Mine anger was kindled against the shepherds - As Ezekiel continued, "Thus saith the Lord God; Behold I am against the shepherds, and I will require My flock at their hand" Ezekiel 34:10.

I punished the he-goats - The evil powerful are called the "he-goats of the earth: Isaiah 14:9; and in Ezekiel God says, "I will judge between cattle and cattle, between rams and he-goats" Ezekiel 34:17; and our Lord speaks of the reprobate as goats, the saved as sheep Matthew 25:32. God "visited upon these in His displeasure, "because" He "visited His flock, the people of Judah," to see to their needs and to relieve them.

And hath made them as the goodly horse - As, before, He said, "I made thee as the sword of a mighty man" Zechariah 9:13 Judah's might was not in himself; but, in God's hands, he had might like and above the might of this world; he was fearless, resistless; as Paul says, "the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds" 2 Corinthians 10:4.

Mine anger was kindled against the shepherds - Bad kings and bad priests. I will punish the goats; these were the wicked priests, who were shepherds by their office, and goats by the impurity of their lives.

As his goodly horse in the battle - The honorable war horse, or the horse that carried the general's equipage. In the unaccountable variation of interpreters on these chapters, this, among other things, is thought to be spoken of Matthias, and Judas Maccabeus, who assembled the people from all quarters, as a shepherd gathers his sheep together; and led them against the sons of Greece, the Seleucidae Greeks. Others refer every thing here to times before the captivity.

Mine anger was kindled against the shepherds,.... The Targum interprets it of "kings"; as the "goats" of "princes", in the next clause; by whom, according to Jarchi, Aben Ezra, Kimchi, and Abarbinel, are meant the kings of Greece; but rather the antichristian kings are designed, the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication with the whore of Rome, which is the cause of the anger of the Lord being kindled: or else ecclesiastical rulers are meant, the Romish clergy, the chief of them, as cardinals, archbishops, bishops, &c. who may fitly be represented by the shepherds of Israel in the times of the prophets for their name, professing to be of Israel, or to be Christians; and by them for their ignorance, covetousness, luxury, disregard to the flock, tyranny and cruelty over it, and murder of it; see Isaiah 56:10, against these the fire of God's wrath will be kindled, and with it will they be destroyed:

and I punished the goats; not the Seleucidae, as the above Jewish writers; though they may with propriety be so called, since they were the successors of Alexander, signified by the he goat in Daniel 8:5 rather the monks and friars, comparable to these for their filthiness and uncleanness; and because they pretend to be guides of the people, and to go before them, and yet use them ill, and push them with their horns of power; wherefore God will punish them, and kill those children of Jezebel with death, Revelation 2:22,

for the Lord of hosts hath visited his flock, the house of Judah; by sending the Gospel to them, and his Spirit with it, to make it effectual to their conversion; which will be at the time that the antichristian hierarchy will be destroyed; then the Lord's flock, who have gone astray, shall be returned to the true Shepherd and Bishop of souls, and shall seek the Lord their God, and David their King, and shall be saved by him: a gracious visitation this will be!

and hath made them as his goodly horse in the battle; this denotes that the Jews, when converted, will be bold in their God; valiant for the truth on earth; courageously fight the good fight of faith, and be victorious over their enemies; and that they will be in great honour and esteem among the saints, though so mean and justly despicable now: the sense is, that as the horse shows its strength and courage in battle, so should they; see Job 39:19.

