⁷ So I [Zechariah] shepherded the flock of slaughter, truly [as the name implies] the most miserable of sheep. And I took two [shepherd’s] staffs, the one I called Beauty or Grace and the other I called Bands or Union; and I fed and shepherded the flock.

⁸ And I cut off the three shepherds [the civil authorities, the priests, and the prophets] in one month, for I was weary and impatient with them, and they also loathed me.^(A)

⁹ So I [Zechariah] said, I will not be your shepherd. What is to die, let it die, and what is to be destroyed, let it be destroyed; and let the survivors devour one another’s flesh.