Then the LORD said to me: This clause is identical with the opening words of verse 13.
Take once more the implements of a worthless shepherd: The Hebrew word translated once more is the first word of the clause in Hebrew. This had led some scholars such as Petersen to take it with the verb said rather than with the verb take (Bible en français courant, Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente). The Hebrew punctuation is against this; and it is also questionable, because it can prejudice the interpretation of the whole section of verses 4-17 (see the notes below).
Implements is a very general term, and would include clothing, a purse, and such things as the staffs already mentioned in verse 7. Translators should try to find a general term rather than mentioning individual items. Other possibilities in English include “gear” (New American Bible, Jerusalem Bible/New Jerusalem Bible, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh) and “equipment” (Moffatt, New International Version).
A worthless shepherd: The term translated worthless occurs often in the book of Proverbs, where it carries the meaning of foolish and deserving moral reproach. Most English versions say “worthless,” but other options are “foolish” (King James Version, Revised Version, New International Version, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh), “incompetent” (Jerusalem Bible), and “good-for-nothing” (New Jerusalem Bible).
If this sentence is understood to mean what the words would normally mean, the clear sense is that this is the second time that the prophet is acting as a bad shepherd. This is seen clearly by Mitchell, yet he refuses to accept it, though he can offer no compelling reason. It appears that the majority of scholars come to the text with their minds already made up that the first shepherd is good, and the second bad. Thus they overlook this indication that the writer’s intention was to show both the shepherds as bad. Even Redditt (1995), who does hold the view that both shepherds are bad, fails to make anything of this verse, though it gives good support to his view. Some of the difficulties in interpreting verses 4-14 arise from the presupposition that the first shepherd is a good one, though the text never claims this. Alternative models that build in the recommended interpretation are “Take once more the equipment that a shepherd uses—a worthless shepherd like before” and “Once again act the part of a worthless shepherd, and take the equipment that you must use.”
Quoted with permission from Clark, David J. & Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Zechariah. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2002. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .