Zechariah 1:18

Vision Two: The Four Horns

1:18 (2:1) ¹  Once again I looked and this time I saw four horns.

Zechariah 5:1

Vision Six: The Flying Scroll

5:1 Then I turned to look, and there was a flying scroll!

Zechariah 2:1

Vision Three: The Surveyor

2:1 (2:5) I looked again, and there was a man with a measuring line in his hand.

Zechariah 6:1

Vision Eight: The Chariots

6:1 Once more I looked, and this time I saw four chariots emerging from between two mountains of bronze. ² 

Zechariah 5:9

5:9 Then I looked again and saw two women ³  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.

Zechariah 12:10

12:10 “I will pour out on the kingship ⁴  of David and the population of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication so that they will look to me, ⁵  the one they have pierced. They will lament for him as one laments for an only son, and there will be a bitter cry for him like the bitter cry for a firstborn. ⁶ 

Zechariah 5:5

Vision Seven: The Ephah

5:5 After this the angelic messenger ⁷  who had been speaking to me went out and said, “Look, see what is leaving.”

Zechariah 6:8

6:8 Then he cried out to me, “Look! The ones going to the northland have brought me ⁸  peace about the northland.” ⁹ 

Zechariah 6:12

6:12 Then say to him, ‘The Lord who rules over all says, “Look – here is the man whose name is Branch, ¹⁰  who will sprout up from his place and build the temple of the Lord.

Zechariah 9:9

9:9 Rejoice greatly, daughter of Zion!

Shout, daughter of Jerusalem!

Look! Your king is coming to you:

he is legitimate ¹¹  and victorious, ¹² 

humble and riding on a donkey ¹³  –

on a young donkey, the foal of a female donkey.

Zechariah 2:10

2:10 “Sing out and be happy, Zion my daughter! ¹⁴  For look, I have come; I will settle in your midst,” says the Lord.

Zechariah 4:2

4:2 He asked me, “What do you see?” I replied, ¹⁵  “I see a menorah of pure gold with a receptacle at the top and seven lamps, with fourteen pipes going to the lamps.

Zechariah 4:10

4:10 For who dares make light of small beginnings? These seven eyes ¹⁶  will joyfully look on the tin tablet ¹⁷  in Zerubbabel’s hand. (These are the eyes of the Lord, which constantly range across the whole earth.)

Zechariah 10:3

10:3 I am enraged at the shepherds and will punish the lead-goats.

For the Lord who rules over all has brought blessing to his flock, the house of Judah, and will transform them into his majestic warhorse.

Zechariah 3:9

3:9 As for the stone ¹⁸  I have set before Joshua – on the one stone there are seven eyes. ¹⁹  I am about to engrave an inscription on it,’ says the Lord who rules over all, ‘to the effect that I will remove the iniquity of this land in a single day. ²⁰ 

Zechariah 11:16

11:16 Indeed, I am about to raise up a shepherd in the land who will not take heed to the sheep headed to slaughter, will not seek the scattered, and will not heal the injured. ²¹  Moreover, he will not nourish the one that is healthy but instead will eat the meat of the fat sheep ²²  and tear off their hooves.

[1:18]  ¹ sn This marks the beginning of ch. 2 in the Hebrew text. Beginning with 1:18, the verse numbers through 2:13 in the English Bible differ from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 1:18 ET = 2:1 HT, 1:19 ET = 2:2 HT, 1:20 ET = 2:3 HT, 1:21 ET = 2:4 HT, 2:1 ET = 2:5 HT, etc., through 2:13 ET = 2:17 HT. From 3:1 the verse numbers in the English Bible and the Hebrew Bible are again the same.

[6:1]  ² tn Heb “two mountains, and the mountains [were] mountains of bronze.” This has been simplified in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[5:9]  ³ 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.

[12:10]  ⁴ tn Or “dynasty”; Heb “house.”

[12:10]  ⁵ tc Because of the difficulty of the concept of the mortal piercing of God, the subject of this clause, and the shift of pronoun from “me” to “him” in the next, many mss read אַלֵי אֵת אֲשֶׁר (’ale ’et ’asher, “to the one whom,” a reading followed by NAB, NRSV) rather than the MT’s אֵלַי אֵת אֲשֶׁר (’ela ’et ’asher, “to me whom”). The reasons for such alternatives, however, are clear – they are motivated by scribes who found such statements theologically objectionable – and they should be rejected in favor of the more difficult reading (lectio difficilior) of the MT.

