Zechariah 6:6

6:6 The chariot with the black horses is going to the north country and the white ones are going after them, but the spotted ones are going to the south country.

Zechariah 14:4

14:4 On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives which lies to the east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in half from east to west, leaving a great valley. Half the mountain will move northward and the other half southward. ¹ 

Zechariah 6:8

6:8 Then he cried out to me, “Look! The ones going to the northland have brought me ²  peace about the northland.” ³ 

Zechariah 14:8

14:8 Moreover, on that day living waters will flow out from Jerusalem, ⁴  half of them to the eastern sea ⁵  and half of them to the western sea; ⁶  it will happen both in summer and in winter.

Zechariah 9:1

The Coming of the True King

9:1 An oracle of the word of the Lord concerning the land of Hadrach, ⁷  with its focus on Damascus: ⁸ 

The eyes of all humanity, ⁹  especially of the tribes of Israel, are toward the Lord,

Zechariah 2:3

2:3 At this point the angelic messenger ¹⁰  who spoke to me went out, and another messenger came to meet him

Zechariah 8:8

8:8 And I will bring them to settle within Jerusalem. They will be my people, and I will be their God, ¹¹  in truth and righteousness.’

Zechariah 1:16

The Oracle of Response

1:16 “‘Therefore,’ says the Lord, ‘I have become compassionate ¹²  toward Jerusalem ¹³  and will rebuild my temple ¹⁴  in it,’ says the Lord who rules over all. ‘Once more a surveyor’s measuring line will be stretched out over Jerusalem.’

Zechariah 5:9

5:9 Then I looked again and saw two women ¹⁵  going forth with the wind in their wings (they had wings like those of a stork) and they lifted up the basket between the earth and the sky.

¹ sn This seismic activity provides a means of escape from Jerusalem so that the Messiah (the Lord), whose feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, may destroy the wicked nations in the Kidron Valley (the v. of Jehoshaphat, or of “judgment of the Lord”) without harming the inhabitants of the city.

¹ tn Heb “my spirit.” The subject appears to be the Lord who exclaims here that the horsemen have accomplished their task of bringing peace.

² sn The immediate referent of peace about the northland is to the peace brought by Persia’s conquest of Babylonia, a peace that allowed the restoration of the Jewish people (cf. 2 Chr 36:22-23; Isa 44:28; 45:1-2). However, there is also an eschatological dimension, referring to a time when there will be perfect and universal peace.

¹ sn Living waters will flow out from Jerusalem. Ezekiel sees this same phenomenon in conjunction with the inauguration of the messianic age (Ezek 47; cf. Rev 22:1-5; also John 7:38).

² sn The eastern sea is a reference to the Dead Sea (cf. NCV, TEV, CEV, NLT).

³ sn The western sea is a reference to the Mediterranean Sea (cf. NCV, TEV, CEV, NLT).

¹ sn The land of Hadrach was a northern region stretching from Aleppo in the north to Damascus in the south (cf. NLT “Aram”).

² tn Heb “Damascus its resting place.” The 3rd person masculine singular suffix on “resting place” (מְנֻחָתוֹ, mÿnukhato), however, precludes “land” or even “Hadrach,” both of which are feminine, from being the antecedent. Most likely “word” (masculine) is the antecedent, i.e., the “word of the Lord” is finding its resting place, that is, its focus in or on Damascus.

³ tc Though without manuscript and version support, many scholars suggest emendation here to clarify what, to them, is an unintelligible reading. Thus some propose עָדֵי אָרָם (’ade ’aram, “cities of Aram”; cf. NAB, NRSV) for עֵין אָדָם (’en ’adam, “eye of man”) or אֲדָמָה (’adamah, “ground”) for אָדָם (’adam, “man”), “(surface of) the earth.” It seems best, however, to see “eye” as collective and to understand the passage as saying that the attention of the whole earth will be upon the Lord (cf. NIV, NLT).

¹ tn See the note on the expression “angelic messenger” in 1:9.

¹ sn The affirmation They will be my people, and I will be their God speaks of covenant renewal, a restoration of the unbroken fellowship the Lord desired to have with his people but which their disloyalty had shattered. In the eschaton God and Israel will be in covenant union once again (cf. Jer 31:33).

¹ tn Heb “I have turned.” This suggests that the Lord has responded to the “turning” (i.e., repentance) of the people (v. 6) and now, with great love and forgiveness, allows construction of the temple to proceed.

² map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

³ tn Heb “house.”

¹ sn Here two women appear as the agents of the Lord because the whole scene is feminine in nature. The Hebrew word for “wickedness” in v. 8 (רִשְׁעָה) is grammatically feminine, so feminine imagery is appropriate throughout.