Zechariah 9:4

9:4 Nevertheless the Lord will evict her and shove her fortifications ¹  into the sea – she will be consumed by fire.

Zechariah 5:4

5:4 “I will send it out,” says the Lord who rules over all, “and it will enter the house of the thief and of the person who swears falsely in my name. It will land in the middle of his house and destroy both timber and stones.”

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. ² 

Zechariah 14:12

14:12 But this will be the nature of the plague with which the Lord will strike all the nations that have fought against Jerusalem: Their flesh will decay while they stand on their feet, their eyes will rot away in their sockets, and their tongues will dissolve in their mouths.

Zechariah 12:6

12:6 On that day ³  I will make the leaders of Judah like an igniter ⁴  among sticks and a burning torch among sheaves, and they will burn up all the surrounding nations right and left. Then the people of Jerusalem will settle once more in their place, the city of Jerusalem.

Zechariah 8:2

8:2 “The Lord who rules over all says, ‘I am very much concerned for Zion; indeed, I am so concerned for her that my rage will fall on those who hurt her.’

Zechariah 11:16

11:16 Indeed, I am about to raise up a shepherd in the land who will not take heed to the sheep headed to slaughter, will not seek the scattered, and will not heal the injured. ⁵  Moreover, he will not nourish the one that is healthy but instead will eat the meat of the fat sheep ⁶  and tear off their hooves.

[9:4]  ¹ tn The Hebrew word חַיִל (khayil, “strength, wealth”) can, with certain suffixes, look exactly like חֵל (khel, “fortress, rampart”). The chiastic pattern here suggests that not Tyre’s riches but her defenses will be cast into the sea. Thus the present translation renders the term “fortifications” (so also NLT) rather than “wealth” (NASB, NRSV, TEV) or “power” (NAB, NIV).

[11:1]  ² 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).

[12:6]  ³ sn On that day (referring to the day of the Lord) the Davidic monarchy will be restored and the Lord’s people will recognize once more the legitimacy and divine sanction of David’s dynasty. But there will also be a democratizing that will not give Jerusalem and its rulers undue priority over the people of the countryside (v. 7).

[12:6]  ⁴ tn Heb “a firepot” (so NASB, NIV); NRSV “a blazing pot”; NLT “a brazier.”

[11:16]  ⁴ tn Heb “the broken” (so KJV, NASB; NRSV “the maimed”).

[11:16]  ⁵ tn Heb “the fat [ones].” Cf. ASV “the fat sheep”; NIV “the choice sheep.”