Bible Verses and Early Church Commentary | Historical Christian Faith

[AD 420] Jerome on Zechariah 11:1

(Chapter 11, Verse 1) Open your gates, Lebanon, and let the fire devour your cedars. Howl, fir tree, for the cedar has fallen; the majestic trees are ruined. Wail, you oaks of Bashan, for the thick forest has been cut down. LXX: Open your gates, Lebanon, and let the fire devour your cedars. Let the pine tree wail, for the cedar has fallen; the nobles have been crushed. Wail, you oaks of Bashan, for the dense forest has been laid waste. Clearly, Lebanon, to which the prophetic discourse is directed, saying: Open, Lebanon, your gates, the temple of the Jews is understood, which was restored, rebuilt by Zerubbabel, again sung to be destroyed by Vespasian and Titus. And because he had metaphorically called Lebanon a temple, and he maintains the same translation in the rest, so that through cedars and firs and oaks of Bashan and a wooded grove, he signifies the leaders, priests, and people of the Jews. But Lebanon opens its gates so that the Roman army can enter, and its cedars are consumed by fire, so that everything is either devastated by the conflagration or its leaders and princes are consumed by enemy attack. The firs wail, because the cedar has fallen, and the priests and leaders mourn their people in return. And what he previously said obscurely, he now presents more clearly, because the magnificent ones have been laid waste. I desire to know which are the cedars of Lebanon that have been burned, which firs wail, and which pines have fallen; for, he says, the magnificent ones have been laid waste. Howl, O oak tree of Bazan, that is, of confusion and ignominy, for the well-fortified forest, which is called Besor in Hebrew and is translated by the LXX as wooded and cut down; for the temple, which had grown in impregnable strength and was built by various kings and princes, and later by Herod, was destroyed by the Romans' attack. Some people, not understanding this place, attribute the strength of the Lebanon, the cedars, the pines, and the oak of Bazan, along with the wooded and fortified forest, to opposing powers, about which it is said in Ezekiel under the name of Assyria and Pharaoh: Behold, Assyria is a cypress tree in Lebanon, with fair branches and a dense shade, and tall in stature, and its top was among the clouds: it was nourished by water, and the abyss made it tall, and so on, which are said about both Assyria and Pharaoh, they are thought to be spoken of either opposing powers or proud rulers and princes, about whom we also read in the Psalm: The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars; indeed, the Lord shatters the cedars of Lebanon. And in another place: Day of the Lord of hosts comes upon all the haughty and proud, and upon all that is exalted and lofty (Isaiah 22:12, 13). And a little later: And upon all the high cedars of Lebanon (or, the lofty ones), and upon all the trees of Bashan. And about this Lebanon it is prophesied: Lebanon with its lofty ones will fall. But let us follow the earlier interpretation, especially since what follows also agrees with this meaning.

Source: Commentary on Zechariah

[AD 1781] Richard Challoner on Zechariah 11:1

Thy cedars: Thy princes and chief men.

[AD 1781] Richard Challoner on Zechariah 11:1

O Libanus: So Jerusalem, and more particularly the temple, is called by the prophets, from its height, and from its being built of the cedars of Libanus.-- Ibid.

[AD 420] Jerome on Zechariah 11:3

(Verse 3) The voice of the shepherds howls, because their magnificence has been laid waste. The voice of the lions' roar, because the pride of the Jordan has been laid waste. LXX: The voice of the mourners of the shepherds, because their magnificence has become miserable. The voice of the roaring lions, because the roaring of the Jordan has been subdued. This is the upper part of the chapter, and it is contained in these verses. Those he had called cedars, spruce trees, pines, and oaks of Bashan, and explaining what these trees represented, he said: Because the magnificent ones have been laid waste, now in another figure of speech he says that the shepherds, that is, the leaders and teachers, and those who were first among the people, ought to weep and mourn, because their magnificence and beauty and glory have been laid waste and destroyed: namely, the temple in which they boasted. And the voice, he says, is the roaring of lions, whom he now calls the same lions, the lofty trees, and again the shepherds. And because he had mentioned lions, he preserves the translation that he may infer: For the pride of the Jordan is laid waste, or the roaring and sound of the flowing water, which is called Gaon in Hebrew. And just as he compared the height of the temple to the elevation of the land of Judea near the height of Lebanon (for nothing is higher in the land of promise than Lebanon, nor more wooded and dense), so he joined the roar of lions to the Jordan river, which is the largest in Judea, near which the lions dwell, because of their burning thirst, and because of the proximity and wideness of the vast desert, and the reeds, and the marshes. And through the prophet it is said: The lion has come up from the Jordan (Jer. IV, 7), desiring to show that Nebuchadnezzar had left his abode, like a lion coming out of its den, against Jerusalem. Alternatively: The voice of the roaring lions, for the pride of the Jordan is laid waste. The voice, he says, of the nobles, because the temple has been destroyed, from which they always hoped for help, and which once nourished righteous ones and warriors and the powerful lions.

