Zechariah 11:2

Howl, fir tree; for the cedar is fallen; because the mighty are spoiled: howl, O ye oaks of Bashan; for the forest of the vintage is come down. HOWL, FIR TREE; FOR THE CEDAR IS FALLEN. If even the cedars (the highest in the state) are not spared, how much less the fir trees (the lowest)! HOWL, O YE OAKS OF BASHAN; FOR THE FOREST OF THE VINTAGE IS COME DOWN - as the vines are stripped of their grapes in the vintage, so the forest of Lebanon "is come down," stripped of all its beauty (; Revelation 14:2 . Rather [ya`ar habaatsuwr], 'the fortified' or 'inaccessible forest' (Maurer) - i:e., Jerusalem, dense with houses as a thick forest is with trees, and 'fortified' with a lofty wall round. Compare...

He then adds, _Howl thou, fir-tree, for the cedar has fallen_. No doubt the Prophet by naming Lebanon, mentioning a part for the whole, meant the whole of Judea: and it appears evident from the context that the most remarkable places are here mentioned; but yet the Prophet’s design was to show, that God would punish the whole people, so as not to spare Jerusalem or any other place. And then by the fir-trees and cedars he meant whatever then excelled in Judea or in other places; and for this reason he compares them to the cedars of Lebanon, as though he had said, “There is no reason for the fir-trees to regard themselves as beyond the reach of danger; for if he spares not the cedars what will become of the fir-trees, which possess no such stateliness and grandeur?” We now then perceive the Prophet’s meaning as to the trees: but he includes, as I have said, under one kind, whatever was val...

1-3 In figurative expressions, that destruction of Jerusalem, and of the Jewish church and nation, is foretold, which our Lord Jesus, when the time was at hand, prophesied plainly and expressly. How can the fir trees stand, if the cedars fall? The falls of the wise and good into sin, and the falls of the rich and great into trouble, are loud alarms to those every way their inferiors. It is sad with a people, when those who should be as shepherds to them, are as young lions. The pride of Jordan was the thickets on the banks; and when the river overflowed the banks, the lions came up from them roaring. Thus the doom of Jerusalem may alarm other churches....

Verse Zechariah 11:2. _HOWL, FIR TREE_] This seems to point out the fall and destruction of all the mighty men....

HOWL, O CYPRESS, FOR THE CEDAR IS FALLEN - Jerusalem or the temple having been likened to Lebanon and its cedars, the prophet carries on the image, speaking of the priests princes and people, under the title of firs, cypresses and oaks, trees inferior, but magnificent. He shows that it is imagery, by ascribing to them the feelings of people. The more glorious and stately, “the cedars,” were destroyed. Woe then to the rest, “the cypress;” as our Lord says, “If they do these things in the green tree, what shall be done, in the dry?” Luke 23:31, and Peter, “If the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?” 1 Peter 4:18. FOR THE DEFENSED FOREST IS COME DOWN - That which was closed and inaccessible to the enemy

EXPOSITION ZECHARIAH 11:13 § 8. Restoration to their own land and material prosperity do not free the Israelites from probation or trouble. The prophet, therefore, darkens his late picture with some gloomy shadows. _The Holy Land is threatened with judgment _(Zechariah 11:1). ZECHARIAH 11:1 OPEN THY DOORS, O LEBANON. The prophet graphically portrays the punishment that is to fall upon the people. The sin that occasions this chastisement, viz. the rejection of their Shepherd and King, is denounced later (§ 9). Lebanon stood in the path of an invader from the north, whence most hostile armies entered Palestine. The "doo

HOWL, FIR TREE; FOR THE CEDAR IS FALLEN,.... By which are designed the princes, nobles, and magistrates of the land: so the Targum interprets them of kings and princes; see Nahum 2:3: BECAUSE ALL THE MIGHTY ARE SPOILED; which is an explanation of the figurative expressions in the former clause, and in the following; and designs rich men, as the Targum paraphrases it, who at this time would be spoiled of their wealth and substance. HOWL, O YE OAKS OF BASHAN; which the Targum interprets of governors of provinces; and men of power and authority are doubtless intended; see Isaiah 2:13: FOR THE FOREST OF THE VINTAGE IS COME DOWN; or rather, "the fortified forest"; meaning the city of Jerusalem, which was a fortified place, and like a forest full of trees, for numb

CHAPTER 11 _ 1. The judgment of the land, the temple and the slaughter of the flock (Zechariah 11:1) _ 2. The true shepherd set aside and rejected (Zechariah 11:7) 3. The foolish shepherd (Zechariah 11:15) Zechariah 11:1. This chapter presents a dark prophetic picture. We have seen in the preceding Chapter s the blessings and mercies in store for the Israel of the future. The visions and prophecies have revealed their national and spiritual restoration, the overthrow of their enemies, the destruction of the world-powers, the establishment of the theocracy and the blessings of the k

The strongholds of the Syro-Greek empire are taunted with the failure of their power. The cedars of Lebanon and the oaks of Bashan are a constant metaphor for that which is lofty and powerful (_cf._ Isaiah 2:13). For the strong forest a probable correction is the forest of Bozrah, _i.e._ not the Edomite town but the Bosora of 1Ma_5:26, the modern Buṣ? râ, 22 miles SE. of Edrei. The shepherds and, with a change of metaphor, the young lions are the heathen rulers. The pride of Jordan here and elsewhere means the luxuriant vegetation of the Jordan valley which afforded cover for the wild beasts. The passage means that the heathen rulers may howl in sorrow and anguish, since their strongholds can no longer protect them....

FIR. cypress. FOR. If the cedar is fallen, how much more the cypress. THE. The 1611 edition of the Authorized Version reads "all the". MIGHTY. honourable, or majestic ones. FOREST OF THE VINTAGE. the inaccessible forest....