Zechariah · Chapter 11

“Open your doors, O Lebanon.” Jonathan’s Targum renders: “Let the nations open their gates.”

“Open your doors, Lebanon.” The commentators explained this as referring either to the abolition of the Hasmonean dynasty or to the time of the destruction of the Second Temple. It is also possible to interpret it in connection with the matter mentioned immediately above it, namely the destruction of the Babylonians. This is the view of Jonathan, who translated: “Open, peoples,” etc.

“Open thy doors, O Lebanon.” That prophecy was spoken concerning the destruction of the Second Temple, and it says: You, Israel, who are called by the name “Lebanon,” open your doors so that the nations will enter you. “And fire shall devour your cedars.” This means that the enemy will destroy the leaders. And since he referred to the Land of Israel by the name of Lebanon, he likened the destruction of the leaders to the burning of the cedars of the forest of Lebanon.

Regarding the word "open": After having prophesied about the future redemption, he saw in a vision what would be done in the Second Temple. From this he realized that this redemption is not the future redemption. Initially, he saw that this Temple was destined to be destroyed, and he said to the Sanctuary: "You are Lebanon; open your doors so that the legions of Rome may enter there, and fire will consume your cedars," meaning to destroy and burn down the Temple.

Howl, O cypress, for the cedar has fallen. For it (the cedar) is greater than the cypress; the officials shall howl, for the kings of the nations have fallen. "Oaks of Bashan." Kishna"sh in the vernacular (Old French). "When it comes down." [It means] it is broken; and similar to it is [the phrase] "and hail, when the forest comes down" (Isaiah 32:19). "Forest of the vintage." The Targum translates: "The fortified stronghold, the mighty city."

"Wail, O cypress." The Targum: "Wail, O kings, etc." "Ha-batzir" – like "cities fortified" (arim b'tzurot). The written text spells "ha-batzur" with a vav, but it is read with a yod as "ha-batzir," and the meaning is the same. One may interpret "ha-batzir" in the sense of "and it shall be gathered for you," as in "thresh out your vintage" (b'tzir). He compares them to the trees of the forest, and he associates them with "vintage" because they bore fruit, meaning that they were wealthy and great, possessing property, livestock, and acquisitions.

"Wail, O cypress." You are a cypress tree; make a lamentation, for the cedar has fallen by the wind that blows. And how, therefore, will you stand against the wind? That is to say: Let the multitude of the people lament, for the princes have fallen; and how will you endure? “Which the mighty ones have plundered.” In this, he explains his words: Who is the cedar that fell? He said, “Which the mighty ones have plundered.” “The oaks of Bashan shall lament.” You, who are the oaks—namely, the great oaks that grow in Bashan, which are weaker than the trees of the forest—lament, for the strong forest has descended and been humbled. And he repeats the matter in what is stated:

Wail. From [the word] yelalah (wailing). "Mighty ones." Strong ones: They were plundered. They were oppressed: Bashan. The name of a place of pasture: He descended. The word denotes descent and humiliation. The fortified [forest]. From [the word] fortress and strength, and similarly, "fortified cities" (2 Kings 19:25).

"Howl, O cypress"—the cypress is also a species of cedar, but inferior to it, and the oak is inferior to both of them. The verse states that the cypress laments because the cedar, which is greater than it, has fallen, and with it the mighty ones were plundered. This refers to the fall of the king, his deputy, and those who stood in the king’s presence. Afterwards, the oaks of Bashan, which represent the princes, lamented, because the fortified forest, the strong forest, which represents the warriors, descended and fell.

The shepherds. The kings: Your mantle. Your glory: "The roaring of young lions. The princes shall weep:" "For the pride of the Jordan is spoiled." This refers to the place of young lions and lions. Our Sages interpreted "Open, Lebanon, your doors" as referring to the prophecy concerning the destruction of the Second Temple. Forty years prior to the destruction, the doors of the Temple opened on their own. Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai rebuked them, saying, "Temple, Temple, until when will you terrify yourself? I know that your end is to be destroyed, and already Zechariah ben Iddo prophesied concerning you: 'Open, Lebanon, your doors...'"

“Voice of wailing” – their glory — their strength, their might, and their splendor; and the verse’s meaning is as its Targum. Our Sages of blessed memory interpreted this passage in reference to the destruction of the Second Temple, and “Lebanon” refers to the Holy Temple. They said that forty years prior to the Temple’s destruction, the doors of the Sanctuary would open on their own. Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai rebuked them, saying, “Sanctuary, Sanctuary, until when will you terrify yourself? I know that you are destined to be destroyed, and Zechariah has already prophesied concerning you: ‘Open up, O Lebanon, your doors’” (Zechariah 11:1).

"The voice of the shepherds’ wailing" means: Behold, the voice of the shepherds’ wailing will be heard, because their stronghold has been plundered—namely, the trees of the forest, in whose shade they had taken refuge. "The shepherds" refers to the leaders of the people, who will wail because their congregation, their community, and their mighty men have been lost. "The voice of the roaring of lions." This means that behold, the voice of the roaring of the lions will be heard, for the pride of the Jordan has been plundered and destroyed. "The pride of the Jordan" is the place where lions lie, as it is stated there: "As a lion shall ascend from the pride of the Jordan" (Jeremiah 49:19). This means that the sons of kings will wail, for their palaces have been destroyed.

Their splendor. This signifies their strength and fortress, and it is derived from the word adir (mighty). “Cubs.” So too, the young lions are called “cubs.” “Pride”: the matter of haughtiness and loftiness. This means: the choice region near the Jordan.

"The voice" — afterward, the voice of the wailing of the shepherds was heard, who are the Sanhedrin, for their mantle and their glory were plundered; and the voice of the roaring of the young lions, who are the mighty oppressors who stood up at that time and wrought mightily, and they fell in the end; for the pride of the Jordan was plundered, which is the place of the lions, and this is an allegory for the subjugation of all fortress cities.

“Feed the flock of the slaughter.” “Prepare shepherds for them”—that is, [the verse] prophesies concerning their future leaders who will shepherd them from now on. "the flock of slaughter": Israel, whom their shepherds slaughtered and consumed.

“Thus says the Lord my God: Shepherd the flock of slaughter.” Most commentators interpreted this passage as referring to the past, stating that God spoke to the prophet, commanding him to prophesy concerning the fate of Israel—what would befall them until their exile. And there are those who say that this refers to the Second Temple period, and they are called “the flock of slaughter” because they were constantly given over to be killed by their enemies whenever they transgressed the commandments of God, blessed be He. My master and father, of blessed and holy memory, explained that the word “shepherd” (ro’eh) is used in its infinitive form, just as in the phrase “to pasture” (lir’ot), and similarly, “in order that it might be” (lam’an yihyeh) is like “to be” (lihyot). That is to say, He said 'to pasture' — for He did not tell the prophet that he himself should pasture; rather, God said that He Himself would pasture them, as it is stated, “And I will pasture the flock of slaughter.”

