Zechariah 4:11

4:11 Next I asked the messenger, “What are these two olive trees on the right and the left of the menorah?”

Zechariah 13:6

13:6 Then someone will ask him, ‘What are these wounds on your chest?’ ¹  and he will answer, ‘Some that I received in the house of my friends.’

Zechariah 8:9

8:9 “The Lord who rules over all also says, ‘Gather strength, you who are listening to these words today from the mouths of the prophets who were there at the founding of the house of the Lord who rules over all, ²  so that the temple might be built.

Zechariah 8:15

8:15 so, to the contrary, I have planned in these days to do good to Jerusalem and Judah – do not fear!

Zechariah 3:7

3:7 “The Lord who rules over all says, ‘If you live ³  and work according to my requirements, you will be able to preside over my temple ⁴  and attend to my courtyards, and I will allow you to come and go among these others who are standing by you.

Zechariah 5:3

5:3 The speaker went on to say, “This is a curse ⁵  traveling across the whole earth. For example, according to the curse whoever steals ⁶  will be removed from the community; or on the other hand (according to the curse) whoever swears falsely will suffer the same fate.”

¹ tn Heb “wounds between your hands.” Cf. NIV “wounds on your body”; KJV makes this more specific: “wounds in thine hands.”

¹ sn These prophets who were there at the founding of the house of the Lord who rules over all included at least Haggai and Zechariah, and perhaps others. The founding referred to here is not the initial laying of the temple’s foundations in 536 b.c. (Ezra 3:8) but the resumption of work two years before the time of the present narrative (i.e., in 520 b.c.), as vv. 10-12 make clear.

¹ tn Heb “walk,” a frequent biblical metaphor for lifestyle or conduct; TEV “If you [+ truly CEV] obey.” To “walk” in the ways of the Lord is to live life as he intends (cf. Deut 8:6; 10:12-22; 28:9).

² sn The statement you will be able to preside over my temple (Heb “house,” a reference to the Jerusalem temple) is a hint of the increasingly important role the high priest played in the postexilic Jewish community, especially in the absence of a monarchy. It also suggests the messianic character of the eschatological priesthood in which the priest would have royal prerogatives.

¹ tn The Hebrew word translated “curse” (אָלָה, ’alah) alludes to the covenant sanctions that attend the violation of God’s covenant with Israel (cf. Deut 29:12, 14, 20-21).

² sn Stealing and swearing falsely (mentioned later in this verse) are sins against mankind and God respectively and are thus violations of the two major parts of the Ten Commandments. These two stipulations (commandments 8 and 3) represent the whole law.