2 Tawarikh 16:9

16:9 Certainly ¹  the Lord watches the whole earth carefully ²  and is ready to strengthen those who are devoted to him. ³  You have acted foolishly in this matter; from now on you will have war.

Zakharia 3:9

3:9 As for the stone ⁴  I have set before Joshua – on the one stone there are seven eyes. ⁵  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. ⁶ 

Zakharia 4:10

4:10 For who dares make light of small beginnings? These seven eyes ⁷  will joyfully look on the tin tablet ⁸  in Zerubbabel’s hand. (These are the eyes of the Lord, which constantly range across the whole earth.)

[16:9]  ¹ tn Or “for.”

[16:9]  ² tn Heb “the eyes of the Lord move quickly through all the earth.”

[16:9]  ³ tn Heb “to strengthen himself with their heart, [the one] complete toward him.”

[3:9]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ 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]  sn The seven eyes are symbolic of divine omniscience and universal dominion (cf. Zech 1:10; 4:10; 2 Chr 16:9).

[3:9]  ⁶ 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).

[4:10]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ 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.