[12:10]  ⁶ tn The Hebrew term בְּכוֹר (bÿkhor, “firstborn”), translated usually in the LXX by πρωτότοκος (prwtotokos), has unmistakable messianic overtones as the use of the Greek term in the NT to describe Jesus makes clear (cf. Col 1:15, 18). Thus, the idea of God being pierced sets the stage for the fatal wounding of Jesus, the Messiah and the Son of God (cf. John 19:37; Rev 1:7). Note that some English translations supply “son” from the context (e.g., NIV, TEV, NLT).

[5:5]  ⁵ tn See the note on the expression “angelic messenger” in 1:9.

[6:8]  ⁶ tn Heb “my spirit.” The subject appears to be the Lord who exclaims here that the horsemen have accomplished their task of bringing peace.

[6:8]  ⁷ 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.

[6:12]  ⁷ tn The epithet “Branch” (צֶמַח, tsemakh) derives from the verb used here (יִצְמָח, yitsmakh, “will sprout up”) to describe the rise of the Messiah, already referred to in this manner in Zech 3:8 (cf. Isa 11:1; 53:2; Jer 33:15). In the immediate context this refers to Zerubbabel, but the ultimate referent is Jesus (cf. John 19:5).

[9:9]  ⁸ tn The Hebrew term צַדִּיק (tsadiq) ordinarily translated “righteous,” frequently occurs, as here, with the idea of conforming to a standard or meeting certain criteria. The Messianic king riding into Jerusalem is fully qualified to take the Davidic throne (cf. 1 Sam 23:3; Isa 9:5-6; 11:4; 16:5; Jer 22:1-5; 23:5-6).

[9:9]  ⁹ tn The Hebrew term נוֹשָׁע (nosha’) a Niphal participle of יָשַׁע (yasha’, “to save”) could mean “one delivered” or, if viewed as active, “one bringing salvation” (similar KJV, NIV, NKJV). It is preferable to take the normal passive use of the Niphal and understand that the king, having been delivered, is as a result “victorious” (so also NRSV, TEV, NLT).

[9:9]  ¹⁰ sn The NT understands this verse to be a prophecy of the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, and properly so (cf. Matt 21:5; John 12:15), but reference to the universal rule of the king in v. 10 reveals that this is a “split prophecy,” that is, it has a two-stage fulfillment. Verse 9 was fulfilled in Jesus’ earthly ministry but v. 10 awaits a millennial consummation (cf. Rev 19:11-16).

[2:10]  ⁹ sn This individualizing of Zion as a daughter draws attention to the corporate nature of the covenant community and also to the tenderness with which the Lord regards his chosen people.

[4:2]  ¹⁰ tc The present translation (along with most other English versions) follows the reading of the Qere and many ancient versions, “I said,” as opposed to the MT Kethib “he said.”

[4:10]  ¹¹ tn Heb “these seven.” Eyes are clearly intended in the ellipsis as v. 10b shows. As in 3:9 the idea is God’s omniscience. He who knows the end from the beginning rejoices at the completion of his purposes.

[4:10]  ¹² tn This term is traditionally translated “plumb line” (so NASB, NIV, NLT; cf. KJV, NRSV “plummet”), but it is more likely that the Hebrew בְּדִיל (bÿdil) is to be derived not from בָּדַל (badal), “to divide,” but from a root meaning “tin.” This finds support in the ancient Near Eastern custom of placing inscriptions on tin plates in dedicatory foundation deposits.

[3:9]  ¹² sn The stone is also a metaphor for the Messiah, a foundation stone that, at first rejected (Ps 118:22-23; Isa 8:13-15), will become the chief cornerstone of the church (Eph 2:19-22).

[3:9]  ¹³ tn Some understand the Hebrew term עַיִן (’ayin) here to refer to facets (cf. NAB, NRSV, NLT) or “faces” (NCV, CEV “seven sides”) of the stone rather than some representation of organs of sight.

[3:9]  ¹⁴ sn Inscriptions were common on ancient Near Eastern cornerstones. This inscription speaks of the redemption achieved by the divine resident of the temple, the Messiah, who will in the day of the Lord bring salvation to all Israel (cf. Isa 66:7-9).

[11:16]  ¹³ tn Heb “the broken” (so KJV, NASB; NRSV “the maimed”).

[11:16]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “the fat [ones].” Cf. ASV “the fat sheep”; NIV “the choice sheep.”