Genesis 15:1

The Cutting of the Covenant

15:1 After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram! I am your shield ¹  and the one who will reward you in great abundance.” ² 

Deuteronomy 33:27

33:27 The everlasting God is a refuge,

and underneath you are his eternal arms; ³ 

he has driven out enemies before you,

and has said, “Destroy!”

Deuteronomy 33:1

Introduction to the Blessing of Moses

33:1 This is the blessing Moses the man of God pronounced upon the Israelites before his death.

Deuteronomy 25:16

25:16 For anyone who acts dishonestly in these ways is abhorrent ⁴  to the Lord your God.

Psalms 5:12

5:12 Certainly ⁵  you reward ⁶  the godly, ⁷  Lord.

Like a shield you protect ⁸  them ⁹  in your good favor. ¹⁰ 

Psalms 34:7

34:7 The Lord’s angel camps around

the Lord’s ¹¹  loyal followers ¹²  and delivers them. ¹³ 

Psalms 80:12

80:12 Why did you break down its walls, ¹⁴ 

so that all who pass by pluck its fruit? ¹⁵ 

Isaiah 5:2

5:2 He built a hedge around it, ¹⁶  removed its stones,

and planted a vine.

He built a tower in the middle of it,

and constructed a winepress.

He waited for it to produce edible grapes,

but it produced sour ones instead. ¹⁷ 

Isaiah 5:5

5:5 Now I will inform you

what I am about to do to my vineyard:

I will remove its hedge and turn it into pasture, ¹⁸ 

I will break its wall and allow animals to graze there. ¹⁹ 

Zechariah 2:5

2:5 But I (the Lord says) will be a wall of fire surrounding Jerusalem ²⁰  and the source of glory in her midst.’”

Zechariah 2:8

2:8 For the Lord who rules over all says to me that for his own glory ²¹  he has sent me to the nations that plundered you – for anyone who touches you touches the pupil ²²  of his ²³  eye.

Zechariah 2:1

Vision Three: The Surveyor

2:1 (2:5) I looked again, and there was a man with a measuring line in his hand.

Zechariah 1:5

1:5 “As for your ancestors, where are they? And did the prophets live forever?

¹ sn The noun “shield” recalls the words of Melchizedek in 14:20. If God is the shield, then God will deliver. Abram need not fear reprisals from those he has fought.

² tn Heb “your reward [in] great abundance.” When the phrase הַרְבּה מְאֹדֵ (harbeh mÿod) follows a noun it invariably modifies the noun and carries the nuance “very great” or “in great abundance.” (See its use in Gen 41:49; Deut 3:5; Josh 22:8; 2 Sam 8:8; 12:2; 1 Kgs 4:29; 10:10-11; 2 Chr 14:13; 32:27; Jer 40:12.) Here the noun “reward” is in apposition to “shield” and refers by metonymy to God as the source of the reward. Some translate here “your reward will be very great” (cf. NASB, NRSV), taking the statement as an independent clause and understanding the Hiphil infinitive absolute as a substitute for a finite verb. However, the construction הַרְבּה מְאֹדֵ is never used this way elsewhere, where it either modifies a noun (see the texts listed above) or serves as an adverb in relation to a finite verb (see Josh 13:1; 1 Sam 26:21; 2 Sam 12:30; 2 Kgs 21:16; 1 Chr 20:2; Neh 2:2).

³ tn Heb “and from under, arms of perpetuity.” The words “you” and “his” are supplied in the translation for clarification. Some have perceived this line to be problematic and have offered alternative translations that differ significantly from the present translation: “He spread out the primeval tent; he extended the ancient canopy” (NAB); “He subdues the ancient gods, shatters the forces of old” (NRSV). These are based on alternate meanings or conjectural emendations rather than textual variants in the mss and versions.

⁴ tn The Hebrew term translated here “abhorrent” (תּוֹעֵבָה, to’evah) speaks of attitudes and/or behaviors so vile as to be reprehensible to a holy God. See note on the word “abhorrent” in Deut 7:25.

⁵ tn Or “For.”

⁶ tn Or “bless.” The imperfect verbal forms here and in the next line highlight how God characteristically rewards and protects the godly.

⁷ tn Or “innocent.” The singular form is used here in a collective or representative sense.

⁸ tn Heb “surround.” In 1 Sam 23:26 the verb describes how Saul and his men hemmed David in as they chased him.

⁹ tn Heb “him.” The singular form is used here in a collective or representative sense and is thus translated “them.”

¹⁰ tn Or “with favor” (cf. NRSV). There is no preposition before the noun in the Hebrew text, nor is there a pronoun attached. “Favor” here stands by metonymy for God’s defensive actions on behalf of the one whom he finds acceptable.

¹¹ tn Heb “his”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹² tn Heb “those who fear him.”

¹³ tn The prefixed verb with vav (ו) consecutive here carries the same generalizing force as the active participle in the first line. See GKC 329 §111.u.

¹⁴ sn The protective walls of the metaphorical vineyard are in view here (see Isa 5:5).

¹⁵ tn Heb “pluck it.”

¹⁶ tn Or, “dug it up” (so NIV); KJV “fenced it.’ See HALOT 810 s.v. עזק.

¹⁷ tn Heb “wild grapes,” i.e., sour ones (also in v. 4).

¹⁸ tn Heb “and it will become [a place for] grazing.” בָּעַר (ba’ar, “grazing”) is a homonym of the more often used verb “to burn.”

¹⁹ tn Heb “and it will become a trampled place” (NASB “trampled ground”).

²⁰ tn Heb “her”; the referent (Jerusalem) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

²¹ tn Heb “After glory has he sent me” (similar KJV, NASB). What is clearly in view is the role of Zechariah who, by faithful proclamation of the message, will glorify the Lord.

²² tn Heb “gate” (בָּבָה, bavah) of the eye, that is, pupil. The rendering of this term by KJV as “apple” has created a well-known idiom in the English language, “the apple of his eye” (so ASV, NIV). The pupil is one of the most vulnerable and valuable parts of the body, so for Judah to be considered the “pupil” of the Lord’s eye is to raise her value to an incalculable price (cf. NLT “my most precious possession”).

²³ tc A scribal emendation (tiqqun sopherim) has apparently altered an original “my eye” to “his eye” in order to allow the prophet to be the speaker throughout vv. 8-9. This alleviates the problem of the Lord saying, in effect, that he has sent himself on the mission to the nations.