Source: Commentary on Zechariah

[AD 420] Jerome on Zechariah 11:4-5

(Vers. 4, 5.) Thus says the Lord my God: Feed the sheep of slaughter, which those who possessed them were slaughtering, and they did not grieve, and they were selling them saying: Blessed be the Lord, we have become rich, and their shepherds did not spare them. LXX: Thus says the Lord Almighty: Feed the sheep of slaughter, which those who possessed them were killing, and they did not repent, and those who were selling them, said: Blessed be the Lord, we have become rich, and their shepherds were not patient with them. Where a most clear prophecy is, and the true order of history is narrated through translation, the interpretation of tropes is superfluous, such as when we say that some are good shepherds and others are bad, and this applies both to the old people as well as to the new, that is, both to the priests and rulers of the Jews as well as to the bishops and priests of the Christians, and to whoever the negligent shepherds may be, and if they scandalize one of the least of these, they themselves are the ones who slaughter the sheep and do not suffer anything on them, nor do they grieve, nor can they say with the Apostle: Who is scandalized and I am not burned (I Cor. XI)? And they sell the people entrusted to them, of whom it is written: 'Who devour my people like bread' (Ps. 52:5), and from the deaths of others they acquire riches, praising those who plunder the poor, and blessing the unjust. Let others interpret these things as they wish: let us hold the order of explanation that we once embraced. For Lebanon is laid open, and its cedars and firs are consumed by the burning flame, the howling of shepherds is heard, and the roaring of lions, for all the beauty and pride of the Jordan is laid waste and consumed. Therefore, the Lord my God spoke these words to me: 'O prophet Zechariah, this word is conveyed to you: Feed the flock of slaughter,' that is, for now let it be nurtured and grow, for it will later be killed by the enemy. These sheep and cattle, the princes of the Romans who possessed and maintained them by the right of victory, slaughtered and showed no mercy, or they sacrificed them and felt no pain, that is, they suffered no harm for so much cruelty, and they sold what they withheld not out of mercy, but for a price. We read old histories and traditions of the lamenting Jews, that in the tabernacle of Abraham (where now, every year, a very famous market is held) after the last destruction, which they endured from Adrian, many thousands of people were sold, and those who could not be sold were transported to Egypt and were cut off by shipwreck, famine, and the slaughter of nations. Therefore, these conquerors and avengers of the Lord who killed without remorse and sold cattle and said: Blessed be the Lord, we have become rich, had this belief. Because of their sins, we offended the Jews: therefore we oppressed them, and became rich from their price. It is not surprising, he says, that the enemies were killing the sheep of the conquered justly, and they did not grieve, they sold them, and they boasted in their own wickedness; since their shepherds and teachers themselves did not spare them, and because of their fault, the flock was handed over to wolves.

Source: Commentary on Zechariah

[AD 390] Gregory of Nazianzus on Zechariah 11:5

Whenever I remember Zechariah, I shudder at the reaping hook and likewise at his testimony against the priests, his hints in reference to the celebrated Joshua, the high priest, whom he represents as stripped of filthy garments and then clothed in rich priestly apparel. As for words and charges to Joshua which he puts into the angel’s mouth, let them be treated with silent respect, as referring perhaps to a greater and higher object than those who are many priests. But even at his right hand stood the devil, to resist him, a fact, in my eyes, of no slight significance and demanding no slight fear and watchfulness. Who is so bold and adamant of soul as not to tremble and be abashed at the charges and reproaches deliberately urged against the rest of the shepherds? A voice, he says, of the howling of the shepherds. A voice of the roaring lions, for this has befallen them. Does he not all but hear the wailing as if close at hand, and himself wail with the afflicted. A little further is a more striking and impassioned strain. Feed, he says, the flock of slaughter, whose possessors slay them without repentance. They sell them saying, “Blessed be the Lord, for we are rich,” yet their own shepherds are without feeling for them. Therefore I will no more pity the inhabitants of the land, says the Lord almighty. And again: “Awake, O sword, against the shepherds, and smite the shepherds, and scatter the sheep, and I will turn my hand upon the shepherds”; and, “My anger is kindled against the shepherds, and I will visit the lambs,” adding to the threat those who rule over the people. So industriously does he apply himself to his task that he cannot easily free himself from denunciations, and I am afraid that if I referred to the whole series, I should exhaust your patience. This must then suffice for Zechariah.