“Feed, etc.” The Omnipresent commanded him that he should feed, in deed and in action, the flock of slaughter; namely, the flock destined for slaughter in the slaughterhouses, which do not succeed in raising offspring and from whose wool one derives no benefit, and in which there is no sign of blessing to enrich their owners.

Thus says the Lord: After He showed him the destruction of the First Temple, He showed him what would befall them during the period of the Second Temple’s standing. “Feed the flock of slaughter”—that is, He would arrange in His prophecy how their shepherds would feed and lead them in the days of the Second Temple. And He explains why He calls them “the flock of slaughter”:

“And they shall not be guilty.” The Babylonians, into whose midst I exiled them — this is the seller, and the buyer is a murderer, and he does not give his heart [pause] that he should have guilt in the matter. And the seller boasts: “Blessed be the Lord who delivered them into my hands, and behold, I am rich.” "And I will be rich." And behold, I am rich.

"Those who acquire them shall be put to death." They shall put them to death, and behold, they are in the hands of the seller and the buyer without mercy. And they shall not be held guilty. They do not consider themselves guilty if they were to kill them. "And their sellers shall say." Each one of their sellers shall say when he sells them: "Blessed be the Lord." “And I will become rich.” This means: “Blessed be the Lord, for I am rich from the money of these captives.” And when the wicked one who sells them says, “Blessed be the Lord,” this is because he assumes that the Holy One, blessed be He, desires this deed, as Sennacherib said: “Is it without the Lord that I have come up against this land to destroy it?” Or perhaps it is said that people are accustomed to this, to give praise to the Holy One, blessed be He, for every profit they gain, whether it is from the path of righteousness or from the path of wickedness. And in this sense our Sages of blessed memory said: “A thief at the breach of the wall calls upon the Merciful One.” “And I will become rich”: the aleph is silent (quiescent), the vav has a patach, and the ayin has only a shva. “And their shepherds shall not spare them.” The Holy One, blessed be He, who is their shepherd, does not spare them; therefore, they fall into the hands of their enemies, who buy and sell them. And the term “their shepherds” is in the plural, just as it is written: “Let Israel rejoice in its Maker” (Psalm 149:2)—“its Maker” is in the plural, and 'where is God my Maker?' (Job 35:10).

They shall be slaughtered. To be for him as food: "And they shall not be guilty." This means that he has not sinned against himself by causing himself damage and loss, for they are standing ready for slaughter, and it is not fitting to raise them. Blessed be the Lord. I sold an item that has no sign of blessing, and with its price I will buy an item that has a sign of blessing, and I shall become wealthy. He shall not show them mercy. Since they do not bear the sign of a blessing, the shepherd shall not show them mercy by making them lie down in grassy pastures, leading them beside still waters, and guarding some of them from others so that they shall not jostle or press against one another.

"Those who purchase them shall slaughter them," because they are not like sheep that are kept for shearing and for breeding offspring, which are spared from being slaughtered; rather, they are kept for slaughter and killing, and therefore their purchasers will slaughter them, and they will not consider this a sin, since they are intended for that purpose. And their sellers will say, "Blessed be the Lord, and I shall become wealthy," because one becomes wealthy from sheep kept for shearing and offspring while they are in his possession, but one becomes wealthy from those kept for slaughter at the time he sells them. Moreover, their shepherds will not show them mercy, since they are destined for slaughter.

"For I will no longer show favor. If they do not improve their deeds:" “Concerning the inhabitants of the land.” Concerning the inhabitants of the Land of Israel: “in the hand of his fellow and in the hand of his king.” They shall destroy among them, and their king too shall destroy among them — whether the king of Israel or the king of the nations that rule over them. “Mimtzi’a.” It means “invites,” as in: “And they brought the burnt-offering to him in its pieces” (Leviticus 9:13). “And they shall crush the land.” Whether this or that, they will uproot and devastate the Land of Israel. And I will not rescue them from their hands, because they have sinned against Me.

"For I will no longer have mercy." This means that this serves as an allusion to Israel, who are the flock of His pasture, blessed be He, and they are destined for slaughter in the destruction of the Second Temple, and I will no longer have mercy upon them from now on. He brings forth man. I will consign each man of Israel into the hand of his neighbor who rises against him, and in the hand of the one who desires to destroy him. And so it was at the end of the Second Temple period, when their kings destroyed them, and the lawless fought one another, as mentioned in Josephus. “And they shall crush them.” Their kings and the scoundrels of the people will crush the common folk, and the noble ones will not rescue any of them from the hands of their executioners. It is as if they say: “Since they are destined to be put to death, what difference does it make to me whether I save some of them or others?”

ממציא: The word is from the root מציאה (finding), and it is in the sense of preparation, like "and the sons of Aaron brought" (Leviticus 9:12). "and beat them into powder." The meaning is breaking and crushing.

“Ki,” expounding the tenor of the parable: “I will no longer show mercy to the inhabitants of the land, and they shall stand condemned to death.” And behold, I will bring man to be in the power of his fellow, so that because of the baseless hatred that existed among them, they pierced one another; and in the power of their king, for the kings of the Second Temple period slaughtered the people and destroyed them; and they will shatter the land, for through the various factions that arose at that time and through the cruel kings, the people were shattered, dispersed, and lost.

And I fed the flock of slaughter. All these are the words of the Holy One, blessed be He, to the prophet. And I (the prophet) fed them in former days. Therefore, "the poor of the flock." Indeed, the poor of the flock they were when I began to shepherd them: "And I took for myself two staffs." In the end, because of their sins, I divided them into two kingdoms. “To one I called Noam (Pleasantness).” Jeroboam said, to lead them gently: "And to one I called Chovelim." Rehoboam said to them, "To discipline them with scorpions." And since it is the custom to lead sheep with their staffs, he called his governors "staffs."

