In all the land; i.e. Palestine, the country in which the good Shepherd tended his flock (Zechariah 11:1-17.), and which is a figure of the kingdom of God (comp. Zechariah 12:12; Zechariah 14:9, Zechariah 14:10).
Two parts therein shall be cut off and die; literally, the mouth, i.e. the portion of two, as Deuteronomy 21:17; 2 Kings 2:9, where it denotes the double portion inherited by the firstborn. The inheritance is divided into three portions, of which two parts are given over to death.
Compare a similar allotment in the case of the Moabites (2 Samuel 8:2). The doomed portion is supposed to represent the multitudes who perished at the siege of Jerusalem. This may be; but by analogy it stands for those who shall not accept the Messiah or be purified by suffering, even as Christ said, "Many are called, but few chosen" (Matthew 20:16; comp.
Matthew 3:12). The third. This third part represents the faithful among the Jews (Romans 11:5), and the Christian Church gathered out of all nations (comp. Isaiah 6:13; and especially Ezekiel 5:2, Ezekiel 5:12).