Source: IN DEFENSE OF HIS FLIGHT TO PONTUS, ORATION 2:62-64

[AD 420] Jerome on Zechariah 11:6-7

(Verse 6, 7) And I will no longer spare those who dwell on the earth, says the Lord. Behold, I will deliver each man into the hand of his neighbor and into the hand of his king, and they shall strike the earth, and I will not deliver it from their hand. And I will feed the sheep of slaughter, O you poor of the flock. LXX: Therefore, I will no longer spare the inhabitants of the earth, says the Lord. And behold, I will deliver each man into the hands of his neighbor and into the hand of his king, and they shall strike the earth, and I will not deliver it from their hand, and I will feed the sheep of slaughter in Canaan. What the Seventy translated in the last chapter: 'And I will feed the sheep of slaughter in the land of Canaan', is not in Hebrew, and is not translated by any other interpreter. Therefore, since their shepherds did not spare them, but themselves devoured my first people, for this reason, I will no longer spare the inhabitants of the land of Judea, says the Lord. For he speaks of this land, of which the discourse was to him, and not of the world, as the Jews, interpreting poorly, want to distort the meaning of God into another part. For after the destruction of the temple (which happened to them because for forty-two years, from the time the Lord suffered, having received opportunity, they refused to repent), he says, 'I will send one against the other, and they will cut each other to pieces with mutual slaughter, whether in the very siege of the temple, when the Roman army will surround Jerusalem, for there will be such wars and dissensions among the Jews that the people will be divided into three parts.' We read the seven books of the Jewish captivity, and we see that this prophecy has been fulfilled, confirmed by historical truth. 'And they will fall,' he says, 'the land, undoubtedly the Romans will destroy all the land and cities of the Jews. And I will not rescue them from their hand.' Listen, O Jews, who hold vain hopes for yourselves, and do not listen to the Lord who says and affirms: 'I will not rescue them from their hands,' that your future captivity among the Romans will be eternal. And I will feed the flock of slaughter, so that the Jews may always be nourished unto death; because this is God's decree: O you who are poor of the flock, that is, the righteous of Israel, who have believed in the Lord Jesus and have received the Son of God, listen to what is being said and learn the sacraments of the following chapter. And as we read in the Septuagint: And I will feed the sheep of slaughter in the land of Canaan, we can understand that the Lord will feed and nourish the Jewish people, who are destined for death and scattered throughout the whole world (that is, in the land of Canaan and among the Gentiles), for the purpose of sacrifice.

Source: Commentary on Zechariah

[AD 1781] Richard Challoner on Zechariah 11:6

Every one into his neighbour's hand: This alludes to the last siege of Jerusalem, in which the different factions of the Jews destroyed one another; and they that remained fell into the hands of their king, that is, of the Roman emperor, of whom they had said, John 19. 15, we have no king but Caesar.

[AD 1781] Richard Challoner on Zechariah 11:7

Two rods: Or shepherd's staves, meaning the different ways of God's dealing with his people; the one, by sweet means, called the rod of Beauty: the other, by bands and punishments, called the Cord. And where both these rods are made of no use or effect by the obstinacy of sinners, the rods are broken, and such sinners are given up to a reprobate sense, as the Jews were.