"And I pastured [them]" – therefore, to the poor of the flock. Indeed, I found the poor of the flock when I first took them to pasture. I will expound this passage according to the understanding of those who interpret it as referring to the past, even though I did not find among any of them a complete explanation of this passage. I will explain what I find in my mind, God willing, may He be exalted. “And I took for myself two staffs.” The custom of a shepherd is to lead his flock with the staff in his hand. And he said that he took two staffs to shepherd Israel. He hinted by this that his guidance of them was not in one manner, but rather he guided them according to their deeds. Therefore, he mentioned two staffs and said: “To one I called Favor, and to the other I called Bonds.” And for both of them the vowels are patach, not in the construct state, and not in close proximity [to the object], and this is not the common custom, but rather such instances are found only rarely. And he said that to one of the staffs he called “Favor,” meaning that He guided them with gentleness, in the manner that King David said: “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. In green pastures He makes me lie down; He leads me beside still waters.” And this was at the time when Israel kept the way of the Lord, when their kings and judges were good and guided them on the straight path. Then the Lord guided them with gentleness, with all good, without Satan and without any evil encounter. And to one of the rods he called "chovelim" ; and it is an expression of destruction, like "mehavlim keremim," meaning that they corrupted their ways and their deeds. And He dealt with them according to this matter, not being careful to guard them from the enemies, but He still dealt with them in such a way that He did not remove His Shechinah and His protection from them until their exile, for there were good kings and bad kings after them. And in the time when they were bad, evil came to them, and the name of the rod was "chovelim," and in the time when they did good, good came to them, and the name of the rod was "noam." “And I pastured the flock.” Whether good or bad, I pastured them.

And I fed them. The prophet relates that he indeed did so, as the Lord had commanded him, and he fed the sheep that were standing to be slaughtered in the slaughterhouse: "Therefore, I have had compassion on the poor of the flock." This means: I have shown mercy to them, to pasture them, because they were the submissive and lowly of all the flock. "And I took me." I took for myself, for the purpose of guiding them, two staffs: Noam. For it was pleasant and did not cause pain in its striking. "Those who cause injury." For he causes injury, destroys, and inflicts much pain. And I tended. With these two staffs I tended the flock: at times with the staff of kindness, at times with the staff of affliction, all according to need. And this comes to allude to the priests, the Hasmonean descendants, who ruled in the Second Temple period. They had two modes of governance. Initially, three sons of Mattathias ben Yochanan the High Priest ruled: Judah, Jonathan, and Simeon. Their deeds and conduct were characterized by gentleness, in the fear of God and skillful action. After them, their sons and descendants arose; they acted wickedly, and they harmed and destroyed the people, as mentioned in Josephus.

Therefore. Because: "Aniyyim" (the poor). A matter of humility and meekness: “Staffs.” Staffs: Noam. From the language of pleasantness, sweetness, and belovedness: "Those who cause injury." The term is derived from the words for "injury" and "destruction."

“And I fed the flock of slaughter,” [this means that] I arranged how their feeding and their conduct would be, in such a manner that they would become the flock of slaughter. Therefore, “the poor of the flock,” for the poor of the flock were so called because they killed one another and there was no peace among them. “And I took for myself two staffs,” [the verse] depicts that the shepherd had two staffs: one was a staff of favor and one was a staff of shattering. It was not known which were the staffs, and the commentators were perplexed. However, from what is stated subsequently, “And I broke the staff of favor, to annul the covenant that I had made with all the nations,” and “And I broke my second staff, the shattering, to annul the brotherhood between Judah and Israel,” from this it is known that the staff of favor concerned making a covenant with the nations, and the staff of shattering concerned establishing brotherhood between Judah and Israel. And by this we find its novelty, that it means that they had two types of governance: a] the governor, or the prince, or the king, who had a covenant with the nations that ruled then in the land; b] the judge, or the High Priest, or the head of the Sanhedrin, whose concern was to oversee the people of Israel so that they would unite in religion, in law, and in conduct, and not divide into different sects and factions. It was fitting that this staff, which stood between Israel and the nations, would be the staff of shattering, meaning that they would fight them with strength and return battle for battle to shatter their enemies. And this staff, which stood between Israel and Judah, would be the staff of favor, to guide them with gentleness, ease, peace, and equity. But He said in reproach of the generation that it was the opposite: the staff that was against the nations was the staff of favor, for they were submissive and enslaved to the nations; and the staff that was to establish brotherhood among the children of Israel was the staff of shattering, to oppress them with harsh labor.

"And I will slay the three shepherds in one month." And they corrupted their ways until I loathed them and killed them in one month, all three shepherds whom I killed: namely, all the house of Ahab, and the house of Ahaziah, king of Judah, and his brothers, and all the seed of the royal house of David; and Athaliah destroyed the remainder, except for Joash, who was hidden (II Kings 9). “And my soul is weary of them.” I loathe them. And every expression of “weary soul” refers to a matter of distress or a matter of disgust that the mind cannot bear, and the heart and bowels are constrained from containing it, as Elihu said, “The spirit within me is troubled” (Job 32:18). Their soul also loathed Me. Their memory was much within My innards, filling My spirit and distressing My belly. And 'bachalah' — our Rabbis interpreted as an expression of maturity, in Tractate Niddah: the Sages gave a parable of a woman — 'paggah, bochal, and tzemel': 'paggah' — when she is still a child; 'bochal' — the days of youth, when she has already grown; and they brought this verse as proof for their words.

"And I will cause the three shepherds to perish in one month." These are the sons of Josiah: Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, and Zedekiah. These three died by the hand of their enemies. But Jehoiachin, the son of Jehoiakim, although he was exiled, was not cut off, for from him the royal line of the House of David descended. But these three were cut off, for from the lineage of neither Jehoahaz nor Zedekiah did a king arise, and Jehoiakim died in disgrace, being dragged and thrown. And these three were at the end of the destruction of the land and the exile of the land, for between the three of them they reigned only twenty-two years and four months, and all of them were in distress. And what is stated "in one month" means in a short time, similar to which is: "A month shall devour their portions." And My soul was grieved. By way of metaphor, like 'and His soul was grieved for the misery of Israel' (Judges 10:16), and it corresponds to what Ezekiel said, 'and My soul loathed them, as My soul had loathed the house of Judah' (Ezekiel 23:18). Both verses point to the destruction of the land in the days of Zedekiah. And in saying 'and their soul also loathed Me,' it means: My soul was not grieved with them at first, but because their soul also despised Me from the first, therefore My soul was grieved with them. And Jonathan did not translate the verse 'and His soul was grieved for the misery of Israel' anthropomorphically; and he translated 'and My soul was grieved with them' as 'and My word was removed from them,' and translated 'and their soul also loathed Me' as 'for their soul was wearied of My worship.' And regarding the three shepherds, Jonathan interpreted nothing but translated it according to its plain meaning: 'and I destroyed three leaders in one month.'

