Zechariah 11:17

Idol shepherd. — Better, useless shepherd. Though the wicked useless shepherd is allowed for a time to ill-treat and neglect the flock, in the end the judgment of God will fall upon him. (Comp. Daniel 7:26; and for the date of the prophecies of Daniel, see Introduction to that book.) Ewald has maintained that the passage Zechariah 13:7 is out of place where it now stands, and that it ought to be transferred to the end of this chapter. There is apparently some truth in this supposition. In particular, the expression “Awake, O sword, against my shepherd” (Zechariah 13:7) seems to follow naturally after Zechariah 11:17. The expression “my fellow” (Zechariah 13:7) would certainly be rather a strong one to be used of a “foolish shepherd;” but still, all shepherds of the people, whether good or bad, are looked upon as God’s ministers and representatives, so that we cannot regard the use of this expression as fatal to Ewald’s theory. The reader is recommended to turn to Zechariah 13:7 (and Notes), and to read that passage in close connection with Zechariah 11:15, and to judge for himself.