Jeremiah 29:14

29:14 I will make myself available to you,’ ¹  says the Lord. ²  ‘Then I will reverse your plight ³  and will regather you from all the nations and all the places where I have exiled you,’ says the Lord. ⁴  ‘I will bring you back to the place from which I exiled you.’

Jeremiah 30:3

30:3 For I, the Lord, affirm ⁵  that the time will come when I will reverse the plight ⁶  of my people, Israel and Judah,’ says the Lord. ‘I will bring them back to the land I gave their ancestors ⁷  and they will take possession of it once again.’” ⁸ 

Jeremiah 31:8

31:8 Then I will reply, ⁹  ‘I will bring them back from the land of the north.

I will gather them in from the distant parts of the earth.

Blind and lame people will come with them,

so will pregnant women and women about to give birth.

A vast throng of people will come back here.

Jeremiah 32:37

32:37 ‘I will certainly regather my people from all the countries where I will have exiled ¹⁰  them in my anger, fury, and great wrath. I will bring them back to this place and allow them to live here in safety.

Deuteronomy 30:3-5

30:3 the Lord your God will reverse your captivity and have pity on you. He will turn and gather you from all the peoples among whom he ¹¹  has scattered you. 30:4 Even if your exiles are in the most distant land, ¹²  from there the Lord your God will gather you and bring you back. 30:5 Then he ¹³  will bring you to the land your ancestors ¹⁴  possessed and you also will possess it; he will do better for you and multiply you more than he did your ancestors.

Psalms 106:47

106:47 Deliver us, O Lord, our God!

Gather us from among the nations!

Then we will give thanks ¹⁵  to your holy name,

and boast about your praiseworthy deeds. ¹⁶ 

Isaiah 11:11-16

11:11 At that time ¹⁷  the sovereign master ¹⁸  will again lift his hand ¹⁹  to reclaim ²⁰  the remnant of his people ²¹  from Assyria, Egypt, Pathros, ²²  Cush, ²³  Elam, Shinar, ²⁴  Hamath, and the seacoasts. ²⁵ 

11:12 He will lift a signal flag for the nations;

he will gather Israel’s dispersed people ²⁶ 

and assemble Judah’s scattered people

from the four corners of the earth.

11:13 Ephraim’s jealousy will end, ²⁷ 

and Judah’s hostility ²⁸  will be eliminated.

Ephraim will no longer be jealous of Judah,

and Judah will no longer be hostile toward Ephraim.

11:14 They will swoop down ²⁹  on the Philistine hills to the west; ³⁰ 

together they will loot the people of the east.

They will take over Edom and Moab, ³¹ 

and the Ammonites will be their subjects.

11:15 The Lord will divide ³²  the gulf ³³  of the Egyptian Sea; ³⁴ 

he will wave his hand over the Euphrates River ³⁵  and send a strong wind, ³⁶ 

he will turn it into seven dried-up streams, ³⁷ 

and enable them to walk across in their sandals.

11:16 There will be a highway leading out of Assyria

for the remnant of his people, ³⁸ 

just as there was for Israel,

when ³⁹  they went up from the land of Egypt.

Isaiah 27:12-13

27:12 At that time ⁴⁰  the Lord will shake the tree, ⁴¹  from the Euphrates River ⁴²  to the Stream of Egypt. Then you will be gathered up one by one, O Israelites. ⁴³  27:13 At that time ⁴⁴  a large ⁴⁵  trumpet will be blown, and the ones lost ⁴⁶  in the land of Assyria will come, as well as the refugees in ⁴⁷  the land of Egypt. They will worship the Lord on the holy mountain in Jerusalem. ⁴⁸ 

Isaiah 43:5-6

43:5 Don’t be afraid, for I am with you.

From the east I will bring your descendants;

from the west I will gather you.

43:6 I will say to the north, ‘Hand them over!’

and to the south, ‘Don’t hold any back!’

Bring my sons from distant lands,

and my daughters from the remote regions of the earth,

Ezekiel 11:17

11:17 “Therefore say: ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: When I regather you from the peoples and assemble you from the lands where you have been dispersed, I will give you back the country of Israel.’

Ezekiel 34:13-31

34:13 I will bring them out from among the peoples and gather them from foreign countries; I will bring them to their own land. I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the streams and all the inhabited places of the land. 34:14 In a good pasture I will feed them; the mountain heights of Israel will be their pasture. There they will lie down in a lush ⁴⁹  pasture, and they will feed on rich grass on the mountains of Israel. 34:15 I myself will feed my sheep and I myself will make them lie down, declares the sovereign Lord. 34:16 I will seek the lost and bring back the strays; I will bandage the injured and strengthen the sick, but the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them – with judgment!