“And I cut off the three shepherds.” It is the way of the chief shepherd to appoint lesser shepherds under him to serve as his assistants, and so did Zechariah when he tended the flock, saying: “Behold, in the time of one month I removed and withheld the three shepherds whom I had placed under me.” This comes to allude to the three beloved shepherds, the sons of Mattithiah ben Yochanan the High Priest, who served for thirty years and then perished from the world. For Judah served six years, Jonathan six years, and Shimon eighteen years, making thirty years in total. And since years are also referred to in the language of days, as it is stated, “His redemption shall be for days” (Leviticus 25:29), therefore the allusion comes via “a month of days,” which is thirty days. (And Mattithiah, their elderly father, is not mentioned, for he served only one year, and this was with the assistance of his sons due to his advanced age.) "And my soul was shortened in them." This means that his mind was not at ease on account of the toil of the sheep, and he despised them. “And also their soul was loath in me.” This means that even the souls of the sheep were loath in Me, because they did not heed the voice of His roaring, as is the way of sheep that recognize the voice of their shepherd and listen to him. The allusion is that after the death of the three sons of Metatiah, the LORD rejected the people of Israel, because they too had rejected Him and corrupted their ways.

"ואכחיד" – The meaning is prevention and removal, as in: "which they have not hidden from their fathers" (Job 15:18). In the month. In the month: "And my soul was faint." This expression is used to describe something that is hard to bear; similarly, "and his soul was faint unto death" (Judges 16:16). Bachalah. A matter of "disgust" (mi'us) and "aversion" (ta'uvah) has no parallel.

“And I will cause the three shepherds to perish in one month” — this implies that as long as the kings of Persia were alive, the people had rest, for the kings of Persia were kings of kindness. But suddenly the kingdom of Persia was cut off by Alexander the Great. Three kings had stood for Persia who did good deeds for Israel: Cyrus, Artaxerxes, and Darius, who granted permission for the exiles to return and to rebuild the Temple and the walls of Jerusalem (as mentioned above in Ezra and Nehemiah). This kindness of the three shepherds, who had treated them well, vanished in a single month with the death of the last Darius. From then on, the kingdom of Greece grew strong and did evil to Israel after the death of Alexander. Furthermore, our Sages of blessed memory explain that “the three shepherds” refers to the fact that the king of Persia appointed three shepherds who would govern the entire kingdom under his hand, which was divided into three provinces: Babylon, Media, and Persia, as mentioned in Daniel, chapter 6. Regarding this, Daniel saw the kingdom of Persia having three teeth in its mouth among the teeth, and they all ceased in one month with the death of Darius. Then “my soul was grieved for them,” because the Greeks began to do evil to Israel, and “their soul languished for me,” because the wicked who had abandoned the faith multiplied at that time.

And it says, "I will no longer shepherd you." I said, in those days, I will cast you from My presence, and you shall be abandoned and become prey for plunder.

And He said, “I will not shepherd you.” Before the Temple was destroyed, in the days of these three shepherds, when I saw that their deeds were evil and that no good king would arise after them, I said, “I will no longer shepherd them,” in accordance with the verse: “And I will hide My face from them, and they shall be devoured.” "The one that is to die shall die." By pestilence: And that which is to be cut off shall be cut off: by the sword. And those that remain shall eat, each the flesh of her fellow. By famine:

And I say: "I said to the owners of the flock, 'I will no longer tend the sheep of your tending.'" “Let the one who is to die, die.” This is akin to saying: Let be what will be. Whoever among them is destined to die shall die, and whoever is to be removed from the flock to go astray shall be removed and go astray, while those who remain in their place shall devour one another’s flesh, and I shall not concern Myself with the matter. This comes to hint that indeed the Omnipresent, blessed be He, said that He would withdraw His providence from them.

And the one that is hidden: Its removal from the flock. “Woman.” This implies that it refers to a single individual, just as it is written, “and woman to woman” (Exodus 26:3). Her companion. Her companion:

And it says, “I will not pasture you,” meaning that from then on their divine protection departed from them, and they were delivered into the hands of Antiochus the oppressor; the daily offering was abolished, and a desolating abomination was set up. That which is to die shall die, and that which is to be cut off shall be cut off, whether through exile or through apostasy. And those who remain shall devour one another’s flesh, for the wicked devoured the pious with their mouths.

"And I took my staff, Favor, and broke it": I broke the power of the kings of Israel in the days of Jehoahaz, son of Jehu, until the king of Aram destroyed them and made them like dust to be trodden underfoot (2 Kings 13:7); and in the days of Hoshea, son of Elah, when I delivered them into the hand of Sennacherib, who exiled them (ibid. 17). "To break My covenant which I established with all the nations. To show them that because they betrayed Me, I broke My covenant which I established with all the nations, so that they would not harm them. For this very purpose I gave them the Torah: that if they observe it, they will be free from kings, and no nation or language will rule over them. And do not wonder if the verse speaks of their salvation from an enemy immediately using the language of 'making a covenant' with the enemy, for we find a verse similar to this: 'And I will make a covenant for them on that day with the beasts of the field...'"

"And I took." "And I had already taken my staff:" “Pleasantness.” This refers to King Josiah, for there was no king after him who was good. “And I will cut him off.” By means of Pharaoh Necho I removed it. To cause it to be broken. With a tzere and a [prolonging] yod. The continuation of the statement is: Since I saw that no good king would arise after him, I removed him so that the nations would rule over Israel, for they did not observe the way of the Lord except under the compulsion of the king. As it is written, "Therefore He said, 'I will break My covenant which I made with all the nations,'" as if God had made a covenant with all the nations that they would not harm Israel, since they had not done them harm in the days of Josiah. For even Pharaoh Necho sent him a message not to fight against him.

"And I took." After that, I took my staff of pleasantness and broke it, for I despised them and no longer desired to guide them with pleasantness, but rather with a strong hand, with a rod of affliction. The allusion is to say that after the three sons of Mattithiah ben Yochanan the High Priest died, the manner of pleasant guidance ceased. To break [the covenant]. To be the cause of the breaking of the covenant, etc. For as long as the three brothers were alive, since they walked in the straight path, the Omnipresent placed power in their hands, to the extent that the nations of the world made a covenant with them to live in peace with them. But after their death, the nations turned away from them, and the governance of gentleness ceased in the rule of their sons and their seed. The Omnipresent weakened their power so that they would break the covenant and go to war against them.

And I cut off. The meaning is cutting off, as it is said: "the sycamores they cut down" (Isaiah 9:9). To annul. The matter of nullification and prohibition:

"And I took my staff, Favor, and I broke it, because from that time the covenant that I had made with the peoples was annulled, that they should not harm them; for from that time they began to oppress them, to consume them, and to destroy them."

And they knew. Thus the righteous among them, who observe the statutes, understood: For it is the word of the Lord. This decree, the Holy One, blessed be He, already spoke to us through Moses: "The Lord shall lead you and your king."

