Zechariah 2:5

2:5 But I (the Lord says) will be a wall of fire surrounding Jerusalem ¹  and the source of glory in her midst.’”

Zechariah 3:10

3:10 In that day,’ says the Lord who rules over all, ‘everyone will invite his friend to fellowship under his vine and under his fig tree.’” ² 

Zechariah 8:17

8:17 Do not plan evil in your hearts against one another. Do not favor a false oath – these are all things that I hate,’ says the Lord.”

Zechariah 13:8

13:8 It will happen in all the land, says the Lord,

that two-thirds of the people ³  in it will be cut off and die,

but one-third will be left in it. ⁴ 

¹ tn Heb “her”; the referent (Jerusalem) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

² tn Heb “under the vine and under the fig tree,” with the Hebrew article used twice as a possessive pronoun (cf. NASB “his”). Some English translations render this as second person rather than third (NRSV “your vine”; cf. also NAB, NCV, TEV).

³ tn The words “of the people” are supplied in the translation for clarity (cf. NCV, TEV, NLT).

⁴ sn The fractions mentioned here call to mind the affliction of God’s people described by Ezekiel, though Ezekiel referred to his own times whereas Zechariah is looking forward to a future eschatological age. Ezekiel spoke of cutting his hair at God’s command (Ezek 5:1-4) and then of burning a third of it, striking a third with a sword, and scattering the rest. From this last third a few hairs would survive to become the nucleus of a new Israel. It is this “third” Zechariah speaks of (v. 9), the remnant who will be purified and reclaimed as God’s covenant people.