34:17 “‘As for you, my sheep, this is what the sovereign Lord says: Look, I am about to judge between one sheep and another, between rams and goats. 34:18 Is it not enough for you to feed on the good pasture, that you must trample the rest of your pastures with your feet? When you drink clean water, must you muddy the rest of the water by trampling it with your feet? 34:19 As for my sheep, they must eat what you trampled with your feet, and drink what you have muddied with your feet!

34:20 “‘Therefore, this is what the sovereign Lord says to them: Look, I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. 34:21 Because you push with your side and your shoulder, and thrust your horns at all the weak sheep until you scatter them abroad, ⁵⁰  34:22 I will save my sheep; they will no longer be prey. I will judge between one sheep and another.

34:23 I will set one shepherd over them, and he will feed them – namely, my servant David. ⁵¹  He will feed them and will be their shepherd. 34:24 I, the Lord, will be their God, and my servant David will be prince ⁵²  among them; I, the Lord, have spoken!

34:25 “‘I will make a covenant of peace with them and will rid the land of wild beasts, so that they can live securely ⁵³  in the wilderness and even sleep in the woods. ⁵⁴  34:26 I will turn them and the regions around my hill into a blessing. I will make showers come down in their season; they will be showers that bring blessing. ⁵⁵  34:27 The trees of the field will yield their fruit and the earth will yield its crops. They will live securely on their land; they will know that I am the Lord, when I break the bars of their yoke and rescue them from the hand of those who enslaved them. 34:28 They will no longer be prey for the nations and the wild beasts will not devour them. They will live securely and no one will make them afraid. 34:29 I will prepare for them a healthy ⁵⁶  planting. They will no longer be victims ⁵⁷  of famine in the land and will no longer bear the insults of the nations. 34:30 Then they will know that I, the Lord their God, am with them, ⁵⁸  and that they are my people, the house of Israel, declares the sovereign Lord. ⁵⁹  34:31 And you, my sheep, the sheep of my pasture, are my people, ⁶⁰  and I am your God, declares the sovereign Lord.’”

Ezekiel 36:24

36:24 “‘I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries; then I will bring you to your land.

Ezekiel 36:37

36:37 “This is what the sovereign Lord says: I will allow the house of Israel to ask me to do this for them: ⁶¹  I will multiply their people like sheep. ⁶² 

Ezekiel 37:21-27

37:21 Then tell them, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Look, I am about to take the Israelites from among the nations where they have gone. I will gather them from round about and bring them to their land. 37:22 I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel, and one king will rule over them all. They will never again be two nations and never again be divided into two kingdoms. ⁶³  37:23 They will not defile themselves with their idols, their detestable things, and all their rebellious deeds. I will save them from all their unfaithfulness ⁶⁴  by which they sinned. I will purify them; they will become my people and I will become their God.

37:24 “‘My servant David will be king over them; there will be one shepherd for all of them. They will follow ⁶⁵  my regulations and carefully observe my statutes. ⁶⁶  37:25 They will live in the land I gave to my servant Jacob, in which your fathers lived; they will live in it – they and their children and their grandchildren forever. David my servant will be prince over them forever. 37:26 I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be a perpetual covenant with them. ⁶⁷  I will establish them, ⁶⁸  increase their numbers, and place my sanctuary among them forever. 37:27 My dwelling place will be with them; I will be their God, and they will be my people.

Ezekiel 39:27-28

39:27 When I have brought them back from the peoples and gathered them from the countries of their enemies, I will magnify myself among them in the sight of many nations. 39:28 Then they will know that I am the Lord their God, because I sent them into exile among the nations, and then gathered them into their own land. I will not leave any of them in exile ⁶⁹  any longer.

Amos 9:14-15

9:14 I will bring back my people, Israel; ⁷⁰ 

they will rebuild the cities lying in rubble ⁷¹  and settle down. ⁷² 

They will plant vineyards and drink the wine they produce; ⁷³ 

they will grow orchards ⁷⁴  and eat the fruit they produce. ⁷⁵ 

9:15 I will plant them on their land

and they will never again be uprooted from the ⁷⁶  land I have given them,”

says the Lord your God.