"And it was broken on that day." That covenant was broken on the day that Josiah died, for [in the time of] the three shepherds the nations dominated them: the nations plundered and looted them, killed them, and exiled them. And the poor of the sheep knew it, those who guarded Me. Those righteous ones who were among them, who guarded Me, meaning that which I spoke to them through the prophets, and they did not listen, for they did not believe them. But the good ones who were among them guarded Me, meaning My words, like “And his father kept the matter.” And when the calamity came, they knew that it was the word of the Lord.

And it was torn. This means that indeed it was so, for the covenant was broken on the day that the three brothers died, and they returned to wage war against them. And they shall know thus. He means to say that in my tending the flock and in my doing all these things, behold, the poor of the flock—meaning the humble and meek among Israel who guard His words—they shall know the truth of the matter, that it is the word of the Lord that He spoke, and that I did what I did as an allusion, and it was not a matter of triviality.

Yes. Its meaning is the truth of the matter as it is, and likewise, rightly (ken) do the daughters of Zelophehad speak (Numbers 27:7): The poor. The humble and the submissive: "Me." This means: My words.

"And it shall be broken in that day" means that even though afterward the covenant was renewed time and again with the Greeks in the days of the Hasmoneans, and later with the Romans in the days of Herod, nevertheless, the covenant was broken on that day. From then on, there was no permanent covenant, for it was broken each time. And the poor of the flock who keep me knew this—meaning the sages and those possessed of the Holy Spirit among them, who kept the watch of the Lord. They knew then that it was the word of the Lord; they understood that this was from the Lord, and that the prophets Ezekiel, Zechariah, and Daniel had already prophesied concerning this, having seen the four kingdoms that would arise to afflict Israel.

And it says: "To the remaining kings of Judah:" "If it is good in your eyes, give me my wages." Fulfill My commandments, and that shall be My wage for all the goodness that I have given you, just as one gives wages to a shepherd of sheep, and I shall return and shepherd you. "And if they do not cease." And I too will not do good to you. And so we find that the Holy One, blessed be He, said (to Ezekiel 6): "Let him who hears, hear; and let him who ceases, cease." “And they weighed my wages, thirty pieces of silver.” Jonathan [ben Uzziel] translated: “And men did My will; some good men were among them who did my will, such as the craftsman and the smith, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, [and] Ezekiel.” As for the phrase “thirty pieces of silver,” I do not know how to explain it here, except that “silver” is a term for something desirable, and our Sages also explained it so in [the tractate] Chullin. They brought proof from the verse: “He took a bundle of silver in his hand” (Proverbs 7:20). And they explained that “thirty” refers to the righteous ones, for there are thirty righteous individuals in every generation. They brought proof from the teaching: “In Babylonia there were fifteen, and in the Land of Israel there were thirty,” as it is said: “And I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the House of the Lord in the Land of Israel.” From where do we derive the number thirty? From an aggadic midrash: Our father Abraham was assured that there would never be a generation with fewer than thirty righteous people. How so? The phrase “So shall your seed be” (Genesis 15:5)—the word “shall be” (יהיה) has a gematria of thirty.

"And He said to them." This is the word of the Lord that He said to them through the prophets: “Give me my wages.” Since I shepherd you, give me my wages; and the wages are repentance and good deeds. "And if they do not cease." Just as Ezekiel said: "If they will hear and if they will cease." “And they weighed my wages, thirty pieces of silver.” There were thirty righteous men among them in those days. The three shepherds are mentioned, and we find among them Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Zephaniah. It is impossible that there were not others among them, even though they are not explicitly mentioned, for it is written: “You have given the carcass of Your servants as food for the birds of the heavens, the flesh of Your godly ones to the beasts of the earth.” And the Targum says: “And I said to them: If it is good in your eyes, do my deeds; and if not, refrain and do the deeds of the mighty.” The phrase “the mighty” refers to a certain number, meaning a few people who returned in repentance.

"And I said to them." I said to the owners of the flock: "If it is good in your eyes that I should continue to tend the flock, give me my wages in the manner that one gives to a shepherd; and if you are unwilling to give me my wages, remove the flock from me, so that I may no longer labor with them." "And they weighed." The owners of the flock weighed thirty shekels of silver as wages. It is possible that this was indeed the value assigned to the shepherd. The allusion is that the Omnipresent said to Israel: If you desire that I should watch over you, perform My service and keep My commandments, and it shall be counted to Me as a wage. But if not, I will remove My providence from you. The thirty shekels allude to the thirty righteous men in every generation, who are never diminished, as our Sages of blessed memory stated. And "silver" denotes a matter of desire, as in "was greatly desired" (Genesis 31:30), for the righteous are the delight of the eye.

“Give.” “Give” is similar to “Give of your livestock” (Genesis 47:16). Cease. Restrain:

And He said to them, “If it is good in your eyes, give me my wages,” depicting through a parable that the Holy One, blessed be He, sought from them a reward for His guarding them so that the Temple would not be destroyed and so that they would not perish at the hands of their enemies. This means that He desired that they possess merit which would serve as an intercession for them before the Holy One, blessed be He. 'And if not, forbear' — namely, if they did not give Him a reward and thus would not have merit, they would cease from being a nation. And they weighed my wages, thirty pieces of silver. Our Sages of blessed memory already explained that there is no generation in which there are not thirty righteous individuals. This means that the righteous individuals who were among them at that time, numbering thirty, gave up their lives for the sanctification of the Divine Name. And this [merit] they gave to the Holy One, blessed be He, as a reward, so that He would return to shepherd His flock and guard them.

And the Lord said to me, “Cast it into the potter.” Just as one says “into the treasury,” meaning the keeper of the treasury, so too the Holy One, blessed be He, said to the prophet: Write, and place these—they and their righteousness—so that they may be kept safe until the end of the seventy years of the Babylonian exile, and the Temple will be rebuilt through them. And what is “the treasury”? The precious stronghold, My Sanctuary; the stronghold of My glory. “Which I have taken away from them.” Which I have stripped from them, so that they should not have honor; and “taken away” means the removal of honor, and the mem in “from them” proves this, and it is like “and your root from the land of the living” and like “from a flourishing branch.” And the model of the interpretation that I have explained is akin to the Targum of Jonathan, and I have seen many versions for the interpretation of this prophecy, and I am unable to reconcile them.