[AD 420] Jerome on Zechariah 11:8-9

(Verse 8, 9.) And I took for myself two staffs: one I called Beauty, and the other I called Cords (or Funicles); and I fed the flock. And I cut off three shepherds in one month, and my soul was grieved with them; for their soul also varied against me. And I said, I will not feed you; let it die, let it die; and let it be cut off, let it be cut off; and let the rest eat every one the flesh of another. LXX: And I will take for myself two staffs: one to be called Beauty, and the other I called Cords (or Funicles), and I will feed the sheep. And I will take away three shepherds in one month, and my soul will be embittered against them: for their soul also roared upon me. And I said, I will not feed you: that which is dying, let it die: and that which is cut off, let it be cut off: and let the rest devour every one the flesh of his neighbor. The Lord God had said: Feed the sheep of the slaughter, which their possessors have killed, and do not sin against them to glory, that a buyer may be found for them over them, and their possessors may say: Blessed be the Lord, for I am become rich: and their shepherds will have no pity for them. For I will no more have mercy on the inhabitants of the land, saith, the Lord. And this seemed to be said about one Jewish people, that having killed the prophets, they even laid hands on the Son of God and shouted with a rash voice: His blood be on us and on our children (Matthew 27:25)! Now the Creator of the universe and the Lord explains the mysteries of his world, and says that he had two staffs, one of which he called Beauty, the other Cords, and he fed the flock while being bound with these two staffs; he also cut down three shepherds in one month, and my soul was angry with them; undoubtedly the shepherds signify those whom he cut down in one month. And he explained the reason why he was so indignant with the shepherds that he killed them all in one month: 'Because,' he said, 'their souls changed towards me. And the meaning is this: They did not love me with their whole heart. The hireling shepherds loved the shepherd, not truly me. For the good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep (John 10:11)'. Therefore, I also expressed my indignation and spoke to the shepherds themselves, whom I had killed in my anger, or to the remaining flock after the shepherds were killed: 'I will not feed you; but let him who has chosen death die by his own will, and let them devour each other and tear each other apart with mutual slaughter.' We have said these things paraphrastically, in order to pave the way for future interpretation. The Creator and Shepherd, whose sheep know his voice and follow him, took for himself two staffs, or two rods, which in Hebrew are called Macaloth, to demonstrate the appearance of a shepherd. He called one staff Beauty, that is, he protected all the human race with his blessing, from the time of Noah, when the world was restored and sin had not yet defiled it. And for this reason, the calling of all nations is called honorable and beautiful, because nothing is more just than to equally call the parent of the universe, those whom he generated with equal conditions. And another he called the boundaries; for when the Most High was dividing the nations, and dispersing the sons of Adam, he established the boundaries of the nations, according to the number of God's angels (Deut. XXXII). And the part of the Lord became his people Jacob; the boundaries of his inheritance, Israel. And he said, 'I pastured the flock, whether it was Israel itself or the entire human race with Israel.' And he said, 'I cut down three shepherds in one month.' I read in the commentaries of someone: 'The shepherds of the Lord who were cut down with indignation are understood to be the priests, false prophets, and kings of the Jews; because after the passion of Christ, all things were cut down at once, of which Jeremiah speaks: 'The priests did not say, 'Where is the Lord?' Those who hold onto my law did not know me.' And the shepherds have transgressed against me, and the prophets prophesied in Baal, and they have followed idols (Jeremiah 2:8). Not satisfied with this explanation, he wants to interpret that the three shepherds who were cut off in one month refer to those who have sinned against the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; for all heretics, they sin either against one, or two, or three persons simultaneously. Let him say what he wishes, for his interpretation must not be undermined. We have three shepherds who were killed in one month, Moses seems to be, and Aaron, and Mary (Num. 20); of whom Mary died in the first month, which is called Nisan (), in the desert of Sin, and in the same place because of the water of contradiction, and in the same month, Moses and Aaron were condemned, so that they would not enter the promised land. And so it happened, that out of the three shepherds, one was struck by immediate death, and the others by the sentence of future death. And my soul was contracted, he says, against them: specifically against the three shepherds whom I had placed over my flock. Because their soul also changed towards me, for they did not glorify me at the water of contradiction. But if we refer to the people, that the soul of the people has changed towards God, it must be explained in this way: Therefore, I was angry with them, because they themselves, being wavering between me and idols, fought against me in various ways. Therefore, being angry, I said to Moses: I will not feed you: leave me, and I will destroy them (Exod. XXXII, 10). However, when he says 'Forgive me' in anger, he incites to ask and shows that he can be held back by it. 'Let him die who is destined to die, and let him be cut off who is destined to be cut off; let all bodies be destroyed in solitude, and turned against each other in sedition, like animals tearing each other with mutual bites, and let no one enter the land of promise. Some understood the two callings of Jews and Gentiles, in the first Israel, and in the last by the name Christians. But they did not pay enough attention to how the Christian calling had been previously discarded, and how the Jews remained and were fed by God.