Micah 7:12

A Closing Prayer

7:12 In that day people ⁷⁷  will come to you ⁷⁸ 

from Assyria as far as ⁷⁹  Egypt,

from Egypt as far as the Euphrates River, ⁸⁰ 

from the seacoasts ⁸¹  and the mountains. ⁸² 

Zephaniah 3:19-20

3:19 Look, at that time I will deal with those who mistreated you.

I will rescue the lame sheep ⁸³ 

and gather together the scattered sheep.

I will take away their humiliation

and make the whole earth admire and respect them. ⁸⁴ 

3:20 At that time I will lead you –

at the time I gather you together. ⁸⁵ 

Be sure of this! ⁸⁶  I will make all the nations of the earth respect and admire you ⁸⁷ 

when you see me restore you,” ⁸⁸  says the Lord.

Zechariah 10:8-12

10:8 I will signal for them and gather them, for I have already redeemed them; then they will become as numerous as they were before. 10:9 Though I scatter ⁸⁹  them among the nations, they will remember in far-off places – they and their children will sprout forth and return. 10:10 I will bring them back from Egypt and gather them from Assyria. ⁹⁰  I will bring them to the lands of Gilead and Lebanon, for there will not be enough room for them in their own land. 10:11 The Lord ⁹¹  will cross the sea of storms and will calm its turbulence. The depths of the Nile will dry up, the pride of Assyria will be humbled, and the domination ⁹²  of Egypt will be no more. 10:12 Thus I will strengthen them by my power, ⁹³  and they will walk about ⁹⁴  in my name,” says the Lord.

[29:14]  ¹ tn Heb “I will let myself be found by you.” For this nuance of the verb see BDB 594 s.v. מָצָא Niph.1.f and compare the usage in Isa 65:1; 2 Chr 15:2. The Greek version already noted that nuance when it translated the phrase “I will manifest myself to you.”

[29:14]  ² tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[29:14]  ³ tn Heb “restore your fortune.” Alternately, “I will bring you back from exile.” This idiom occurs twenty-six times in the OT and in several cases it is clearly not referring to return from exile but restoration of fortunes (e.g., Job 42:10; Hos 6:11–7:1; Jer 33:11). It is often followed as here by “regather” or “bring back” (e.g., Jer 30:3; Ezek 29:14) so it is often misunderstood as “bringing back the exiles.” The versions (LXX, Vulg., Tg., Pesh.) often translate the idiom as “to go away into captivity,” deriving the noun from שְׁבִי (shÿvi, “captivity”). However, the use of this expression in Old Aramaic documents of Sefire parallels the biblical idiom: “the gods restored the fortunes of the house of my father again” (J. A. Fitzmyer, The Aramaic Inscriptions of Sefire [BibOr], 100-101, 119-20). The idiom means “to turn someone's fortune, bring about change” or “to reestablish as it was” (HALOT 1386 s.v. 3.c). In Ezek 16:53 it is paralleled by the expression “to restore the situation which prevailed earlier.” This amounts to restitutio in integrum, which is applicable to the circumstances surrounding the return of the exiles.

[29:14]  ⁴ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[30:3]  ⁵ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[30:3]  ⁶ tn Heb “restore the fortune.” For the translation and meaning of this idiom see the note at 29:14.

[30:3]  ⁷ tn Heb “fathers.”

[30:3]  ⁸ sn As the nations of Israel and Judah were united in their sin and suffered the same fate – that of exile and dispersion – (cf. Jer 3:8; 5:11; 11:10, 17) so they will ultimately be regathered from the nations and rejoined under one king, a descendant of David, and regain possession of their ancestral lands. The prophets of both the eighth and seventh century looked forward to this ideal (see, e.g., Hos 1:11 (2:2 HT); Isa 11:11-13; Jer 23:5-6; 30:3; 33:7; Ezek 37:15-22). This has already been anticipated in Jer 3:18.

[31:8]  ⁹ tn The words “And I will reply” are not in the text but the words vv. 8-9 appear to be the answer to the petition at the end of v. 7. These words are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[32:37]  ¹⁰ tn The verb here should be interpreted as a future perfect; though some of the people have already been exiled (in 605 and 597 b.c.), some have not yet been exiled at the time this prophesy is given (see study note on v. 1 for the date). However, contemporary English style does not regularly use the future perfect, choosing instead to use the simple future or the simple perfect as the present translation has done here.

[30:3]  ¹¹ tn Heb “the Lord your God.” The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons to avoid redundancy.

