6:8 “‘But I will spare some of you. Some will escape the sword when you are scattered in foreign lands. 3
32:26 “I said, ‘I want to cut them in pieces. 9
I want to make people forget they ever existed.
44:11 You handed us 11 over like sheep to be eaten;
you scattered us among the nations.
50:17 “The people of Israel are like scattered sheep
which lions have chased away.
First the king of Assyria devoured them. 19
Now last of all King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon has gnawed their bones. 20
9:9 “For look, I am giving a command
and I will shake the family of Israel together with all the nations.
It will resemble a sieve being shaken,
when not even a pebble falls to the ground. 21
2:6 “You there! 22 Flee from the northland!” says the Lord, “for like the four winds of heaven 23 I have scattered you,” says the Lord.
1 sn The judgment of plague and famine comes from the covenant curse (Lev 26:25-26). As in v. 10, the city of Jerusalem is figuratively addressed here.
2 sn Judgment by plague, famine, and sword occurs in Jer 21:9; 27:13; Ezek 6:11, 12; 7:15.
3 tn Heb “when you have fugitives from the sword among the nations, when you are scattered among the lands.”
4 tn Heb “I lifted up my hand.”
5 sn Though the Pentateuch does not seem to know of this episode, Ps 106:26-27 may speak of God’s oath to exile the people before they had entered Canaan.
6 sn The ultimate purpose of divine judgment is to purify the covenant community of its sins.
7 tn Heb “and I will empty sword” (see HALOT 1228 s.v. ריק 3).
8 tn Heb “you will be left men (i.e., few) of number.”
9 tc The LXX reads “I said I would scatter them.” This reading is followed by a number of English versions (e.g., KJV, ASV, NIV, NCV, NRSV, NLT, CEV).
10 tn Heb “peoples.”
11 tn The prefixed verbal form is a preterite (without vav [ו] consecutive).
12 tn Heb “fathers.”
13 tn Heb “I will send the sword after them.” The sword here is probably not completely literal but refers to death by violent means, including death by the sword.
14 sn He will destroy them but not completely. See Jer 5:18; 30:11; 46:28.
15 tn Heb “they set their face to go.” Compare 44:11 and 42:14 and see the translator’s note at 42:15.
16 tn Heb “fall by the sword.”
17 tn Or “All of them without distinction,” or “All of them from the least important to the most important”; Heb “From the least to the greatest.” See the translator’s note on 42:1 for the meaning of this idiom.
18 tn See the study note on 24:9 and the usage in 29:22 for the meaning and significance of this last phrase.
19 sn The king of Assyria devoured them. This refers to the devastation wrought on northern Israel by the kings of Assyria beginning in 738
20 tn The verb used here only occurs this one time in the Hebrew Bible. It is a denominative from the Hebrew word for “bones” (עֶצֶם, ’etsem). BDB 1126 s.v. עֶָצַם, denom Pi, define it as “break his bones.” HALOT 822 s.v. II עָצַם Pi defines it as “gnaw on his bones.”
21 tn Heb “like being shaken with a sieve, and a pebble does not fall to the ground.” The meaning of the Hebrew word צְרוֹר (tsÿror), translated “pebble,” is unclear here. In 2 Sam 17:13 it appears to refer to a stone. If it means “pebble,” then the sieve described in v. 6 allows the grain to fall into a basket while retaining the debris and pebbles. However, if one interprets צְרוֹר as a “kernel of grain” (cf. NASB, NIV, NKJV, NLT) then the sieve is constructed to retain the grain and allow the refuse and pebbles to fall to the ground. In either case, the simile supports the last statement in v. 8 by making it clear that God will distinguish between the righteous (the grain) and the wicked (the pebbles) when he judges, and will thereby preserve a remnant in Israel. Only the sinners will be destroyed (v. 10).
22 sn These are the scattered Jews of eschatological times (as the expression four winds of heaven makes clear) and not those of Zechariah’s time who have, for the most part, already returned by 520
23 tn Or “of the sky.” The same Hebrew term, שָׁמַיִם (shamayim), may be translated “heaven(s)” or “sky” depending on the context.
24 tn Or “desirable”; traditionally “pleasant” (so many English versions; cf. TEV “This good land”).
25 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
26 tn Grk “by the mouth of the sword” (an idiom for the edge of a sword).
27 sn Here is the predicted judgment against the nation until the time of Gentile rule has passed: Its people will be led away as captives.
28 tn Grk “And Jerusalem.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
29 sn Until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled implies a time when Israel again has a central role in God’s plan.