And the Lord said to me, “Cast it into the potter.” The prophet said that the Holy One, blessed be He, told him to cast this silver into the potter. The commentators explained it as “the treasury,” for the letters aleph, heh, vav, yod (אהו"י) are interchangeable, and it means “keeper of the treasury.” and Targum Jonathan renders “amarkela,” meaning, by way of metaphor, that they should be set apart in the House of the Lord and be distinct from the people who do evil in the sight of the Lord. And “to the potter” is said by way of metaphor, like the verse “The Potter has formed their hearts together” (Psalm 33:15), and “He who understands all things,” etc. For He knows the good and the wicked, searching the heart and examining the kidneys, for there are those who appear good but are not good. "And I took": Thus it appeared to him in the prophetic vision, that he was taking the silver and casting it into the House of the Lord, to the potter. But this matter had already occurred many years ago, for it was in the days of the three shepherds. And this is to say by way of parable, that the righteous ones secluded themselves and separated from the people, and they were not seen with them in the streets. This is what the prophet Jeremiah said: "Roam through the streets of Jerusalem, and look in her squares, and see and know, and seek a man who does justice and seeks truth, and I will pardon her," as he explained it in the Book of Jeremiah. And what he said, "the precious potter," means the House of the Lord; that is to say, just as he said, "And I will cast it into the House of the Lord," meaning to the precious price. And what he said, "standing in the place of two," he explained as: "That which I esteemed above them"—I esteemed myself highly and withdrew from them because of the evil of their deeds. And so Targum Jonathan renders.

"Cast it aside." Cast the silver into the fortified and important treasury, which is the treasury of the House of the Lord. "Which I have exalted above them" – that is, which I have made weighty, to be above them, as a crown upon their heads. This means: the righteousness of the thirty righteous men in every generation, which is preserved to be built by their merit, the future Temple. "And I took." He did as the Omnipresent commanded him, and he cast the silver into the treasury of the House of the Lord, to allude to the aforementioned allusion.

The word "ha-yotzer" is analogous to "ha-otzer" (the One who stores up). The yod takes the place of the aleph, for the [weak] letters aleph, heh, vav, yod are interchangeable. Adar. The matter [of the word] is “strength” and “fortitude,” as in “a majestic vine” (Ezekiel 17:8). Yakar. My precious one: from the root yakar, meaning precious, honored, and esteemed.

And the Lord said to me, “Cast it to the potter.” The verse employs an allegory, indicating that the Lord commanded him to take the silver and cast it to the potter, who shapes forms in silver and fashions the image of a coin. This signifies that he was to engrave the thirty pieces of silver, which represent the thirty righteous ones who were killed for the sanctification of His Name, so that their image would be engraved before the Throne of Glory. For it is the precious robe that the Lord makes for Himself from the souls of these martyrs; this silver, which yearns, will become for the Lord a robe of honor, which I valued from upon them, that I took this preciousness from them. For precious in the eyes of the Lord is the death of His pious ones, and He takes the preciousness of their souls and clothes Himself in them as a garment of splendor. And I cast it into the House of the Lord, to the potter. He cast this silver into the House of the Lord, for by virtue of this merit the Temple was preserved and not destroyed in the days of Antiochus. This occurred by the merit of the holy ones who surrendered their lives for the honor of the Lord, and the potter shaped a form from it, so that the image of the holy ones became for the Lord a robe of honor and a garment of praise.

"And I cut off my second staff." I exiled Zedekiah. “Those who harm him.” This refers to the wicked of his generation, for he was righteous and his generation was wicked. To sever the brotherhood. That the sons of Judah and Benjamin had joined together in brotherhood and cleaved to the abominations of the kings of Israel.

And he cut off. This refers to the destruction that Zedekiah cut off, for he was the culmination of the destroyers and devastators, and he destroyed the Temple and exiled Israel. To break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel. The brotherhood that existed between Judah and Israel in the service of idolatry was then broken. For when Judah went into exile, there remained among Israel no more idolaters, because Israel, until they went into exile, did not cease from serving idols despite all the troubles that came upon them. And when they went into exile and saw that the words of the prophets were true regarding the destruction of the land, they thereafter did not serve idols. Judah also served idols until they went into exile, and when they went into exile, idolatry ceased from among them. Thus, the brotherhood that existed between them in idolatry was then broken. And so Targum Jonathan renders. Now we have explained this passage previously, and the following passage was in any case a prophecy for the future, in the time of the Second Temple. We will explain it after we have explained this passage in the context of the Second Temple. My honored father, of blessed memory, explained: Thus said the Lord: I began to pasture them, and I took for myself two staffs, choice ones, to pasture them: “Grace” and “Bonds.” “Grace” refers to the High Priest, and “Bonds” refers to the King. Regarding the High Priest, it is said, “The lips of a priest shall guard knowledge” (Malachi 2:7), and it is said, “And knowledge shall be pleasant to your soul” (Proverbs 2:10). And “Bonds” refers to the King, because he is like the chief helmsman of a ship. And these are the sheep. Even though I pastured them with these two staffs, and I removed from them other shepherds—and they are the kings of the nations—they did not return to what is good. And I sent to them three prophets to pasture them in My place, and they are Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi. But their reproof did not benefit them. I destroyed them, as it is said, “And I will destroy the three shepherds in one month” (Zechariah 11:8). From this we learn that they died in one month. And after them, there was no prophecy in Israel. And so our Sages of blessed memory stated: From the time that Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi died, prophecy departed from Israel. And so it is found that the beginning of their prophecy was at one time, in the second year of Darius. He said: “As I destroyed these three shepherds, and My soul was weary of them, and also their soul loathed Me.” And our Sages of blessed memory said: “Paga, Bochel, and Tzemel.” And they explained: “Paga” refers to the days of youth; “Bochel” means that the daughter is grown and the father is weary of her; and “Tzemel” is explained as having gone forth full-grown, meaning she is mature, and her father has despaired of marrying her off because she has remained in the house for so long. And He said, “I will not pasture them anymore.” And I took My staff, “Grace,” and I broke it. This refers to the near future of their exile, when their priesthood was lost from them. “Give Me my wages, and if it seems good to you, return in repentance and turn in repentance.” But their repentance was not complete; it was only thirty days of mourning that they mourned for the High Priest who died. This is the “thirty pieces of silver.” “They threw them to the potter,” meaning to the treasury, as explained: “To the House of the Lord, to the house of the potter.” And its meaning is written: “This prophecy, and put it in the House of the Lord.” And some explain: “To the potter” means to the congregation, like “Yotzer Govai” (the fashioner of a locust-swarm). “Adar, the precious one, which I prized above them”—the splendor and glory that I removed from them, because in the Second Temple the Divine Presence did not dwell. "Which I have cherished." Which I withheld — from 'make your foot scarce' (Proverbs 25:17). “And I will break My staff, the second one, ‘Chobelim’ (the Bonds).” This refers to the king, and he was Agrippas, for in his days Titus exiled [the Jews]. And the sage Rabbi Abraham ben HaLevi of Toledo, who composed the book Sefer HaKabbalah, interpreted this passage as follows: “I will feed the flock of slaughter”—this refers to the building of the Second Temple. And this is what it says: “And I took for myself two staffs; one I called ‘Noam’ (Favor), and the other I called ‘Chobelim’ (Bonds).” “Noam” refers to the leadership of Zerubbabel and Nehemiah the Tirshatha, who were from the House of David, and to whom the Lord gave the kingship of Israel, an everlasting covenant. “Chobelim” refers to the priesthood, for they were the ones who initially built a temple on Mount Gerizim, and they intermarried with the Samaritans, and from them apostasy emerged into the world. And in the end, Hyrcanus, the High Priest, served as High Priest for forty years, and in the end he became a Sadducee and killed the priests, he and his son Alexander. And so was the opinion of Aristobulus, his grandson, inclined. “And I will cause the three shepherds to perish in one month”—these three great ones are an allusion to the leadership of the House of David, the kingship of the Hasmoneans, and the kingship of their servants. And He called all the days of the Second Temple “one month,” because in His eyes they were like a few days. And this is what it says: “And I took My staff, ‘Noam,’ and broke it, to annul My covenant...” This refers to the deaths of Zerubbabel and Nehemiah, for the love was cut off and the covenant that existed between them and the kings of Persia was annulled. And this is what it says: “If it seems good to you...” This is what He said to them when He was shepherding them with His second staff, “Chobelim,” as if He said: “If it seems good to you to walk in the ways of the Lord, and they weighed out my wages, thirty pieces of silver”—this is an allusion to the thirty years that the kings of kindness reigned. And these are: Mattathias, called Maccabee, for one year; his son Judah for six years; his son Jonathan for six years; and his son Simon for eighteen years—this makes thirty-one years. And if there were missing months among them, they were counted as thirty years that the kings of faithfulness reigned. And this is what it says: “And the Lord said to me, ‘Throw it to the potter’—the handsome price at which I was valued by them.” That is to say, “Adar” is [the time], and “Yakar” (price) is the reward, and it ought to have been [used] for sacrifices and for the atonement of the congregation’s lives. And He called them “Yozer” (potter), and the meaning of “Yozer” is as it says, “And behold, one forming a locust-swarm.” And this is what it says: “And I threw it to the potter in the House of the Lord,” according to the first manner [of interpretation]. And I cut off my second staff, the Destroyers (Chovlim). This is the uprooting of the Hasmonean kingdom in the days of the Chovlim, among whom were Hyrcanus and Aristobulus and their sons — [the staff destined] to break the brotherhood in Judah; that is, [the staff] which stood to break the brotherhood, as it is written 'and the beauty of his ornament, he set it for pride' (Ezekiel 7:20), and its meaning is 'which for pride he set it.' And 'between the Chovlim' [means] that they divided Israel into two kingdoms, as Jeroboam son of Nebat did, when in his days the kingdom of the House of David was divided and the brotherhood between Judah and Israel was broken.