[30:4]  ¹² tn Heb “are at the farthest edge of the heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heaven(s)” or “sky” depending on the context.

[30:5]  ¹³ tn Heb “the Lord your God.” See note on the second occurrence of the word “he” in v. 3.

[30:5]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “fathers” (also later in this verse and in vv. 9, 20).

[106:47]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “to give thanks.” The infinitive construct indicates result after the imperative.

[106:47]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “to boast in your praise.”

[11:11]  ¹⁷ tn Or “in that day” (KJV). The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.

[11:11]  ¹⁸ tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonai).

[11:11]  ¹⁹ tc The Hebrew text reads, “the sovereign master will again, a second time, his hand.” The auxiliary verb יוֹסִיף (yosif), which literally means “add,” needs a main verb to complete it. Consequently many emend שֵׁנִית (shenit, “a second time”) to an infinitive. Some propose the form שַׁנֹּת (shannot, a Piel infinitive construct from שָׁנָה, shanah) and relate it semantically to an Arabic cognate meaning “to be high.” If the Hebrew text is retained a verb must be supplied. “Second time” would allude back to the events of the Exodus (see vv. 15-16).

[11:11]  ²⁰ tn Or “acquire”; KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV “recover.”

[11:11]  ²¹ tn Heb “the remnant of his people who remain.”

[11:11]  ²² sn Perhaps a reference to Upper (i.e., southern) Egypt (so NIV, NLT; NCV “South Egypt”).

[11:11]  ²³ tn Or “Ethiopia” (NAB, NRSV, NLT).

[11:11]  ²⁴ tn Or “Babylonia” (NIV, NCV, TEV, NLT).

[11:11]  ²⁵ tn Or perhaps, “the islands of the sea.”

[11:12]  ²⁶ tn Or “the banished of Israel,” i.e., the exiles.

[11:13]  ²⁷ tn Heb “turn aside”; KJV, NASB, NRSV “depart.”

[11:13]  ²⁸ tn Heb “hostile ones of Judah.” Elsewhere when the substantival participle of צָרָר (tsarar) takes a pronominal suffix or appears in a construct relationship, the following genitive is objective. (For a list of texts see BDB 865 s.v. III צָרַר) In this case the phrase “hostile ones of Judah” means “those who are hostile toward Judah,” i.e., Judah’s enemies. However, the parallel couplet that follows suggests that Judah’s hostility toward Ephraim is in view. In this case “hostile ones of Judah” means “hostile ones from Judah.” The translation above assumes the latter, giving the immediate context priority over general usage.

[11:14]  ²⁹ tn Heb “fly.” Ephraim/Judah are compared to a bird of prey.

[11:14]  ³⁰ tn Heb “on the shoulder of Philistia toward the sea.” This refers to the slopes of the hill country west of Judah. See HALOT 506 s.v. כָּתֵף.

[11:14]  ³¹ tn Heb “Edom and Moab [will be the place of] the outstretching of their hand,” i.e., included in their area of jurisdiction (see HALOT 648 s.v. ח(וֹ)מִשְׁלֹ).

[11:15]  ³² tn The verb is usually understood as “put under the ban, destroy,” or emended to חָרָב (kharav, “dry up”). However, HALOT 354 s.v. II חרם proposes a homonymic root meaning “divide.”

[11:15]  ³³ tn Heb “tongue” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV).

[11:15]  ³⁴ sn That is, the Red Sea.

[11:15]  ³⁵ tn Heb “the river”; capitalized in some English versions (e.g., ASV, NASB, NRSV) as a reference to the Euphrates River.

[11:15]  ³⁶ tn Heb “with the [?] of his wind” [or “breath”]. The Hebrew term עַיָם (’ayam) occurs only here. Some attempt to relate the word to an Arabic root and translate, “scorching [or “hot”] wind.” This interpretation fits especially well if one reads “dry up” in the previous line. Others prefer to emend the form to עֹצֶם (’otsem, “strong”). See HALOT 817 s.v. עֲצַם.

[11:15]  ³⁷ tn Heb “seven streams.” The Hebrew term נַחַל (nakhal, “stream”) refers to a wadi, or seasonal stream, which runs during the rainy season, but is otherwise dry. The context (see v. 15b) here favors the translation, “dried up streams.” The number seven suggests totality and completeness. Here it indicates that God’s provision for escape will be thorough and more than capable of accommodating the returning exiles.

