Zechariah 11:1

The History and Future of Judah’s Wicked Kings

11:1 Open your gates, Lebanon,

so that the fire may consume your cedars. ¹ 

Zechariah 13:1

The Refinement of Judah

13:1 “In that day there will be a fountain opened up for the dynasty ²  of David and the people of Jerusalem ³  to cleanse them from sin and impurity. ⁴ 

Zechariah 3:9

3:9 As for the stone ⁵  I have set before Joshua – on the one stone there are seven eyes. ⁶  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. ⁷ 

[11:1]  ¹ sn In this poetic section, plants and animals provide the imagery for rulers, especially evil ones (cf. respectively Isa 10:33-34; Ezek 31:8; Amos 2:9; Nah 2:12).

[13:1]  ² tn Heb “house” (so NIV, NRSV), referring to dynastic descendants.

[13:1]  ³ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[13:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “for sin and for impurity.” The purpose implied here has been stated explicitly in the translation for clarity.

[3:9]  ³ 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]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ 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).