Zechariah 1:9

The Interpretation of the First Vision

1:9 Then I asked one nearby, “What are these, sir?” The angelic messenger ¹  who replied to me said, “I will show you what these are.”

Zechariah 4:4

4:4 Then I asked the messenger who spoke with me, “What are these, ²  sir?”

Zechariah 4:11

4:11 Next I asked the messenger, “What are these two olive trees on the right and the left of the menorah?”

Zechariah 4:13

4:13 He replied, “Don’t you know what these are?” And I said, “No, sir.”

Zechariah 5:6

5:6 I asked, “What is it?” And he replied, “It is a basket for measuring grain ³  that is moving away from here.” Moreover, he said, “This is their ‘eye’ ⁴  throughout all the earth.”

Zechariah 6:4

6:4 Then I asked the angelic messenger ⁵  who was speaking with me, “What are these, sir?”

Zechariah 9:17

9:17 How precious and fair! ⁶  Grain will make the young men flourish and new wine the young women.

Zechariah 13:6

13:6 Then someone will ask him, ‘What are these wounds on your chest?’ ⁷  and he will answer, ‘Some that I received in the house of my friends.’

Zechariah 4:5

4:5 He replied, “Don’t you know what these are?” So I responded, “No, sir.”

Zechariah 4:12

4:12 Before he could reply I asked again, “What are these two extensions ⁸  of the olive trees, which are emptying out the golden oil through the two golden pipes?”

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.” ⁹ 

Zechariah 5:5

Vision Seven: The Ephah

5:5 After this the angelic messenger ¹⁰  who had been speaking to me went out and said, “Look, see what is leaving.”

Zechariah 1:19

1:19 So I asked the angelic messenger ¹¹  who spoke with me, “What are these?” He replied, “These are the horns ¹²  that have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.” ¹³ 

Zechariah 4:2

4:2 He asked me, “What do you see?” I replied, ¹⁴  “I see a menorah of pure gold with a receptacle at the top and seven lamps, with fourteen pipes going to the lamps.

Zechariah 1:21

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. ¹⁵  But the blacksmiths have come to terrify Judah’s enemies ¹⁶  and cut off the horns of the nations that have thrust themselves against the land of Judah in order to scatter its people.” ¹⁷ 

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

[4:4]  ² sn Here these must refer to the lamps, since the identification of the olive trees is left to vv. 11-14.

[5:6]  ³ tn Heb “[This is] the ephah.” An ephah was a liquid or solid measure of about a bushel (five gallons or just under twenty liters). By metonymy it refers here to a measuring container (probably a basket) of that quantity.

[5:6]  ⁴ tc The LXX and Syriac read עֲוֹנָם (’avonam, “their iniquity,” so NRSV; NIV similar) for the MT עֵינָם (’enam, “their eye”), a reading that is consistent with the identification of the woman in v. 8 as wickedness, but one that is unnecessary. In 4:10 the “eye” represented divine omniscience and power; here it represents the demonic counterfeit.

[6:4]  ⁴ tn See the note on the expression “angelic messenger” in 1:9.

[9:17]  ⁵ sn This expostulation best fits the whole preceding description of God’s eschatological work on behalf of his people. His goodness is especially evident in his nurturing of the young men and women of his kingdom.

[13:6]  ⁶ tn Heb “wounds between your hands.” Cf. NIV “wounds on your body”; KJV makes this more specific: “wounds in thine hands.”

[4:12]  ⁷ 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.”

[5:2]  ⁸ 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.

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

[1:19]  ¹⁰ tn See the note on the expression “angelic messenger” in v. 9.

[1:19]  ¹¹ sn An animal’s horn is a common OT metaphor for military power (Pss 18:2; 75:10; Jer 48:25; Mic 4:13). The fact that there are four horns here (as well as four blacksmiths, v. 20) shows a correspondence to the four horses of v. 8 which go to four parts of the world, i.e., the whole world.

[1:19]  ¹² map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[4:2]  ¹¹ 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.”

[1:21]  ¹² tn Heb “so that no man lifts up his head.”

[1:21]  ¹³ tn Heb “terrify them”; the referent (Judah’s enemies) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:21]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “to scatter it.” The word “people” has been supplied in the translation for clarity.