Source: Commentary on Zechariah

[AD 420] Jerome on Zechariah 11:8

We may understand this historically of Moses and Aaron. Moses—and Aaron also—was conducted to but not inducted into the Promised Land. Jesus took Moses’ place. Be sure you grasp the significance of what is written. Moses died in a desert; Aaron died; Mary died; and hear now what is written in the prophet: “In a single month I did away with three shepherds.” They died, for they could not enter the Promised Land. They merely looked over toward the land of promise, but enter it they could not. The Jews beheld the Promised Land but could not enter it. They died in the desert, and their dead bodies lie in the wilderness, the corpses of those who died in the desert. We, their children, under the leadership of Jesus, have come to the Jordan and have entered the Promised Land; we have come to Gilgal and have been circumcised with spiritual circumcision and have been cleansed of the reproach of Egypt. Even now Jesus himself, our leader, holds the sword and always goes before us and fights for us and conquers our adversaries. For seven days, we march around the city of Jericho, in other words, this world. We sound the priestly trumpets and march around Jericho, this world, and the walls fall, and we enter and consider ourselves victors. Next we conquer the city Ai; then go to Jebus, to Azor, to other cities; we conquer the enemies that we were unable to vanquish under Moses.

Source: HOMILIES ON THE PSALMS 10

[AD 1781] Richard Challoner on Zechariah 11:8

Three shepherds in one month: That is, in a very short time. By these three shepherds probably are meant the latter princes and high priests of the Jews, whose reign was short.

[AD 458] Theodoret of Cyrus on Zechariah 11:9

We find the God of the universe often giving rein to humanity because of the excess of its wickedness, and he allows the human race to be borne where it will. Of this he has warned us speaking through his prophet to Israel: “And I said, ‘I will not tend you. That which dies, let it die, and that which perishes, let it perish; and for the rest let each devour the flesh of his neighbor.’ ” When wicked rulers are in control, and cruel, harsh masters rule households, then we should implore the one who directs the universe and, by conversion of life and a change in our ways, make supplication, rousing him to help us, fervently begging him to give us better times.

Source: ON DIVINE PROVIDENCE 7:38

[AD 420] Jerome on Zechariah 11:10-11

(Vers. 10, 11.) And I took my staff, which was called Beauty, and I cut it in two to break the covenant that I had made with all the peoples. And it was broken on that day, so the poor of the flock, who were watching me, knew that it was the word of the Lord. LXX: And I will take my beautiful staff and throw it away, to break the covenant that I had made with all the peoples, and it will be broken on that day, and the Canaanites will know that the sheep, which are being watched, are the word of the Lord. After the calling of the Israelites and the assumption of the second rod, which was called a cord, the Lord took the first rod, called "glory," and cut them off from his worship, because they worshipped idols, and all turned aside, becoming useless together (Psalm 14). And in order to make it more clear what this rod was, he added: "So that I might nullify my covenant which I made with all the people: For as soon as Israel was assumed, the multitude of the nations was cast aside: and as the daughter of the Archisynagogue was born, who is later narrated in the Gospel to be twelve years old, she began to bleed and suffer from a permanent illness (Mark 5; Matthew 9). And it was rendered null and void, he said, the covenant which I had made with all the nations. And the poor of the flock, that is, the people of Israel who keep my commandments, understood that the word of the Lord, that is, the will of the Lord, is to reject the nations that deny Him and to accept the Israelites in the line of Abraham. Because we have interpreted it, and the poor of the flock understood it thus, the Seventy translated it, and the Canaanites will know, the sheep that are entrusted to me, that some have explained: The people of the Jews will know, to whom it was said: The seed of Canaan, and not of Judah (Dan. XIII, 56); who now keep my ceremonies: whether because the Canaanites interpret it as being ready for humility, they will know those who were once ready to be humbled by the Lord and be left behind. But why they insulted us, poor people, for what we have interpreted, the reason is clear: among the Hebrews, thus, Chen () is said: Anie (), poor people; they connect those two words together, for what it is, thus poor people, that is, Chen Anie (, the name of the Canaanite people has been interpreted.

