Zechariah 1:20

1:20 Next the Lord showed me four blacksmiths. ¹ 

Zechariah 5:2

5:2 Someone asked me, “What do you see?” I replied, “I see a flying scroll thirty feet long and fifteen feet wide.” ² 

Zechariah 1:18

Vision Two: The Four Horns

1:18 (2:1) ³  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 4:2

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

Zechariah 1:9

The Interpretation of the First Vision

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.”

Zechariah 2:2

2:2 I asked, “Where are you going?” He replied, “To measure Jerusalem ⁶  in order to determine its width and its length.”

Zechariah 3:1

Vision Four: The Priest

3:1 Next I saw Joshua the high priest ⁷  standing before the angel of the Lord, with Satan ⁸  standing at his right hand to accuse him.

Zechariah 5:5

Vision Seven: The Ephah

5:5 After this the angelic messenger ⁹  who had been speaking to me went out and said, “Look, see what is leaving.”

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. ¹⁰ 

Zechariah 6:8

6:8 Then he cried out to me, “Look! The ones going to the northland have brought me ¹¹  peace about the northland.” ¹² 

Zechariah 9:5

9:5 Ashkelon will see and be afraid; Gaza will be in great anguish, as will Ekron, for her hope will have been dried up. ¹³  Gaza will lose her king, and Ashkelon will no longer be inhabited.

Zechariah 9:8

9:8 Then I will surround my temple ¹⁴  to protect it like a guard ¹⁵  from anyone crossing back and forth; so no one will cross over against them anymore as an oppressor, for now I myself have seen it.

Zechariah 9:14

9:14 Then the Lord will appear above them, and his arrow will shoot forth like lightning; the Lord God will blow the trumpet and will sally forth on the southern storm winds.

Zechariah 10:7

10:7 The Ephraimites will be like warriors and will rejoice as if they had drunk wine. Their children will see it and rejoice; they will celebrate in the things of the Lord.

Zechariah 1:8

The Content of the First Vision

1:8 I was attentive that night and saw a man seated ¹⁶  on a red horse that stood among some myrtle trees ¹⁷  in the ravine. Behind him were red, sorrel, ¹⁸  and white horses.

Zechariah 3:4

3:4 The angel ¹⁹  spoke up to those standing all around, “Remove his filthy clothes.” Then he said to Joshua, “I have freely forgiven your iniquity and will dress you ²⁰  in fine clothing.”

Zechariah 4:10

4:10 For who dares make light of small beginnings? These seven eyes ²¹  will joyfully look on the tin tablet ²²  in Zerubbabel’s hand. (These are the eyes of the Lord, which constantly range across the whole earth.)

Zechariah 5:9

5:9 Then I looked again and saw two women ²³  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.

[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.

[5:2]  ² tn Heb “twenty cubits…ten cubits” (so NAB, NRSV). These dimensions (“thirty feet long and fifteen feet wide”) can hardly be referring to the scroll when unrolled since that would be all out of proportion to the normal ratio, in which the scroll would be 10 to 15 times as long as it was wide. More likely, the scroll is 15 feet thick when rolled, a hyperbole expressing the enormous amount and the profound significance of the information it contains.

[1:18]  ³ 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.

[4:2]  ⁴ 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.”

[1:9]  ⁵ tn Heb “messenger” or “angel” (מַלְאָךְ, mal’akh). This being appears to serve as an interpreter to the prophet (cf. vv. 13, 14).

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

[3:1]  ⁷ sn Joshua the high priest mentioned here is the son of the priest Jehozadak, mentioned also in Hag 1:1 (cf. Ezra 2:2; 3:2, 8; 4:3; 5:2; 10:18; Neh 7:7; 12:1, 7, 10, 26). He also appears to have been the grandfather of the high priest contemporary with Nehemiah ca. 445 b.c. (Neh 12:10).

[3:1]  ⁸ tn The Hebrew term הַשָּׂטָן (hassatan, “the satan”) suggests not so much a personal name (as in almost all English translations) but an epithet, namely, “the adversary.” This evil being is otherwise thus described in Job 1 and 2 and 1 Chr 21:1. In this last passage the article is dropped and “the satan” becomes “Satan,” a personal name.

[5:5]  ⁸ tn See the note on the expression “angelic messenger” in 1:9.

[6:1]  ⁹ tn Heb “two mountains, and the mountains [were] mountains of bronze.” This has been simplified in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[6:8]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ 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.

[9:5]  ¹¹ tn The present translation presupposes a Hiphil perfect of יָבֵשׁ (yavesh, “be dry”; cf. NRSV “are withered”) rather than the usually accepted Hiphil of בּוֹשׁ (bosh, “be ashamed”; cf. KJV, ASV), a sense that is less suitable with the removal of hope.

[9:8]  ¹² tn Heb “house” (so NAB, NIV, NRSV).

[9:8]  ¹³ tn Though a hapax legomenon, the מִצָּבָה (mitsavah) of the MT (from נָצַב, natsav, “take a stand”) is preferable to the suggestion מַצֵּבָה (matsevah, “pillar”) or even מִצָּבָא (mitsava’, “from” or “against the army”). The context favors the idea of the Lord as a protector.

[1:8]  ¹³ 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.”

[1:8]  ¹⁴ 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.

[1:8]  ¹⁵ 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.

[3:4]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (the angel, cf. v. 1) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[3:4]  ¹⁵ tn The occurrence of the infinitive absolute here for an expected imperfect 1st person common singular (or even imperative 2nd person masculine plural or preterite 3rd person masculine plural) is well-attested elsewhere. Most English translations render this as 1st person singular (“and I will clothe”), but cf. NAB “Take off…and clothe him.”

[4:10]  ¹⁵ 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]  ¹⁶ 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.

[5:9]  ¹⁶ 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.