The Meaning of Zechariah 11:5 Explained

Zechariah 11:5

KJV: 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.

YLT: Whose buyers slay them, and are not guilty, And their sellers say, Blessed is Jehovah, And I am rich, And their shepherds have no pity on them.

Darby: whose possessors slay them without being held guilty; and they that sell them say, Blessed be Jehovah! for I am become rich; and their own shepherds pity them not.

ASV: whose possessors slay them, and hold themselves not guilty; and they that sell them say, Blessed be Jehovah, for I am rich; and their own shepherds pity them not.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

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. 

What does Zechariah 11:5 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Those who bought sheep slew them (Heb. feminine) and went unpunished. This was bad because these were female sheep, ewes, intended for breeding and not for butchering. The slayers represent the foreign rulers who took over the Israelites, persecuted them, and had not paid the full penalty for their abusive treatment of them ( Genesis 12:3). Those who sold the sheep were Israel"s former rulers and leaders who, by their sins, had set the people up for divine judgment by foreigners.

Context Summary

Zechariah 11:1-17 - Beauty And Bands
The times were very dark when Zechariah felt called upon to act as shepherd to Jehovah's harried flock. Rulers and priests were actuated by selfish greed and mutual antagonism. Three shepherds had already failed. After a brief effort Zechariah renounced the attempt. He broke his staff of Beauty, or Grace, Zechariah 11:10, r.v. margin, as if God's tender love had withdrawn from its struggle with evil; and when he challenged the people to set a value on his services, they weighed him out thirty pieces of silver, the price of a slave. Thereupon he broke the other staff, disrupting the brotherhood between Judah and Israel. In the following paragraph, Zechariah 11:15-17, there is an evident reference to the terrible reign of Antiochus whose cruelties led to the heroic uprising of the Maccabees. Five centuries afterwards Jesus was sent to gather the flock with the same result, Matthew 27:9-10. [source]

Chapter Summary: 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

What do the individual words in Zechariah 11:5 mean?

whose owners slaughter them and no feel guilt and those who sell them say Blessed be Yahweh for I am rich and their shepherds not do pity them
אֲשֶׁ֨ר קֹנֵיהֶ֤ן יַֽהֲרְגֻן֙ וְלֹ֣א יֶאְשָׁ֔מוּ וּמֹכְרֵיהֶ֣ן יֹאמַ֔ר בָּר֥וּךְ יְהוָ֖ה וַאעְשִׁ֑ר וְרֹ֣עֵיהֶ֔ם לֹ֥א יַחְמ֖וֹל עֲלֵיהֶֽן

אֲשֶׁ֨ר  whose 
Parse: Pronoun, relative
Root: אֲשֶׁר 
Sense: (relative part.).
קֹנֵיהֶ֤ן  owners 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine plural construct, third person feminine plural
Root: קָנָה 
Sense: to get, acquire, create, buy, possess.
יַֽהֲרְגֻן֙  slaughter  them 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine plural, third person feminine plural
Root: הָרַג  
Sense: to kill, slay, murder, destroy, murderer, slayer, out of hand.
וְלֹ֣א  and  no 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Adverb, Negative particle
Root: הֲלֹא 
Sense: not, no.
יֶאְשָׁ֔מוּ  feel  guilt 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: אָשַׁם  
Sense: to offend, be guilty, trespass.
וּמֹכְרֵיהֶ֣ן  and  those  who  sell  them 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine plural construct, third person feminine plural
Root: מָכַר  
Sense: to sell.
יֹאמַ֔ר  say 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
בָּר֥וּךְ  Blessed  be 
Parse: Verb, Qal, QalPassParticiple, masculine singular
Root: בָּרַךְ 
Sense: to bless, kneel.
יְהוָ֖ה  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
וַאעְשִׁ֑ר  for  I  am  rich 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Hifil, Conjunctive imperfect, first person common singular
Root: עָשַׁר  
Sense: to be or become rich or wealthy, enrich, pretend to be rich.
וְרֹ֣עֵיהֶ֔ם  and  their  shepherds 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine plural construct, third person masculine plural
Root: רָעָה 
Sense: to pasture, tend, graze, feed.
יַחְמ֖וֹל  do  pity 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: חָמַל 
Sense: (Qal) to spare, pity, have compassion on.