Source: Commentary on Zechariah

[AD 60] Matthew on Zechariah 11:12

Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What is that to us? see thou to that. And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself. And the chief priests took the silver pieces, and said, It is not lawful for to put them into the treasury, because it is the price of blood. And they took counsel, and bought with them the potter's field, to bury strangers in. Wherefore that field was called, The field of blood, unto this day. Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying, And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him that was valued, whom they of the children of Israel did value; And gave them for the potter's field, as the Lord appointed me. [Zechariah 11:12]

[AD 386] Cyril of Jerusalem on Zechariah 11:12

Hear now in regard to thirty pieces of silver: “And I will say to them, ‘If it seems good to you, give me my wages, or refuse.’ ” One recompense is due me for curing the blind and the lame, and I receive another; instead of thanksgiving, dishonor, and instead of worship, insult. Do you see how Scripture foresaw all this? “And they counted out my wages, thirty pieces of silver.” O prophetic accuracy! A great and unerring wisdom of the Holy Spirit! For he did not say ten or twenty but thirty, exactly the right amount. Tell also what happened to this payment, O prophet! Does he who received it keep it, or does he give it back? And after its return what becomes of it? The prophet says, “So I took thirty pieces of silver, and I cast them into the house of the Lord, into the foundry.” Compare with the prophecy of the Gospel, which says, “Judas repented and flung the pieces of silver into the temple and withdrew.”

Source: Catechetical Lecture 13:10

[AD 411] Tyrannius Rufinus on Zechariah 11:12

You observe that he was appraised by the traitor’s covetousness at thirty pieces of silver. Of this also the prophet speaks, “And I said to them, If you think good, give me my price, or if not, forbear”; and “presently, I received from them,” he says, “thirty pieces of silver, and I cast them into the house of the Lord, into the foundry.” Is not this what is written in the Gospels, that Judas, “repenting of what he had done, brought back the money, and threw it down in the temple and departed”? Well did he call it his price, as though blaming and upbraiding. For he had done so many good works among them, he had given sight to the blind, feet to the lame, the power of walking to the palsied, life also to the dead; for all these good works they paid him death as his price, appraised at thirty pieces of silver. It is related also in the Gospels that he was bound. This also the word of prophecy had foretold by Isaiah, saying, “Woe to their soul, who have devised a most evil device against themselves, saying, ‘Let us bind the just one, seeing that he is unprofitable to us.’ ”

Source: COMMENTARY ON THE APOSTLES’ CREED 20

[AD 420] Jerome on Zechariah 11:12-13

(Verse 12, 13.) And I said to them: If it is good in your eyes, give me my reward, and if not, stop; and they gave me my reward, thirty pieces of silver. And the Lord said to me, Throw them (Vulgate: it) to the potter, a handsome price at which I was appraised by them: and I took the thirty pieces of silver, and threw them into the house of the Lord to the potter. LXX: And I will say to them: If it is good in your sight, give those who determine my reward, or refuse. And they set my wages at thirty pieces of silver. And the Lord said to me: Put them in the melting pot, and see if they are proven, as I have been proven for them. And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and put them in the house of the Lord in the melting pot. To the poor shepherds of the Israelite flock, who keep my commandments, it is the word of the Lord that I spoke, and the truths that I said, he said to them, that is, to the poor shepherds, if it pleases you (for you are men and I created you with free will, to whom I also spoke in the wilderness: If you listen to me, you will eat the good things of the land (Isa. 1)) for this assumption, by which I rejected the whole human race, and chose you as my special flock, and desired to have a small cord, give me my wages, that is, keep my commandments. But if you do not want to give payment, and it is not pleasing in your eyes to be considered in my name, openly refuse, and do what you want. And those indeed responded to Moses: Whatever the Lord says, we will do (Exod. XXIV, 3). But in the end of times, because I chose them from among the nations, and I freed them from the iron furnace of Egypt, they paid my payment with thirty silver coins, giving them to the Jewish traitor for my blood (Matt. XXVI). And he said, as the prophet said, the Lord said to me, or rather, the Savior, whose words are before, that the Father spoke to him, testifying: Cast it to the sculptor: for which in Hebrew is read Joser (), that is, the sculptor, whom we can call the maker and potter. And the meaning is: Cast my price to the sculptor, who is the Creator and maker of all things. And he did not say, put down; but, cast, so that the payment of the Lord could be judged by the judgment of the sculptor and the potter. And ironically, seeing his own worth, that is, the divine majesty, for thirty pieces of silver, and being betrayed for such a cheap price: 'This,' he says, 'is the price at which I am appraised by them; but it should be read more closely with the mockery and derision of the speaker: 'So much did my people, and the poor flock once chosen by me as children, judge me worthy of buying and selling. And I, says the Lord through the prophet, as it had been commanded to me by God, took thirty pieces of silver and did not keep them, but threw them into the house of the Lord to the potter: in the house of the Lord, I made them be given to the priests and Pharisees, the very ones who sold me, confessing: 'I have sinned, betraying innocent blood' (Matthew 27:4). But because they considered it the price of blood, they did not want to return it to the treasury, that is, the treasury; but they bought with it a potter's field as a burial place for strangers. For all of us who were foreigners and strangers to the Law have been redeemed by his precious blood, and we are buried and rest in the house of the potter and the Creator of all. For πλάστῃ and fictore, I have once interpreted as a sculptor, forced by the ambiguity of the word, which signifies both a sculptor and a maker of statues. The Jews, interpreting this passage maliciously, mention thirty pieces of silver, and they mention thirty commandments of the Law, which they are commanded to do in the Law, and again thirty-six others which are prohibited in the Law, and they say that they should return the silver of the Lord's commandments to their own goldsmith and maker: but because they did not want to do this, they were rejected. I wanted to briefly indicate what they think, otherwise I am tired of going through their tedious explanation, so let's move on to the rest.