[11:16]  ³⁸ tn Heb “and there will be a highway for the remnant of his people who remain, from Assyria.”

[11:16]  ³⁹ tn Heb “in the day” (so KJV).

[27:12]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “and it will be in that day.” The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.

[27:12]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “the Lord will beat out.” The verb is used of beating seeds or grain to separate the husk from the kernel (see Judg 6:11; Ruth 2:17; Isa 28:27), and of beating the olives off the olive tree (Deut 24:20). The latter metaphor may be in view here, where a tree metaphor has been employed in the preceding verses. See also 17:6.

[27:12]  ⁴² tn Heb “the river,” a frequent designation in the OT for the Euphrates. For clarity most modern English versions substitute the name “Euphrates” for “the river” here.

[27:12]  ⁴³ sn The Israelites will be freed from exile (likened to beating the olives off the tree) and then gathered (likened to collecting the olives).

[27:13]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “and it will be in that day.” The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.

[27:13]  ⁴⁵ tn Traditionally, “great” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NLT); CEV “loud.”

[27:13]  ⁴⁶ tn Or “the ones perishing.”

[27:13]  ⁴⁷ tn Or “the ones driven into.”

[27:13]  ⁴⁸ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[34:14]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “good.”

[34:21]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “outside.”

[34:23]  ⁵¹ sn The messianic king is here called “David” (see Jer 30:9 and Hos 3:5, as well as Isa 11:1 and Mic 5:2) because he will fulfill the Davidic royal ideal depicted in the prophets and royal psalms (see Ps 2, 89).

[34:24]  ⁵² sn The messianic king (“David”) is called both “king” and “prince” in 37:24-25. The use of the term “prince” for this king facilitates the contrast between this ideal ruler and the Davidic “princes” denounced in earlier prophecies (see 7:27; 12:10, 12; 19:1; 21:25; 22:6, 25).

[34:25]  ⁵³ tn The phrase “live securely” occurs in Ezek 28:26; 38:8, 11, 14; 39:26 as an expression of freedom from fear. It is a promised blessing resulting from obedience (see Lev 26:5-6).

[34:25]  ⁵⁴ sn The woods were typically considered to be places of danger (Ps 104:20-21; Jer 5:6).

[34:26]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “showers of blessing.” Abundant rain, which in turn produces fruit and crops (v. 27), is a covenantal blessing for obedience (Lev 26:4).

[34:29]  ⁵⁶ tc The MT reads לְשֵׁם (lÿshem, “for a name”), meaning perhaps a renowned planting (place). The translation takes this to be a metathesis of שָׁלֹם (shalom) as was read by the LXX.

[34:29]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “those gathered” for famine.

[34:30]  ⁵⁸ sn A promise given to Abraham (Gen 15:7) and his descendants (Gen 15:8; Exod 6:7).

[34:30]  ⁵⁹ sn The blessings described in vv. 25-30 are those promised for obedience in Lev 26:4-13.

[34:31]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb, “the sheep of my pasture, you are human.” See 36:37-38 for a similar expression. The possessive pronoun “my” is supplied in the translation to balance “I am your God” in the next clause.

[36:37]  ⁶¹ tn The Niphal verb may have a tolerative function here, “Again (for) this I will allow myself to be sought by the house of Israel to act for them.” Or it may be reflexive: “I will reveal myself to the house of Israel by doing this also.”

[36:37]  ⁶² sn Heb “I will multiply them like sheep, human(s).”

[37:22]  ⁶³ sn Jeremiah also attested to the reuniting of the northern and southern kingdoms (Jer 3:12, 14; 31:2-6).

[37:23]  ⁶⁴ tc Heb “their dwellings.” The text as it stands does not make sense. Based on the LXX, a slight emendation of two vowels, including a mater, yields the reading “from their turning,” a reference here to their turning from God and deviating from his commandments. See BDB 1000 s.v. מְשׁוּבָה, and D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 2:407.

[37:24]  ⁶⁵ tn Heb “walk [in].”

[37:24]  ⁶⁶ tn Heb “and my statutes they will guard and they will do them.”

[37:26]  ⁶⁷ sn See Isa 24:5; 55:3; 61:8; Jer 32:40; 50:5; Ezek 16:60, for other references to perpetual covenants.

[37:26]  ⁶⁸ tn Heb “give them.”

[39:28]  ⁶⁹ tn Heb “there,” referring to the foreign nations to which they were exiled. The translation makes the referent clear.