And I cut off. After this, I severed the second staff, the staff of the oppressors, and I no longer desired to govern them at all. The allusion is to say that after this, the governance of the oppressors too was abolished, for the authority was taken away from the priests, the sons of Hashmonai. "To separate." This means that the actual severing of the rule of the priests, the Hasmonean descendants, would be the cause for the abolition of the brotherhood that existed between Judah and Israel, for they alone were called brothers to one another, and no stranger passed among them, and none was fit to reign over them in Jerusalem except one of them, as it is stated, "You shall surely set a king over you... from among your brothers" (Deuteronomy 17:15). And when the rule of the priests, the Hasmonean descendants, was abolished, it was as if the brotherhood between Israel and Judah was also abolished, for a stranger passed among them, for Herod reigned over them and he was not of the seed of Israel, and it was as if the brotherhood was abolished, and whoever wished to enter could come and enter.

And "it was cut off" (ve'agda): After this, the second stick was also cut off by the Sadducees, who multiplied among them. Consequently, the internal peace was also nullified, and the second stick of the "staff of association" was cut off; its purpose had been to guide them in their religious and moral conduct. For the sects of the Sadducees and the Pharisees consumed one another, and the kings were pressured by both sects, as is known from the history of the Second Temple period. In this way, the brotherhood between Judah and Israel was broken. He called the Sages of Torah "Judah" and the masses "Israel," for such was the distinction between these two names in the First Temple period: the sons of Judah were worshippers of God, whereas the sons of Israel were the Ten Tribes. In the Second Temple period, there was peace between them, with no breach in faith and no departure from religious practice. Now, however, this brotherhood was broken, and a breach was made upon a breach.

“Take also for yourself...” This is what He said to him above: “Shepherd the flock of slaughter — it is a sign that I am destined to deliver this generation of the destruction of the Second Temple into the hands of Titus.”

And the Lord said to me again, “Take for yourself the implements of a foolish shepherd.” These are the servants. “Woe, a worthless shepherd who abandons the flock; a sword is upon his arm and upon his right eye; his arm shall be dried up, and his right eye shall be dimmed.” This refers to King Agrippa, who brought up Vespasian and Titus against the Land of Israel, and the officers of the wicked ones who committed all these evils. And the Lord said to me again, “Take for yourself the implements of a foolish shepherd.” The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Zechariah that he should take for himself the implements of a foolish shepherd in the prophetic vision, and this is a sign for a king who will arise in Israel in the time of the Second Temple, who will conduct his deeds in madness. And the implements of the foolish shepherd are different from the implements of any other shepherd, for the implements of the shepherd are like a sack in which the shepherd places bread to eat, and a cup from which he drinks, and other things that he needs in the wilderness while tending the flock. But the foolish shepherd’s implements are fewer and inferior, and his food falls from them; and when he lacks his food, he becomes angry at the flock and strikes them, and he does not show mercy to them. "Or illi." The yod is to be understood as a reference, like the yod in "achzari" (cruel), and this king is Herod, who was a slave among the descendants of the Hasmoneans, and he rose up against them and became king. He took a wife from among them and ruled his kingdom with folly, and he killed his wife and his sons, and committed many evils against Israel. And the Targum translates it as: "The governors were foolish."

"Staff of a foolish shepherd." This means: a staff with which a foolish shepherd leads his flock, whereby he ruins and loses the flock.

Vessel. That is [to say], a staff. “Fools.” A fool without knowledge.

And the Lord said to me further, “Take for yourself the equipment of a foolish shepherd.” This means that the shepherd will now be foolish, such that he will not have any staff in his hand to guide the flock—neither a staff of favor nor a staff of discipline—but rather he will possess the equipment of a shepherd who cooks the flesh of the sheep, eats them, and destroys them. For so were the last kings who stood in the Second Temple period.

