1Open thy doors, O Lebanon, that the fire may devour thy cedars.
0
In that day, saith the LORD of hosts, shall ye call every man his neighbour under the vine and under the fig tree. 3:10
1Open thy doors, O Lebanon, that the fire may devour thy cedars.
Open your doors, Lebanon, so fire can burn your cedar trees.
2 Howl, fir tree; for the cedar is fallen; because the mighty are spoiled: howl, O ye oaks of Bashan; for the forest of the vintage is come down.
Howl, fir tree, because the cedar has fallen!
Howl, oaks, because the forest is destroyed! [1]
3There 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.
The shepherds and lions are howling
because the pride of Jordan is spoiled.
4Thus saith the LORD my God; Feed the flock of the slaughter;
5 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.
This is what God says,
Feed the flock of the slaughter.
6For I will no more pity the inhabitants of the land, saith the LORD: but, lo, I will deliver the men every one into his neighbour's hand, and into the hand of his king: and they shall smite the land, and out of their hand I will not deliver them.
I won't pity the inhabitants of the land.
I'll force neighbors to kill their neighbors.
7And I will feed the flock of slaughter, even you, O poor of the flock. And I took unto me two staves; the one I called Beauty, and the other I called Bands; and I fed the flock.
I will feed the flock of slaughter.
So I took two sticks,
one I called "Beauty" and the other I called "Bands".
8Three shepherds also I cut off in one month; and my soul lothed them, and their soul also abhorred me.
I cut off three shepherds in one month,
because I hate them and they hate me.
9 Then said I, I will not feed you: that that dieth, let it die; and that that is to be cut off, let it be cut off; and let the rest eat every one the flesh of another.
Then I said,
Whatever is dying, let it die.
Let everyone eat the flesh of another. [2]
10 And I took my staff, even Beauty, and cut it asunder, that I might break my covenant which I had made with all the people.
11 And it was broken in that day: and so the poor of the flock that waited upon me knew that it was the word of the LORD.
I took my staff, which I called "Beauty",
and broke it in two pieces.
12 And I said unto them, If ye think good, give me my price; and if not, forbear. So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver.
And I said to the people, "How much will you pay for this?"
They paid me thirty pieces of silver. [3]
13 And the LORD said unto me, Cast it unto the potter: a goodly price that I was prised at of them. And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them to the potter in the house of the LORD.
God said to me, "Give the money to the potter."
So I gave it to the potter in God's house.
14Then I cut asunder mine other staff, even Bands, that I might break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.
Then I broke my other stick, that I called "Bands".
15And the LORD said unto me, Take unto thee yet the instruments of a foolish shepherd.
God said to me,
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.
I'll appoint a shepherd
who will eat the flesh of the fat
and tear their claws to pieces.
17Woe to the idle 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.
Woe to the lazy shepherd!
His arm will dry up,
and his right eye will be darkened. [4]
God is strangely preoccupied with burning cedar, fir, and oak trees.
Matthew (27:9) quotes this verse, but incorrectly attributes it to Jeremiah.
Woe to the shepherd. He will be mutilated and blinded.