Admin note: The following W-shaped chiasmus has been taken from Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries, by Joyce G Baldwin, IVP, 1972. She credits Lamarche (1961)  who searched for  “an explanation of the apparently chaotic order of events, and the abrupt changes in subject matter”.

I am not saying it is correct  (I am still thinking about it)  and I would reword the sections, but it is  remarkable – the date is well before chiasmus became popularised by  the “Bible as Literature” movement.  Balwin makes some very pertinent points:  regarding Bible truth she says that “truth is expressed in literary forms and structures as well as in words“. 

a. 9:1-8 The Lord triumphs from the north

b. 9:9-10 Arrival of the king

c. 9:11-10:1 Jubilation and prosperity

d. 10:2-3a Rebuke of sham leaders

c’. 10:3b-11:3 Jubilation and restoration

b’. 11:4-17 The fate of the good shepherd

c”. 12:1-9 Jubilation in Jerusalem

b”. 12:10-13:1 Mourning for the pierced one

d”. 13:2-6 Rejection of the sham leaders

c”‘. 13:7-9 The shepherd slaughtered, the people scattered

b”‘. 14:1-15 Cataclysm in Jerusalem

a’. 14:16-21 The Lord worshipped as king over all