1:8 I was attentive that night and saw a man seated 1 on a red horse that stood among some myrtle trees 2 in the ravine. Behind him were red, sorrel, 3 and white horses.
14:12 But this will be the nature of the plague with which the Lord will strike all the nations that have fought against Jerusalem: Their flesh will decay while they stand on their feet, their eyes will rot away in their sockets, and their tongues will dissolve in their mouths.
1 tn Heb “riding,” but since this verb in English is usually associated with horses in motion rather than standing still, the translation uses “seated.” Cf. NAB “the driver of a red horse.”
2 tc The LXX presupposes הֶהָרִים (heharim, “mountains”) rather than the MT הַהֲדַסִּים (hahadassim, “myrtles”), probably because of reference to the ravine. The MT reading is preferred and is followed by most English versions.
3 sn The Hebrew שְׂרֻקִּים (sÿruqqim) means “red” (cf. NIV, NCV, NLT “brown”). English translations such as “speckled” (KJV) or “dappled” (TEV) are based on the reading of the LXX (ψαροί) that attempts to bring the color of this horse into conformity with those described in Zech 6:2-3. However, since these are two different and unrelated visions, this is a methodological fallacy.