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, ¹  who will sprout up from his place and build the temple of the Lord.

Isaiah 4:2

The Branch of the Lord

4:2 At that time ² 

the crops given by the Lord will bring admiration and honor; ³ 

the produce of the land will be a source of pride and delight

to those who remain in Israel. ⁴ 

Isaiah 11:1

An Ideal King Establishes a Kingdom of Peace

11:1 A shoot will grow out of Jesse’s ⁵  root stock,

a bud will sprout ⁶  from his roots.

Isaiah 53:2

53:2 He sprouted up like a twig before God, ⁷ 

like a root out of parched soil; ⁸ 

he had no stately form or majesty that might catch our attention, ⁹ 

no special appearance that we should want to follow him. ¹⁰ 

Jeremiah 23:5

23:5 “I, the Lord, promise ¹¹  that a new time will certainly come ¹² 

when I will raise up for them a righteous branch, ¹³  a descendant of David.

He will rule over them with wisdom and understanding ¹⁴ 

and will do what is just and right in the land. ¹⁵ 

Jeremiah 33:15

33:15 In those days and at that time I will raise up for them a righteous descendant ¹⁶  of David.

“‘He will do what is just and right in the land.

Ezekiel 17:22-24

17:22 “‘This is what the sovereign Lord says:

“‘I will take a sprig ¹⁷  from the lofty top of the cedar and plant it. ¹⁸ 

I will pluck from the top one of its tender twigs;

I myself will plant it on a high and lofty mountain.

17:23 I will plant it on a high mountain of Israel,

and it will raise branches and produce fruit and become a beautiful cedar.

Every bird will live under it;

Every winged creature will live in the shade of its branches.

17:24 All the trees of the field will know that I am the Lord.

I make the high tree low; I raise up the low tree.

I make the green tree wither, and I make the dry tree sprout.

I, the Lord, have spoken, and I will do it!’”

Ezekiel 34:29

34:29 I will prepare for them a healthy ¹⁹  planting. They will no longer be victims ²⁰  of famine in the land and will no longer bear the insults of the nations.

Luke 1:78

1:78 Because of ²¹  our God’s tender mercy ²² 

the dawn ²³  will break ²⁴  upon us from on high

[6:12]  ¹ 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).

[4:2]  ² tn Or “in that day” (KJV).

[4:2]  ³ tn Heb “and the vegetation of the Lord will become beauty and honor.” Many English versions understand the phrase צֶמַח יְהוָה (tsemakh yÿhvah) as a messianic reference and render it, “the Branch of the Lord” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT, and others). Though צֶמַח (tsemakh) is used by later prophets of a royal descendant (Jer 23;5; 33:15; Zech 3:8; 6:12), those passages contain clear contextual indicators that a human ruler is in view and that the word is being used in a metaphorical way of offspring. However, in Isa 4:2 there are no such contextual indicators. To the contrary, in the parallel structure of the verse צֶמַח יְהוָה corresponds to “produce of the land,” a phrase that refers elsewhere exclusively to literal agricultural produce (see Num 13:20, 26; Deut 1:25). In the majority of its uses צֶמַח refers to literal crops or vegetation (in Ps 65:10 the Lord is the source of this vegetation). A reference to the Lord restoring crops would make excellent sense in Isa 4 and the prophets frequently included this theme in their visions of the future age (see Isa 30:23-24; 32:20; Jer 31:12; Ezek 34:26-29; and Amos 9:13-14).

[4:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “and the fruit of the land will become pride and beauty for the remnant of Israel.”

[11:1]  ⁵ sn The text mentions David’s father Jesse, instead of the great king himself. Perhaps this is done for rhetorical reasons to suggest that a new David, not just another disappointing Davidic descendant, will arise. Other prophets call the coming ideal Davidic king “David” or picture him as the second coming of David, as it were. See Jer 30:9; Ezek 34:23-24; 37:24-25; Hos 3:5; and Mic 5:2 (as well as the note there).

[11:1]  ⁶ tc The Hebrew text has יִפְרֶה (yifreh, “will bear fruit,” from פָּרָה, parah), but the ancient versions, as well as the parallelism suggest that יִפְרַח (yifrakh, “will sprout”, from פָּרַח, parakh) is the better reading here. See J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:276, n. 2.

[53:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “before him.” Some suggest an emendation to “before us.” If the third singular suffix of the Hebrew text is retained, it probably refers to the Lord (see v. 1b). For a defense of this reading, see R. Whybray, Isaiah 40-66 (NCBC), 173-74.

[53:2]  ⁸ sn The metaphor in this verse suggests insignificance.

[53:2]  ⁹ tn Heb “that we might see him.” The vav conjunctive prefixed to the imperfect introduces a result clause here. See GKC 504-5 §166.a.

[53:2]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “that we should desire him.” The vav conjunctive prefixed to the imperfect introduces a result clause here. See GKC 504-5 §166.a.

[23:5]  ¹¹ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[23:5]  ¹² tn Heb “Behold the days are coming.”

[23:5]  ¹³ tn Heb “a righteous sprig to David” or “a righteous shoot” (NAB).

[23:5]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “he will reign as king and act wisely.” This is another example of the use of two verbs joined by “and” where one becomes the adverbial modifier of the other (hendiadys). For the nuance of the verb “act wisely” rather than “prosper” see Amos 5:13; Ps 2:10 (cf. BDB 968 s.v. שָׂכַל Hiph.5).

[23:5]  ¹⁵ sn This has been the constant emphasis in this section. See 22:3 for the demand, 22:15 for its fulfillment, and 22:13 for its abuse. The ideal king would follow in the footsteps of his illustrious ancestor David (2 Sam 8:15) who set this forth as an ideal for his dynasty (2 Sam 23:3) and prayed for it to be true of his son Solomon (Ps 72:1-2).

[33:15]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “sprig” or “shoot.”

[17:22]  ¹⁷ sn The language is analogous to messianic imagery in Isa 11:1; Zech 3:8; 6:4 although the technical terminology is not the same.

[17:22]  ¹⁸ tc The LXX lacks “and plant it.”

[34:29]  ¹⁹ tc The MT reads לְשֵׁם (lÿshem, “for a name”), meaning perhaps a renowned planting (place). The translation takes this to be a metathesis of שָׁלֹם (shalom) as was read by the LXX.

[34:29]  ²⁰ tn Heb “those gathered” for famine.

[1:78]  ²¹ tn For reasons of style, a new sentence has been started in the translation at this point. God’s mercy is ultimately seen in the deliverance John points to, so v. 78a is placed with the reference to Jesus as the light of dawning day.

[1:78]  ²² sn God’s loyal love (steadfast love) is again the topic, reflected in the phrase tender mercy; see Luke 1:72.

[1:78]  ²³ sn The Greek term translated dawn (ἀνατολή, anatolh) can be a reference to the morning star or to the sun. The Messiah is pictured as a saving light that shows the way. The Greek term was also used to translate the Hebrew word for “branch” or “sprout,” so some see a double entendre here with messianic overtones (see Isa 11:1-10; Jer 23:5; 33:15; Zech 3:8; 6:12).

[1:78]  ²⁴ tn Grk “shall visit us.”