Zechariah 11:2

2 Weep, great pine trees! Mourn, you sister cedars! Your towering trees are cordwood. Weep Bashan oak trees! Your thick forest is now a field of stumps.

Zechariah 11:2 Meaning and Commentary

Zechariah 11:2

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 ) ( Ezekiel 31:3 ) : 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 ) ( Amos 2:9 ) : 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 number of inhabitants, but now cut down and destroyed; see ( Isaiah 10:16-19 ) .

Zechariah 11:2 In-Context

1 Open your borders to the immigrants, proud Lebanon! Your sentinel trees will burn.

2 Weep, great pine trees! Mourn, you sister cedars! Your towering trees are cordwood. Weep Bashan oak trees! Your thick forest is now a field of stumps.

3 Do you hear the wailing of shepherds? They've lost everything they once owned. Do you hear the outrage of the lions? The mighty jungle of the Jordan is wasted.

4 Make room for the returning exiles! Breaking the Beautiful Covenant

5 The people who buy them will butcher them for quick and easy money. What's worse, they'll get away with it. The people who sell them will say, 'Lucky me! God's on my side; I've got it made!' They have shepherds who couldn't care less about them."