What Does Zechariah 11:11 Mean in the King James?
And it was broken in that day: and so the poor of the flock that waited upon me knew that it was the word of the LORD.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
The LORD’s word is recognized here not beside the rupture, but in the rupture itself.
THE MEANING
When the staff breaks, the poor of the flock who keep watch perceive that the rupture itself is the LORD’s word. The break remains real, and the verse lets it carry meaning without erasing the loss.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the belief that a break in what sustains us means the LORD’s word has failed; here, the break is how that word becomes recognizable.
THE ROOT
וַתֻּפַר
wattuppar
GROWS FROM
פרר
parar
To break, annul, or make void.
“broken” in this verse is wattuppar. This verb can mean annulment as well as breaking. The staff’s rupture is the same kind of breaking named for the covenant in the preceding verse, and the flock recognizes the act itself as the LORD’s word.
ALSO GROWS
hefer: Annulled or made void.
הֵפֵר
This form shows how the root can describe a covenant being broken.
hafarah: Annulment.
הֲפָרָה
The noun makes explicit the sense of a break that voids an agreement.
דְּבַר
devar
GROWS FROM
דבר
davar
To speak; a word, matter, or thing.
דָּבָר (davar) can name both a spoken word and a matter or thing. Here, the staff’s rupture is the concrete matter recognized as the LORD’s word.
ALSO GROWS
davar: Word, matter, or thing.
דָּבָר
The same noun holds speech and what takes place together.
dibber: Spoke.
דִּבֵּר
This verb shows the root’s speaking sense alongside its sense of a concrete matter.
וַיֵּדְעוּ
wayyedeʿu
GROWS FROM
ידע
yadaʿ
To know, perceive, or recognize.
“knew” in this verse is wayyedeʿu. יָדַע (yadaʿ) can describe knowing a person as well as recognizing what is true. The flock perceives the LORD’s word in what is happening, rather than only receiving a report about it.
ALSO GROWS
yadaʿ: To know or recognize.
יָדַע
This verb names the flock’s perception of the event.
maddaʿ: Knowledge or understanding.
מַדָּע
This noun carries the root’s sense of what is known.
THE PATTERN
The LORD’s word becomes recognizable as it takes shape in events, and those who attend can discern its voice.
And Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him, and did let none of his words fall to the ground.So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:THE THREAD
And I took my staff, even Beauty, and cut it asunder, that I might break my covenant which I had made with all the people.The same root פרר (parar, break or annul) appears in both verses: verse 10 names the covenant’s annulment, and verse 11 shows the flock’s poor perceiving the break as the LORD’s word. That shared root lets the rupture read as the word made visible.
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