The destroyed ones. Those that are lost, the shepherd will not count in order to seek them. "The lad shall not seek." Jonathan [ben Uzziel] translated: "Those that wandered off, he shall not seek; the foolish ones who do not know how to come to the corral." The standing one. That she has a little strength to stand on her feet and needs assistance to walk slowly. And Menachem interpreted: "and swollen" – the term is related to "to swell" (as in a swollen belly). "He shall not sustain them." Jonathan [ben Uzziel] translates: "He shall not support them," and this is the manner of a shepherd who carries [the lamb] in his bosom. "And the flesh of the fat ones he shall eat." He shall finish off the wealth of the rich. "And he shall tear off their hoofs" – until the end. And a similar expression was said by Daniel: "She shall devour, crush, and tread down with her feet."

"Behold, the lad." The explanation is: the lamb. “הנצבה” – the one that is standing in its place, unable to go out to graze; [therefore] one may not sustain it in its place. “And he shall tear off their hoofs.” It is not sufficient that they not be benefited, but rather they shall be harmed: with his staff he shall break their hoofs, and they shall not be able to walk. And the Targum says: “And he shall complete their destruction.”

"Behold, I am establishing." This means that this will serve as an allusion that I will set up a wicked man in the land, and it refers to the kingdom of the House of Herod. “The ones that are lost, etc.” – Those that have strayed from the flock and gone astray on a wrong path, one should not remember them in order to return them to the flock. The young one. The tender young lamb, which is in its early days, goes slowly and remains at the rear of the flock; one should not seek it, asking, "Where has it remained?" The one standing. The sick ewe that stands in its place and does not move from its place to seek pasture — he will not sustain it in its place. And as for the flesh of the fat one: He shall slaughter the fat one and eat its flesh. "And their pride shall be broken." With his staff He will break their hooves, and they will not be able to walk. This means that those who stumble and are weak in strength will not be strengthened, and He will destroy the wealthy and bring them low through harsh labor.

He shall not take account. He shall not remember: The boy. That is, the tender lamb. The standing one. The matter of standing: to provide for. The matter of supplying the need, as in “and Joseph provided for” (Genesis 47:12): The fat one (ha-beri'ah). [It means] the fat (ha-shemenah) is like the phrase "and Eglon was a very fat man" (Judges 3:17): "and their hooves": They are like shoes on the feet of animals, as it says, "the hooves of his horses" (Isaiah 5:28). Yifarek. The matter of "breaking" is like "full of plunder" (Nahum 3:1):

For behold, I am establishing a shepherd in the land who will not tend the flock: he will not inquire after the lost ones—meaning, he will not pay heed to those who have become estranged from the nation and gone into exile; he will not seek to gather the young lambs into his arms and carry them in his bosom—meaning, he will not care for their children and youth; he will not heal the broken one; nor will he sustain the one that stands—the flock that has not been broken but remains standing on its feet, he will not provide with food. And he will eat the healthy and fat of the flock, until he even breaks their hooves—meaning, he will plunder and rob the wealth of the rich among them.

Woe. One should cry out over this: The worthless shepherd. A shepherd of naught; 'elil' is an expression [related to] 'al' (not) — he is no shepherd. And likewise 'worthless physicians' (Job 13:4). In 'ro'i ha-elil,' the yod is superfluous, in place of a heh — like 'ozvi ha-tzon' (here), 'shokhni Sneh' (Deuteronomy 33:16), 'shokhni levad' (Micah 7:14). "Those who forsake the flock." They render them ownerless, at the mercy of anyone who comes to strike, kill, and plunder. A sword upon his arm and upon his right eye. And he is the shepherd who carries a slaughter-knife in his hand to slaughter the fat and the healthy, upon whom he has set his right eye to discern who are the wealthy, in order to plunder and consume their property. “His arm shall be ashamed, it shall wither.” In the future, “I will execute My vengeance” (Ezekiel 28), and those who interpret this verse interpret it as referring to Zedekiah, based on the verse, “And he blinded Zedekiah’s eyes” (Jeremiah 22). It is impossible to apply the statement “Behold, I am bringing disaster upon the land” to Zedekiah, since the seventy years [of the exile] had already passed for him.

“Woe, worthless shepherd who abandons the flock.” “Shepherd” is like “shepherd” (ro’eh), and similarly “in the tent of my shepherd” (ba’ohel ro’i) is like “abandoning” (ozve) as it is like “abandoning” (ozev), where the yod is added; and similarly “bind me to the vine” (esri legafen), “her city” (ireha), “my bow” (chitzbi), “from on high” (merom), “his grave” (kevaro), and those similar to them. "The idol." Like "the physicians of an idol," meaning something that is of no benefit; and this shepherd is Herod or Agrippa. “A sword upon his arm.” After it stated, “It shall be dried up, it shall wither; it shall be darkened, it shall be dimmed,” the verse did not wish to say a literal sword, but rather means destruction, as the sword destroys. And when it says “his arm,” it means that his strength will be destroyed. And when it says “the eye of his right hand,” it means that his foresight and counsel in his deeds will be destroyed. And “the eye of his right hand” means the eye of the heart. And so wrote the sage Rabbi Abraham Ibn Ezra, of blessed memory. But he did not explain the matter of the passage in the manner that we have explained it.

“Woe, worthless shepherd.” Woe to you, you who shepherd without any benefit, abandoning the flock and going your way. This refers to Agrippa the King, the last of the Herodian dynasty, who abandoned his people and allied himself with the destroyers of the Temple, as stated in Josephus. “The sword upon my arm.” The sword will come upon his arm, meaning his strength will be broken and severed. And upon the right eye. This means that what he was gazing at, observing, and anticipating—namely, the restoration of his kingdom—behold, the sword shall come upon that hope, for it shall be cut off and have no future. “His arm shall be ashamed, it shall wither.” This means that his strength shall weaken. “Darkened shall be darkened.” This means that he will not see the thing for which he is waiting. It is a repetition of the same idea expressed in different words.

"Hoy" is like "oy." Roei. Like ro'eh with a he: The idol. The meaning is something that has no benefit, as it is written: “Shepherd of an idol” (Job 13:4). "Those who forsake." The yod is superfluous: “His arm.” The meaning is strength, for it is situated in the arm. “It shall surely wither.” The word is derived from the term yavashut (dryness). "כהה תכהה" – "It shall be dull, it shall be dull." The meaning is cloudiness and darkness, as in "כהה הנגע" – "the plague is dull" (Leviticus 13:6).

“Woe to the worthless shepherd, who abandon the flock! A sword is upon his arm—his strength and might shall fall; and his right eye shall be darkened, it shall grow dim, for he shall make his wisdom foolish, and he shall be punished both in body and in soul.” And Abarbanel explained this as referring to Agrippa, who was the last king to fall by the sword in Rome, and his son, who was a good man, was slain together with him; this is what is likened to “his right eye.”