The second portion of Zechariah 11 is so difficult that we would find it almost impossible to interpret except for the acknowledged fulfillment in the earthly ministry of Jesus Christ. Verses 4-6 explain what Zechariah was to do. He was to "pasture the flock marked for slaughter." This would not have a fortunate outcome. His work was to be symbolic of God's last approach to the people through his own rejection - which is stated later but presupposed here. God says that he "will no longer have pity on the people of the land... I will hand everyone over to his neighbor and his kind. They will oppress the land [as in the opening three verses], and I will not rescue them from their hands."