Zakharia 1:15

1:15 But I am greatly displeased with the nations that take my grace for granted. ¹  I was a little displeased with them, but they have only made things worse for themselves.

Zakharia 3:2

3:2 The Lord ²  said to Satan, “May the Lord rebuke you, Satan! May the Lord, who has chosen Jerusalem, ³  rebuke you! Isn’t this man like a burning stick snatched from the fire?”

Zakharia 4:9

4:9 “The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundations of this temple, ⁴  and his hands will complete it.” Then you will know that the Lord who rules over all has sent me to you.

Zakharia 8:20

8:20 The Lord who rules over all says, ‘It will someday come to pass that people – residents of many cities – will come.

Zakharia 9:5

9:5 Ashkelon will see and be afraid; Gaza will be in great anguish, as will Ekron, for her hope will have been dried up. ⁵  Gaza will lose her king, and Ashkelon will no longer be inhabited.

Zakharia 11:2

11:2 Howl, fir tree,

because the cedar has fallen;

the majestic trees have been destroyed.

Howl, oaks of Bashan,

because the impenetrable forest has fallen.

Zakharia 11:7

11:7 So I ⁶  began to shepherd the flock destined for slaughter, the most afflicted ⁷  of all the flock. Then I took two staffs, ⁸  calling one “Pleasantness” ⁹  and the other “Binders,” ¹⁰  and I tended the flock.

Zakharia 11:9

11:9 I then said, “I will not shepherd you. What is to die, let it die, and what is to be eradicated, let it be eradicated. As for those who survive, let them eat each other’s flesh!”

Zakharia 12:7

12:7 The Lord also will deliver the homes ¹¹  of Judah first, so that the splendor of the kingship ¹²  of David and of the people of Jerusalem may not exceed that of Judah.

Zakharia 13:6

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

Zakharia 14:14

14:14 Moreover, Judah will fight at ¹⁴  Jerusalem, and the wealth of all the surrounding nations will be gathered up ¹⁵  – gold, silver, and clothing in great abundance.

[1:15]  ¹ tn Or “the nations that are at ease” (so ASV, NRSV). The Hebrew word in question is שַׁאֲנָן (sha’anan) which has the idea of a careless, even arrogant attitude (see BDB 983 s.v. שַׁאֲנָן); cf. NAB “the complacent nations.” Here it suggests that the nations take for granted that God will never punish them just because he hasn't already done so. Thus they presume on the grace and patience of the Lord. The translation attempts to bring out this nuance rather than the more neutral renderings of TEV “nations that enjoy quiet and peace” or NLT “enjoy peace and security.”

[3:2]  ² sn The juxtaposition of the messenger of the Lord in v. 1 and the Lord in v. 2 shows that here, at least, they are one and the same. See Zech 1:11, 12 where they are distinguished from each other.

[3:2]  ³ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[4:9]  ⁴ tn Heb “house” (so NAB, NRSV).

[9:5]  ⁵ tn The present translation presupposes a Hiphil perfect of יָבֵשׁ (yavesh, “be dry”; cf. NRSV “are withered”) rather than the usually accepted Hiphil of בּוֹשׁ (bosh, “be ashamed”; cf. KJV, ASV), a sense that is less suitable with the removal of hope.

[11:7]  ⁶ sn The first person pronoun refers to Zechariah himself who, however, is a “stand-in” for the Lord as the actions of vv. 8-14 make clear. The prophet, like others before him, probably performed actions dramatizing the account of God’s past dealings with Israel and Judah (cf. Hos 1-3; Isa 20:2-4; Jer 19:1-15; 27:2-11; Ezek 4:1-3).

[11:7]  ⁷ tc For the MT reading לָכֵן עֲנִיֵּי (lakhen ’aniyyey, “therefore the [most] afflicted of”) the LXX presupposes לִכְנַעֲנֵיּי (“to the merchants of”). The line would then read “So I began to shepherd the flock destined for slaughter for the sheep merchants” (cf. NAB). This helps to explain the difficult לָכֵן (lakhen) here but otherwise has no attestation or justification, so the MT is followed by most modern English versions.

[11:7]  ⁸ sn The two staffs represent the two kingdoms, Israel and Judah. For other examples of staffs representing tribes or nations see Num 17:1-11; Ezek 37:15-23.

[11:7]  ⁹ tn The Hebrew term נֹעַם (no’am) is frequently translated “Favor” (so NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT); cf. KJV “Beauty”; CEV “Mercy.”

[11:7]  sn The name of the first staff, pleasantness, refers to the rest and peace of the covenant between the Lord and his people (cf. v. 10).

[11:7]  ¹⁰ tn The Hebrew term חֹבְלִים (khovlim) is often translated “Union” (so NASB, NIV, NLT); cf. KJV, ASV “Bands”; NAB “Bonds”; NRSV, TEV, CEV “Unity”).

[11:7]  sn The name of the second staff, Binders, refers to the relationship between Israel and Judah (cf. v. 14).

[12:7]  ¹¹ tn Heb “the tents” (so NAB, NRSV); NIV “the dwellings.”

[12:7]  ¹² tn Heb “house,” referring here to the dynastic line. Cf. NLT “the royal line”; CEV “the kingdom.” The same expression is translated “dynasty” in the following verse.

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

[13:6]  sn These wounds on your chest. Pagan prophets were often self-lacerated (Lev 19:28; Deut 14:1; 1 Kgs 18:28) for reasons not entirely clear, so this false prophet betrays himself as such by these graphic and ineradicable marks.

[14:14]  ¹⁴ tn The Hebrew phrase בִּירוּשָׁלָם (birushalam) with the verb נִלְחַם (nilkham, “make war”) would ordinarily suggest that Judah is fighting against Jerusalem (so NAB, CEV). While this could happen accidentally, the context here favors the idea that Judah is fighting alongside Jerusalem against a common enemy. The preposition בְּ (bÿ), then, should be construed as locative (“at”; cf. KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).

[14:14]  ¹⁵ tn The term translated “gathered up” could also be rendered “collected” (so NIV, NCV, NRSV, although this might suggest a form of taxation) or “confiscated” (which might imply seizure of property against someone’s will). The imagery in the context, however, suggests the aftermath of a great battle, where the spoils are being picked up by the victors (cf. NLT “captured”).