To this there is appended in Zechariah 10:3. the promise that Jehovah will take possession of His flock, and redeem it out of the oppression of the evil shepherds. Zechariah 10:3. "My wrath is kindled upon the shepherds, and the goats shall I punish; for Jehovah of hosts visits His flock, the house of Judah, and makes it like His state-horse in the war. Zechariah 10:4. From Him will be corner-stone, from Him the nail, from Him the war-bow; from Him will every ruler go forth at once." When Israel lost its own shepherds, it came under the tyranny of bad shepherds. These were the heathen governors and tyrants. Against these the wrath of Jehovah is kindled, and He will punish them. There is no material difference between רעים, shepherds, and עתּוּדים, leading goats. ‛Attūdı̄m also signifies rulers, as in Isaiah 14:9. The reason assigned why the evil shepherds are to be punished, is that Jehovah visits His flock. The perfect pâqad is used prophetically of what God has resolved to do, and will actually carry out; and pâqad c. acc. pers. means to visit, i.e., to assume the care of, as distinguished from pâqad with 'al pers., to visit in the sense of to punish (see at Zephaniah 2:7). The house of Judah only is mentioned in Zechariah 10:3, not in distinction from Ephraim, however (cf. Zechariah 10:6), but as the stem and kernel of the covenant nation, with which Ephraim is to be united once more. The care of God for Judah will not be limited to its liberation from the oppression of the bad shepherds; but Jehovah will also make Judah into a victorious people. This is the meaning of the figure "like a state-horse," i.e., a splendid and richly ornamented war-horse, such as a king is accustomed to ride. This figure is not more striking than the description of Judah and Ephraim as a bow and arrow (Zechariah 9:13). This equipment of Judah as a warlike power overcoming its foes is described in Zechariah 10:4, namely in 4a, in figures taken from the firmness and furnishing of a house with everything requisite, and in 4b, etc., in literal words. The verb יצא of the fourth clause cannot be taken as the verb belonging to the ממּנּוּ in the first three clauses, because יצא is neither applicable to pinnâh nor to yâthēd. We have therefore to supply יהיה. From (out of) Him will be pinnâh, corner, here corner-stone, as in Isaiah 28:16, upon which the whole building stands firmly, and will be built securely, - a suitable figure for the firm, stately foundation which Judah is to receive. To this is added yâthēd, the plug. This figure is to be explained from the arrangement of eastern houses, in which the inner walls are provided with a row of large nails or plugs for hanging the house utensils upon. The plug, therefore, is a suitable figure for the supports or upholders of the whole political constitution, and even in Isaiah 22:23 was transferred to persons. The war-bow stands synecdochically for weapons of war and the military power. It is a disputed point, however, whether the suffix in mimmennū (out of him) refers to Judah or Jehovah. But the opinion of Hitzig and others, that it refers to Jehovah, is overthrown by the expression יצא ממּנּוּ in the last clause. For even if we could say, Judah will receive its firm foundation, its internal fortification, and its military strength from Jehovah, the expression, "Every military commander will go out or come forth out of Jehovah," is unheard-of and unscriptural. It is not affirmed in the Old Testament even of the Messiah that He goes forth out of God, although His "goings forth" are from eternity (Micah 5:1), and He Himself is called El gibbōr (Isaiah 9:5). Still less can this be affirmed of every ruler (kol-mōgēs) of Judah. In this clause, therefore, mimmennū must refer to Judah, and consequently it must be taken in the same way in the first three clauses. On יצא מן, see Micah 5:1. Nōgēs, an oppressor or taskmaster, is not applied to a leader or ruler in a good sense even here, any more than in Isaiah 3:12 and Isaiah 60:17 (see the comm. on these passages). The fact that negus in Ethiopic is the name given to the king (Koehler), proves nothing in relation to Hebrew usage. The word has the subordinate idea of oppressor, or despotic ruler, in this instance also; but the idea of harshness refers not to the covenant nation, but to its enemies (Hengstenberg), and the words are used in antithesis to Zechariah 9:8. Whereas there the promise is given to the nation of Israel that it will not fall under the power of the nōgēs any more, it is here assured that it is to attain to the position of a nōgēs in relation to its foes (Kliefoth). כּל־נוגשׂ is strengthened by יחדּו: every oppressor together, which Judah will require in opposition to its foes.

My anger was kindled against the shepherds, and I punished the {d} goats: for the LORD of hosts hath visited his flock the house of Judah, and hath made them as {e} his majestic horse in the battle.

(d) Meaning, the cruel governors who did oppress the poor sheep; Eze 34:16-17.

(e) He will be merciful to his Church, and cherish them as a king or prince does his best horse, which will be for his own use in war.

10:3 The shepherds - Officers in the church and state. The goats - The officers among them, who were like he - goats, that push, and wound, and trample under foot the feebler cattle. Visited - In mercy. As his goodly horse - Hath given them strength and courage.

punished: Heb. visited upon

3. against the shepherds-the civil rulers of Israel and Judah who abetted idolatry.

punished-literally, "visited upon." The same word "visited," without the upon, is presently after used in a good sense to heighten the contrast.

goats-he-goats. As "shepherds" described what they ought to have been, so "he-goats" describes what they were, the emblem of headstrong wantonness and offensive lust (Isa 14:9, Margin; Eze 34:17; Da 8:5; Mt 25:33). The he-goats head the flock. They who are first in crime will be first in punishment.

visited-in mercy (Lu 1:68).

as his goodly horse-In Zec 9:13 they were represented under the image of bows and arrows, here under that of their commander-in-chief, Jehovah's battle horse (So 1:9). God can make His people, timid though they be as sheep, courageous as the charger. The general rode on the most beautiful and richly caparisoned, and had his horse tended with the greatest care. Jehovah might cast off the Jews for their vileness, but He regards His election or adoption of them: whence He calls them here "His flock," and therefore saves them.

10:1-5 Spiritual blessings had been promised under figurative allusions to earthly plenty. Seasonable rain is a great mercy, which we may ask of God when there is most need of it, and we may look for it to come. We must in our prayers ask for mercies in their proper time. The Lord would make bright clouds, and give showers of rain. This may be an exhortation to seek the influences of the Holy Spirit, in faith and by prayer, through which the blessings held forth in the promises are obtained and enjoyed. The prophet shows the folly of making addresses to idols, as their fathers had done. The Lord visited the remnant of his flock in mercy, and was about to renew their courage and strength for conflict and victory. Every creature is to us what God makes it to be. Every one raised to support the nation, as a corner-stone does the building, or to unite those that differ, as nails join the different timbers, must come from the Lord; and those employed to overcome their enemies, must have strength and success from him. This may be applied to Christ; to him we must look to raise up persons to unite, support, and defend his people. He never will say, Seek ye me in vain.