Zechariah 1:15

1:15 But I am greatly displeased with the nations that take my grace for granted. ¹  I was a little displeased with them, but they have only made things worse for themselves.

Zechariah 4:12

4:12 Before he could reply I asked again, “What are these two extensions ²  of the olive trees, which are emptying out the golden oil through the two golden pipes?”

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 7:7

7:7 Should you not have obeyed the words that the Lord cried out through the former prophets when Jerusalem ³  was peacefully inhabited and her surrounding cities, the Negev, and the Shephelah ⁴  were also populated?

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 ⁵  land a waste.”

Zechariah 8:16

8:16 These are the things you must do: Speak the truth, each of you, to one another. Practice true and righteous judgment in your courts. ⁶ 

Zechariah 11:2

11:2 Howl, fir tree,

because the cedar has fallen;

the majestic trees have been destroyed.

Howl, oaks of Bashan,

because the impenetrable forest has fallen.

Zechariah 11:5

11:5 Those who buy them ⁷  slaughter them and are not held guilty; those who sell them say, ‘Blessed be the Lord, for I am rich.’ Their own shepherds have no compassion for them.

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 14:15

14:15 This is the kind of plague that will devastate horses, mules, camels, donkeys, and all the other animals in those camps.

Zechariah 14:17

14:17 But if any of the nations anywhere on earth refuse to go up to Jerusalem ⁸  to worship the King, the Lord who rules over all, they will get no rain.

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.

[1:15]  ¹ tn Or “the nations that are at ease” (so ASV, NRSV). The Hebrew word in question is שַׁאֲנָן (sha’anan) which has the idea of a careless, even arrogant attitude (see BDB 983 s.v. שַׁאֲנָן); cf. NAB “the complacent nations.” Here it suggests that the nations take for granted that God will never punish them just because he hasn't already done so. Thus they presume on the grace and patience of the Lord. The translation attempts to bring out this nuance rather than the more neutral renderings of TEV “nations that enjoy quiet and peace” or NLT “enjoy peace and security.”

[4:12]  ² tn The usual meaning of the Hebrew term שְׁבֹּלֶת (shÿbolet) is “ears” (as in ears of grain). Here it probably refers to the produce of the olive trees, i.e., olives. Many English versions render the term as “branches,” but cf. NAB “tufts.”

[7:7]  ³ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[7:7]  ⁴ sn The Shephelah is the geographical region between the Mediterranean coastal plain and the Judean hill country. The Hebrew term can be translated “lowlands” (cf. ASV), “foothills” (NAB, NASB, NLT), or “steppes.”

[7:14]  ⁴ tn Or “desirable”; traditionally “pleasant” (so many English versions; cf. TEV “This good land”).

[8:16]  ⁵ sn For a similar reference to true and righteous judgment see Mic 6:8.

[11:5]  ⁶ sn The expression those who buy them appears to be a reference to the foreign nations to whom Israel’s own kings “sold” their subjects. Far from being good shepherds, then, they were evil and profiteering. The whole section (vv. 4-14) refers to the past when the Lord, the Good Shepherd, had in vain tried to lead his people to salvation and life.

[14:17]  ⁷ sn The reference to any…who refuse to go up to Jerusalem makes clear the fact that the nations are by no means “converted” to the Lord but are under his compulsory domination.