Zechariah 1:11

1:11 The riders then agreed with the angel of the Lord, ¹  who was standing among the myrtle trees, “We have been walking about on the earth, and now everything is at rest and quiet.”

Zechariah 6:5

6:5 The messenger replied, “These are the four spirits ²  of heaven that have been presenting themselves before the Lord of all the earth.

Zechariah 7:14

7:14 ‘Rather, I will sweep them away in a storm into all the nations they are not familiar with.’ Thus the land had become desolate because of them, with no one crossing through or returning, for they had made the fruitful ³  land a waste.”

Zechariah 9:1

The Coming of the True King

9:1 An oracle of the word of the Lord concerning the land of Hadrach, ⁴  with its focus on Damascus: ⁵ 

The eyes of all humanity, ⁶  especially of the tribes of Israel, are toward the Lord,

Zechariah 10:11

10:11 The Lord ⁷  will cross the sea of storms and will calm its turbulence. The depths of the Nile will dry up, the pride of Assyria will be humbled, and the domination ⁸  of Egypt will be no more.

Zechariah 11:10

11:10 Then I took my staff “Pleasantness” and cut it in two to annul my covenant that I had made with all the people.

Zechariah 12:2

12:2 “I am about to make Jerusalem ⁹  a cup that brings dizziness ¹⁰  to all the surrounding nations; indeed, Judah will also be included when Jerusalem is besieged.

Zechariah 13:8

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

that two-thirds of the people ¹¹  in it will be cut off and die,

but one-third will be left in it. ¹² 

Zechariah 14:9

14:9 The Lord will then be king over all the earth. In that day the Lord will be seen as one with a single name. ¹³ 

Zechariah 14:14-15

14:14 Moreover, Judah will fight at ¹⁴  Jerusalem, and the wealth of all the surrounding nations will be gathered up ¹⁵  – gold, silver, and clothing in great abundance. 14:15 This is the kind of plague that will devastate horses, mules, camels, donkeys, and all the other animals in those camps.

Zechariah 14:19

14:19 This will be the punishment of Egypt and of all nations that do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles.

[1:11]  ¹ sn The angel of the Lord is a special being who throughout the OT represents God himself and on occasion almost approaches divine hypostatization or incarnation (cf. Gen 18:2, 13, 17, 22; Exod 23:20-21; Josh 5:13-15; Judg 6:11-24; 13:2-20).

[6:5]  ² tn The Hebrew term translated “spirit” here may also be translated “wind” or “breath” depending on the context (cf. ASV, NRSV, CEV “the four winds of heaven”; NAB similar).

[7:14]  ³ tn Or “desirable”; traditionally “pleasant” (so many English versions; cf. TEV “This good land”).

[9:1]  ⁴ sn The land of Hadrach was a northern region stretching from Aleppo in the north to Damascus in the south (cf. NLT “Aram”).

[9:1]  ⁵ 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.

[9:1]  ⁶ 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).

[10:11]  ⁵ tn Heb “he,” in which case the referent is the Lord. This reading is followed by KJV, ASV, NAB (which renders it as first person), and NASB. The LXX reads “they,” referring to the Israelites themselves, a reading followed by many modern English versions (e.g., NIV, NRSV, TEV, NLT).

[10:11]  ⁶ tn Heb “scepter,” referring by metonymy to the dominating rule of Egypt (cf. NLT).

[12:2]  ⁶ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[12:2]  ⁷ sn The image of a cup that brings dizziness is that of drunkenness. The Lord will force the nations to drink of his judgment and in doing so they will become so intoxicated by his wrath that they will stumble and become irrational.

[13:8]  ⁷ tn The words “of the people” are supplied in the translation for clarity (cf. NCV, TEV, NLT).

[13:8]  ⁸ 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.

[14:9]  ⁸ sn The expression the Lord will be seen as one with a single name is an unmistakable reference to the so-called Shema, the crystallized statement of faith in the Lord as the covenant God of Israel (cf. Deut 6:4-5). Zechariah, however, universalizes the extent of the Lord’s dominion – he will be “king over all the earth.”

[14:14]  ⁹ tn The Hebrew phrase בִּירוּשָׁלָם (birushalam) with the verb נִלְחַם (nilkham, “make war”) would ordinarily suggest that Judah is fighting against Jerusalem (so NAB, CEV). While this could happen accidentally, the context here favors the idea that Judah is fighting alongside Jerusalem against a common enemy. The preposition בְּ (bÿ), then, should be construed as locative (“at”; cf. KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).

[14:14]  ¹⁰ tn The term translated “gathered up” could also be rendered “collected” (so NIV, NCV, NRSV, although this might suggest a form of taxation) or “confiscated” (which might imply seizure of property against someone’s will). The imagery in the context, however, suggests the aftermath of a great battle, where the spoils are being picked up by the victors (cf. NLT “captured”).