not for the sheep” John 10:12-13.

Or it may equally be, “Shepherd, thou idol,” including the original meaning of nothingness, such as antichrist will be, (Jerome), “while he calleth himself God, and willeth to be worshiped.” Jerome: “This shepherd shall therefore arise in Israel, because the true Shepherd had said, ‘I will not feed you.’ He is prophesied of by another name in Daniel the prophet Daniel 9:0, and in the Gospel Mark 13:0, and in the Epistle of Paul to the Thessalonians 2 Thessalonians 2:0, as ‘the abomination of desolation,’ who shall sit in the temple of the Lord, and make himself as God. He cometh not to heal but to destroy the flock of Israel. This shepherd the Jews shall receive, whom the ‘Lord Jesus shall slay with the breath of His mouth; and destroy with the brightness of His coming?”’

The sword shall be upon - (against) his arm and right eye His boast shall be of intelligence, and might. The punishment and destruction shall be directed against the instrument of each, the eye and the arm. Jerome: “The eye, whereby he shall boast to behold acutely the mysteries of God, and to see more than all prophets heretofore, so that he shall call himself son of God. But the word of the Lord shall be upon his arm and upon his right eye, so that his strength and all his boast of might shall be dried up, and the knowledge which he promised himself falsely, shall be obscured in everlasting darkness.” (Dionysius: “Above and against the power of antichrist, shall be the virtue and vengeance and sentence of Christ, who shall ‘slay’ him ‘with the breath of His mouth.’ The right arm, the symbol of might, and the right eye which was to direct its aim, should fail together, through the judgment of God against him. He, lately boastful and persecuting shall become blind and powerless, bereit alike of wisdom and strength.

The “right” in Holy Scripture being so often a symbol of what is good, the left of what is evil, it may be also imagined, that (Osorius), “the left eye, that is, the acumen and cunning to devise deadly frauds, will remain uninjured: while the ‘right eye,’ that is, counsel to guard against evil, will be sunk in thick darkness. And so, the more he employs his ability to evil, the more frantically will he bring to bear destruction upon himself:”

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Zechariah 11:17. Wo to the idol shepherd — רעי האליל roi haelil, "the worthless," or "good for nothing shepherd." The shepherd in name and office, but not performing the work of one. See John 10:11.

The sword shall be upon his arm — Punishment shall be executed upon the wicked Jews, and especially their wicked kings and priests. See Zechariah 11:16.

Arm - the secular power; right eye - the ecclesiastical state.

His arm shall be clean dried up — The secular power shall be broken, and become utterly inefficient.

His right eye shall be utterly darkened — Prophecy shall be restrained; and the whole state, ecclesiastical and civil, shall be so completely eclipsed, that none of their functions shall be performed. This may refer to the worthless and wicked governor mentioned in the preceding verse.

There are several things in this chapter that are very obscure, and we can hardly say what opinion is right; nor is it at all clear whether they refer to a very early or late period of the Jewish history.