Zechariah 11:3

There is a voice More literally and forcibly, A voice of the howling of the shepherds!R. V.

the shepherds Here again the figurative reference appears through the literal, Comp. Zechariah 10:3, and Zechariah 11:5 below. But the literal reference holds good. "The desolating storm sweeps from the highlands to the lowlands. The very shepherds are forced to howl, because their splendour is laid waste, namely, the pasture lands, in which they were wont to tend and feed their flocks in the days of peace and quiet. The conflagration extends even to the south of the land. Judah is wrapped in flames. The close thickets which fringed the Jordan river as it ran along through the territory of the southern kingdom are consumed by the fire.… -The pride of Jordan" is rendered desolate, and hence the voice of the roaring of lions is heard wailing over the general ruin." Wright.

young lions Comp. Jeremiah 25:36-38; Jeremiah 49:19.

Zechariah 11:4. The rejection by them of Jehovah's shepherd is the cause of the calamity which is to fall upon them. "Subjicit rationem cur Deus tam severe agere cogitet cum populo suo, quoniam insanabilis sit eorum malitia." Rosenm.