Source: Commentary on Zechariah

[AD 1781] Richard Challoner on Zechariah 11:13

The statuary: The Hebrew word signifies also a potter.

[AD 420] Jerome on Zechariah 11:14

(Verse 14) And I cut off my second staff, called 'Favor,' in order to break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel. Septuagint: And I threw away my second staff, called 'Favor,' in order to annul the covenant that existed between Judah and Israel. And in this place, I came across a long explanation, or rather, intricate puzzles, that I read in the volume of Ezekiel, bringing together the two staffs into one community, and all the things that should be spiritually understood about the harmony between Judah and Ephraim, fitting in with this chapter. But let us follow the order of events. After the Lord was crucified by the Jews, being valued at thirty pieces of silver, and the price of his blood was thrown into the burial place of the Gentiles, who were strangers to the Law and the commandments of God, immediately the Lord, not delaying his judgment any longer, said, 'Cut off my second staff, which was properly mine, and which clung to me in such a way that in Jeremiah it is called a loincloth and a belt and a girdle, or, using the customary word, a hip-band: this second staff, once called a rope and my portion, has been cast away by me, in order that I might dissolve the covenant and brotherhood and harmony that existed between Judah and Israel, and separate brothers from one another.' That in numbering the apostles and those who repented, Judas was called again and confessed his God; but Israel and Ephraim and Joseph were called, who, remaining in the hardness of their hearts, said: We have no king but Caesar (John 19:15). Therefore, he did not introduce it to make void the covenant or testament, which I had with Judah and Israel (for even to this day he extends his hand to those who repent), but to divide believers and non-believers from one people among themselves, saying: Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and a man's foes will be those of his own household. (Matthew 10:34-35).

Source: Commentary on Zechariah

[AD 390] Gregory of Nazianzus on Zechariah 11:15

Such is my defense; its reasonableness I have set forth. And may the God of peace, who made both one15 and has restored us to each other, who sets kings upon thrones and raises up the poor out of the dust and lifts up the beggar from the dunghill, who chose David his servant and took him away from the sheepfolds, though he was the least and youngest of the sons of Jesse, who gave the word19 to those who preach the gospel with great power for the perfection of the gospel—may he himself hold me by my right hand. [May he] guide me with his counsel and receive me with glory, who is a Shepherd21 to shepherds and Guide to guides. [May he guide us] that we may feed his flock with knowledge, not with the instruments of a foolish shepherd, according to the blessing, and not according to the curse pronounced against the men of former days. May he give strength and power to his people23 and himself present to himself his flock resplendent and spotless and worthy of the fold on high, in the habitation of them that rejoice, in the splendor of the saints, so that in his temple everyone, both flock and shepherds together may say, Glory27 in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be all glory forever and ever. Amen.

