Woe to the idol shepherd that leaveth the flock! the sword shall be upon his arm, and upon his right eye: his arm shall be clean dried up, and his right eye shall be utterly darkened.
¡Ay del pastor inútil, que abandona el ganado! Espada sobre su brazo, y sobre su ojo derecho; del todo se secará su brazo, y enteramente será su ojo derecho oscurecido.
His arm shall be clean dried up] The secular power shall be broken, and become utterly inefficient.
His right eye shall be utterly darkened] Prophecy shall be restrained; and the whole state, ecclesiastical and civil, shall be so completely eclipsed, that none of their functions shall be performed. This may refer to the worthless and wickedgovernor mentioned in the preceding verse.
There are several things in this chapter that are very obscure, and we can hardly say what opinion is right; nor is it at all clear whether they refer to a very early or late period of the Jewish history.
Ver. 17. Woe to the idolshepherd , etc.] Or, “the shepherd of nothing” f262 ; that is, no true shepherd, that is good for nothing, for an idol is nothing in the world, ( 1 Corinthians 8:4) and who is an idol himself, sits in the temple of God, and is worshipped as if he was God. ( 2 Thessalonians 2:4Revelation 13:4,8,15) and is an encourager and defender of idolatry: that leaveth the flock ; has no regard to its spiritual concerns; does not feed it, but fleece it, and leaves it to the cruelty and avarice of his creatures under him: the sword [shall be] upon his arm ; with which he should feed the flock: and upon his right eye ; with which he should watch over it: his arm shall be clean dried up ; his power shall be taken away from him; the antichristian states, which supported him, shall withdraw from him; the ten kings shall hate the whore, strip her naked, eat her flesh, and burn her with fire, ( Revelation 17:16): and his right eye shall be utterly darkened ; not only given up to judicial blindness, which has been always his case; but his kingdom shall be full of darkness, ( Revelation 16:10) his hidden things of darkness shall be exposed; all his crafty schemes will be confounded; and all his wit, cunning, and subtlety, will cease; and everything desirable to him will be taken away from him. His “arm” may denote his secular power, which shall be taken away from him: and his “right eye” his knowledge of the Scriptures, judgment in controversies, and infallibility pretended to by him, which wilt cease, even in the opinion of men. Ben Melech interprets it the eye of his heart or mind; and so Aben Ezra.
Verses 15-17 - God, having showed the misery of this people in their being justly lef by the Good Shepherd, shows their further misery in being abused by foolish shepherds. The description suits the character Christ gives of the scribes and Pharisees. They never do any thing to support the weak or comfort the feeble-minded; but seek their own ease, while they ar barbarous to the flock. The idolshepherd has the garb and appearanc of a shepherd, receives submission, and is supported at much expense but he leaves the flock to perish through neglect, or leads them to ruin by his example. This suits many in different churches and nations but the warning had an awful fulfilment in the Jewishteachers. An while such deceive others to their ruin, they will themselves have the deepest condemnation __________________________________________________________________