[9:14]  ⁷⁰ tn This line can also be translated “I will restore the fortunes of my people, Israel” and is a common idiom (e.g., Deut 30:3; Jer 30:3; Hos 6:11; Zeph 3:20). This rendering is followed by several modern English versions (e.g., NEB, NRSV, NJPS).

[9:14]  ⁷¹ tn Or “the ruined [or “desolate”] cities.”

[9:14]  ⁷² tn Or “and live [in them].”

[9:14]  ⁷³ tn Heb “drink their wine.”

[9:14]  ⁷⁴ tn Or “gardens.”

[9:14]  ⁷⁵ tn Heb “eat their fruit.”

[9:15]  ⁷⁶ tn Heb “their.” The pronoun was replaced by the English definite article in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[7:12]  ⁷⁷ tn Heb “they.” The referent has been specified as “people,” referring either to the nations (coming to God with their tribute) or to the exiles of Israel (returning to the Lord).

[7:12]  ⁷⁸ tn The masculine pronominal suffix suggests the Lord is addressed. Some emend to a feminine form and take Jerusalem as the addressee.

[7:12]  ⁷⁹ tc The MT reads וְעָרֵי (vÿ’arey, “and the cities [of Egypt]”), but the parallel line indicates this is a corruption of וְעַד (vÿ’ad, “even to”).

[7:12]  ⁸⁰ tn Heb “the River,” referring to the Euphrates River. This has been specified in the translation for clarity (so also NASB, NIV).

[7:12]  ⁸¹ tn Heb “and sea from sea.” Many prefer to emend this to מִיָּם עַד יָם (miyyam ’ad yam, “from sea to sea”).

[7:12]  ⁸² tn Heb “and mountain of the mountain.” Many prefer to emend this to וּמֵהַר עַד הַר (umehar ’ad har, “and mountain to mountain”).

[3:19]  ⁸³ tn The word “sheep” is supplied for clarification. As in Mic 4:6-7, the exiles are here pictured as injured and scattered sheep whom the divine shepherd rescues from danger.

[3:19]  ⁸⁴ tn Heb “I will make them into praise and a name, in all the earth, their shame.” The present translation assumes that “their shame” specifies “them” and that “name” stands here for a good reputation.

[3:20]  ⁸⁵ tn In this line the second person pronoun is masculine plural, indicating that the exiles are addressed.

[3:20]  ⁸⁶ tn Or “for.”

[3:20]  ⁸⁷ tn Heb “I will make you into a name and praise among all the peoples of the earth.” Here the word “name” carries the nuance of “good reputation.”

[3:20]  ⁸⁸ tn Heb “when I restore your fortunes to your eyes.” See the note on the phrase “restore them” in 2:7.

[10:9]  ⁸⁹ tn Or “sow” (so KJV, ASV). The imagery is taken from the sowing of seed by hand.

[10:10]  ⁹⁰ sn I will bring them back from Egypt…from Assyria. The gathering of God’s people to their land in eschatological times will be like a reenactment of the exodus, but this time they will come from all over the world (cf. Isa 40:3-5; 43:1-7, 14-21; 48:20-22; 51:9-11).

[10:11]  ⁹¹ tn Heb “he,” in which case the referent is the Lord. This reading is followed by KJV, ASV, NAB (which renders it as first person), and NASB. The LXX reads “they,” referring to the Israelites themselves, a reading followed by many modern English versions (e.g., NIV, NRSV, TEV, NLT).

[10:11]  ⁹² tn Heb “scepter,” referring by metonymy to the dominating rule of Egypt (cf. NLT).

[10:12]  ⁹³ tc Heb “I will strengthen them in the Lord.” Because of the perceived problem of the Lord saying he will strengthen the people “in the Lord,” both BHK and BHS suggest emending גִּבַּרְתִּים (gibbartim, “I will strengthen them”) to גְּבֻרָתָם (gevuratam, “their strength”). This is unnecessary, however, for the Lord frequently refers to himself in that manner (see Zech 2:11).

[10:12]  ⁹⁴ tc The LXX and Syriac presuppose יִתְהַלָּלוּ (yithallalu, “they will glory”) for יִתְהַלְּכוּ (yithallÿkhu, “they will walk about”). Since walking about is a common idiom in Zechariah (cf. 1:10, 11; 6:7 [3x]) to speak of dominion, and dominion is a major theme of the present passage, there is no reason to reject the MT reading, which is followed by most modern English versions.