Source: IN DEFENSE OF HIS FLIGHT TO PONTUS, ORATION 2:117

[AD 420] Jerome on Zechariah 11:15-17

(vv. 15 seqq.) And the Lord said to me: Take for yourself the vessels of a foolish shepherd. For behold, I will raise up a shepherd in the land who will not visit those who are abandoned, he will not seek the scattered, and he will not heal the broken. And what stands, he will not nourish, and he will eat the flesh of the fat ones, and he will dissolve their hoofs. O shepherd, forsaking the flock and the idol: a sword will be upon his arm and upon his right eye, his arm will be dried up with dryness, and his right eye will be darkened with darkness. LXX: And the Lord said to me: Take yet the instruments of a foolish shepherd. For behold I will raise up a shepherd in the land, who shall not visit what is forsaken, nor seek what is scattered, nor heal what is broken, nor nourish that which standeth, and he shall eat the flesh of the fat ones, and break their hoofs. O shepherd, that feedest the sheep, woe to the idle shepherd 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. When he says, 'Take for yourself the vessels of a foolish shepherd,' it signifies that he had taken for himself two staffs, one called Favor, and the other called Union. And because he had thrown them away due to his own fault and sin, and the unity between Judah and Israel had been broken, we have been grafted into the root of the good olive tree, and blindness has come upon the house of Israel in part, until the fullness of the Gentiles comes in (Rom. 11). Now it is said to the prophet, as a most weighty foolish shepherd, or unwise, to assume the prophecy. The foolish and ignorant shepherd is undoubtedly the Antichrist; who is said to come at the end of the world, and the manner in which he will come is indicated. So we must take the shepherd's vessels, his symbols and attire, a purse, a staff, a flute, and a whistle. Just as Isaiah, in order to demonstrate the captivity of the people, enters naked (Isa. 20); and Jeremiah goes to the house of the potter, to show the destruction of the vessel which was spinning on the wheel, and to demonstrate the destruction of Israel and the power of God (Jer. 18); and Ezekiel, in order to demonstrate the overthrow of Jerusalem and the escape of Zedekiah, and the burdens of the captives, not only speaks but also demonstrates through his attire, by digging through the wall and carrying it on his shoulders (Ezek. 12); so does Zechariah take on the attire of the foolish and ignorant shepherd, to proclaim the one who is to come (Zech. 11). This shepherd will rise in Israel, for the true shepherd had said: I will no longer feed you. He is also called by another name in the prophet Daniel (Ch. IX), and in the Gospel (Mark XIII), and in the letter of Paul to the Thessalonians (II Thess. II), the abomination of desolation, who will sit in the temple of the Lord and will make himself out to be God, the one who is also referred to as the great sense through Isaiah (Isa. XXXII). And he has come for this purpose, not to heal, but to destroy the flock of Israel. For the good shepherd visits the sick sheep, seeks out the scattered ones, brings back the ones that have been left behind, and sustains the tired ones. On the other hand, the bad shepherd acts against everything, devours the flesh of the fat ones, dissolves the hooves of the rams and sheep, and perverts them so that they do not enter with a straight foot. The Jews received this shepherd, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and render useless by the brightness of his coming, so that those who did not believe the truth may not be saved but believe in falsehood and be judged because they consented to wickedness. But describing the worst, foolish, and inexperienced shepherd, the prophetic discourse is directed to him, saying: O shepherd, and idol. So wicked is the shepherd that he is not called a worshiper of idols, but he himself is named an idol, while he calls himself God, and desires to be worshiped by all. He has abandoned the flock to be devoured by beasts, which the Lord had kept for so long. A sword is upon his arm, and strength, and upon his right eye, with which he proudly claimed to see the sacraments of God sharply, and to see more than all the prophets who came before, to the extent that he called himself the Son of God. But that sword, of which we have spoken above, and of which we will now speak in part, is the one about which Isaiah also speaks: My sword has become intoxicated in the heavens (Isa. XXXIV, 5). Therefore, the sword of the Lord will be upon his arm and upon his right eye, so that its strength and all the boasting of his power may be dried up by aridity, and the knowledge which he falsely promised to himself may be obscured by eternal darkness.

Source: Commentary on Zechariah

[AD 1781] Richard Challoner on Zechariah 11:15

A foolish shepherd: This was to represent the foolish, that is, the wicked princes and priests that should rule the people, before their utter desolation.