Zacharie 11:1

1 Liban, ouvre tes portes, et que le feu dévore tes cèdres!

Zacharie 11:1 Meaning and Commentary

Zechariah 11:1

Open thy doors, O Lebanon
By which may be meant, either the temple of Jerusalem, which was built of the cedars of Lebanon;

``the gates of which are said F23 to open of themselves forty years before the destruction of Jerusalem, when Jochanan ben Zaccai, who lived at the same time, rebuked them, saying, O temple, temple, wherefore dost thou frighten thyself? I know thine end is to be destroyed; for so prophesied Zechariah, the son of Iddo, concerning thee, "open thy doors, O Lebanon".''
So Lebanon, in ( Zechariah 10:10 ) , is interpreted of the sanctuary, both by the Targum and by Jarchi; or else it may be understood of Jerusalem, and of the whole land of Judea, because it was situated by it; it was the border of it on the north side. That the fire may devour thy cedars;
of which the temple was built, and the houses of Jerusalem, which were consumed by fire; unless the fortresses of the land are meant. So the Targum paraphrases it,
``and the fire shall consume your fortresses.''

FOOTNOTES:

F23 T. Bab. Yoma, fol. 39. 2.

Zacharie 11:1 In-Context

1 Liban, ouvre tes portes, et que le feu dévore tes cèdres!
2 Cyprès, gémissez! Car le cèdre est tombé, car les plus magnifiques sont ravagés. Gémissez, chênes de Bassan! Car la forêt inaccessible est abattue.
3 On entend gémir les bergers, car leur magnificence est dévastée; on entend rugir les lionceaux, car la parure du Jourdain est dévastée.
4 Ainsi a dit l'Éternel mon Dieu: Pais les brebis destinées à la boucherie,
5 Que leurs acheteurs tuent sans être coupables, et dont les vendeurs disent: "Béni soit l'Éternel! je m'enrichis", et qu'aucun de leurs bergers n'épargne.
The Ostervald translation is in the public domain.