Zechariah 11:3A voice of the wailing of the shepherds! For their glory is destroyed: a voice of the roaring of young lions! For the pride of the Jordan is ruined.
The setting
Jerusalem, ~520 BC. The vision climaxes with the sound of wailing leaders and roaring predators. The Jordan River valley (modern-day Jordan River) was thick with vegetation where lions hunted - 'pride of Jordan' means the jungle thickets.
The emotion here: overwhelmed by the scope of leadership failure
The original word
ro'im (רֹעִים) — shepherds, meaning political and religious leaders responsible for God's people
Why it matters
Lions lived in the Jordan valley thickets until the 20th century - the last one was killed in 1918
Read with care
What most readers miss in Zechariah 11:3
The 'young lions roaring' aren't celebrating - they're crying because their hunting ground is destroyed
Common misconceptionPeople think God delights in destroying leaders, but this passage shows God's grief when those He appointed to protect instead become predators.
The thread continues
Verses that echo Zechariah 11:3
Bible Genome reading
Zechariah 11:3 — Bible Genome reading
Emotional genome
Zechariah 11:3 comes from the book of Zechariah, written during the Post-Exile period. These words are attributed to Zechariah. The dominant emotion in this verse is grieving, with a comfort power of 10% and a tone that is lamenting. It belongs to the prophecy genre of biblical literature. Key themes include shepherds lament, leadership failure, lost glory. Notable phrases: wailing of the shepherds; roaring of young lions; pride of the Jordan. This verse contains prophecy.
Emotionally similar
Verses that meet the same grieving
“By the sweat of your face will you eat bread until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken. For you are dust, and to dust you…”
— Genesis 3:19
“Jesus wept.”
— John 11:35
“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from helping me, and from the words of my groaning?”
— Psalms 22:1
“They divide my garments among them. They cast lots for my clothing.”
— Psalms 22:18
“for all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God;”
— Romans 3:23
Your reflection
What does Zechariah 11:3 mean to you, today?
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