1:8 I was attentive that night and saw a man seated 2 on a red horse that stood among some myrtle trees 3 in the ravine. Behind him were red, sorrel, 4 and white horses.
1:9 Then I asked one nearby, “What are these, sir?” The angelic messenger 5 who replied to me said, “I will show you what these are.”
52:12 On the tenth 6 day of the fifth month, 7 in the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, Nebuzaradan, the captain of the royal guard 8 who served 9 the king of Babylon, arrived in Jerusalem. 52:13 He burned down the Lord’s temple, the royal palace, and all the houses in Jerusalem, including every large house. 52:14 The whole Babylonian army that came with the captain of the royal guard tore down the walls that surrounded Jerusalem.
1 sn The fasts of the fifth and seventh months, mentioned previously (7:5), are listed here along with the observances of the fourth and tenth months. The latter commemorated the siege of Jerusalem by the Babylonians on January 15, 588
2 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.”
3 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.
4 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.
5 tn Heb “messenger” or “angel” (מַלְאָךְ, mal’akh). This being appears to serve as an interpreter to the prophet (cf. vv. 13, 14).
6 tn The parallel account in 2 Kgs 25:8 has “seventh.”
7 sn The tenth day of the month would have been August 17, 586
8 tn For the meaning of this phrase see BDB 371 s.v. טַבָּח 2 and compare the usage in Gen 39:1.
9 tn Heb “stood before.”