Zechariah 1:20-21
Context1:20 Next the Lord showed me four blacksmiths. 1 1:21 I asked, “What are these going to do?” He answered, “These horns are the ones that have scattered Judah so that there is no one to be seen. 2 But the blacksmiths have come to terrify Judah’s enemies 3 and cut off the horns of the nations that have thrust themselves against the land of Judah in order to scatter its people.” 4
[1:20] 1 tn Heb “craftsmen” (so NASB, NIV; KJV “carpenters”), a generic term which can mean “metalworker, smith, armorer” (HALOT 358 s.v. חָרָשׁ). “Blacksmiths” was chosen for the present translation because of its relative familiarity among contemporary English readers.
[1:21] 2 tn Heb “so that no man lifts up his head.”
[1:21] 3 tn Heb “terrify them”; the referent (Judah’s enemies) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[1:21] 4 tn Heb “to scatter it.” The word “people” has been supplied in the translation for clarity.