Zakharia 14:1

The Sovereignty of the Lord

14:1 A day of the Lord ¹  is about to come when your possessions ²  will be divided as plunder in your midst.

Zakharia 2:10

2:10 “Sing out and be happy, Zion my daughter! ³  For look, I have come; I will settle in your midst,” says the Lord.

Zakharia 8:3

8:3 The Lord says, ‘I have returned to Zion and will live within Jerusalem. ⁴  Now Jerusalem will be called “truthful city,” “mountain of the Lord who rules over all,” “holy mountain.”’

Zakharia 2:5

2:5 But I (the Lord says) will be a wall of fire surrounding Jerusalem ⁵  and the source of glory in her midst.’”

Zakharia 2:11

2:11 “Many nations will join themselves to the Lord on the day of salvation, ⁶  and they will also be my ⁷  people. Indeed, I will settle in the midst of you all.” Then you will know that the Lord who rules over all has sent me to you.

Zakharia 14:4

14:4 On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives which lies to the east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in half from east to west, leaving a great valley. Half the mountain will move northward and the other half southward. ⁸ 

Zakharia 10:9

10:9 Though I scatter ⁹  them among the nations, they will remember in far-off places – they and their children will sprout forth and return.

Zakharia 14:13

14:13 On that day there will be great confusion from the Lord among them; they will seize each other and attack one another violently.

Zakharia 3:7

3:7 “The Lord who rules over all says, ‘If you live ¹⁰  and work according to my requirements, you will be able to preside over my temple ¹¹  and attend to my courtyards, and I will allow you to come and go among these others who are standing by you.

Zakharia 14:8

14:8 Moreover, on that day living waters will flow out from Jerusalem, ¹²  half of them to the eastern sea ¹³  and half of them to the western sea; ¹⁴  it will happen both in summer and in winter.

Zakharia 14:2

14:2 For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem ¹⁵  to wage war; the city will be taken, its houses plundered, and the women raped. Then half of the city will go into exile, but the remainder of the people will not be taken away. ¹⁶ 

Zakharia 1:10

1:10 Then the man standing among the myrtle trees spoke up and said, “These are the ones whom the Lord has sent to walk about ¹⁷  on the earth.”

Zakharia 5:7-8

5:7 Then a round lead cover was raised up, revealing a woman sitting inside the basket. 5:8 He then said, “This woman represents wickedness,” and he pushed her down into the basket and placed the lead cover on top.

Zakharia 12:6

12:6 On that day ¹⁸  I will make the leaders of Judah like an igniter ¹⁹  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.

Zakharia 1:11

1:11 The riders then agreed with the angel of the Lord, ²⁰  who was standing among the myrtle trees, “We have been walking about on the earth, and now everything is at rest and quiet.”

Zakharia 8:8

8:8 And I will bring them to settle within Jerusalem. They will be my people, and I will be their God, ²¹  in truth and righteousness.’

Zakharia 3:10

3:10 In that day,’ says the Lord who rules over all, ‘everyone will invite his friend to fellowship under his vine and under his fig tree.’” ²² 

Zakharia 5:2

5:2 Someone asked me, “What do you see?” I replied, “I see a flying scroll thirty feet long and fifteen feet wide.” ²³ 

Zakharia 7:10

7:10 You must not oppress the widow, the orphan, the foreigner, or the poor, nor should anyone secretly plot evil against his fellow human being.’

Zakharia 1:8

The Content of the First Vision

1:8 I was attentive that night and saw a man seated ²⁴  on a red horse that stood among some myrtle trees ²⁵  in the ravine. Behind him were red, sorrel, ²⁶  and white horses.

Zakharia 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.”

[14:1]  ¹ sn The eschatological day of the Lord described here (and through v. 8) is considered by many interpreters to refer to the period known as the great tribulation, a seven year time of great suffering by God’s (Jewish) people culminating in the establishing of the millennial reign of the Lord (vv. 9-21). For other OT and NT references to this aspect of the day of the Lord see Amos 9:8-15; Joel 1:15–2:11; Isa 1:24-31; 2:2-4; 4:2-6; 26:16–27:6; 33:13-24; 59:1–60:22; 65:13-25; Jer 30:7-11; 32:36-44; Ezek 20:33-44; Dan 11:40; 12:1; Matt 24:21, 29; 25:31-46; Rev 19:11-16.

[14:1]  ² tn Heb “your plunder.” Cf. NCV “the wealth you have taken.”

[2:10]  ³ sn This individualizing of Zion as a daughter draws attention to the corporate nature of the covenant community and also to the tenderness with which the Lord regards his chosen people.

[8:3]  ⁴ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[2:5]  ⁵ tn Heb “her”; the referent (Jerusalem) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:11]  ⁶ tn Heb “on that day.” The descriptive phrase “of salvation” has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[2:11]  ⁷ tc The LXX and Syriac have the 3rd person masculine singular suffix in both places (“his people” and “he will settle”; cf. NAB, TEV) in order to avoid the Lord’s speaking of himself in the third person. Such resort is unnecessary, however, in light of the common shifting of person in Hebrew narrative (cf. 3:2).

[14:4]  ⁸ sn This seismic activity provides a means of escape from Jerusalem so that the Messiah (the Lord), whose feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, may destroy the wicked nations in the Kidron Valley (the v. of Jehoshaphat, or of “judgment of the Lord”) without harming the inhabitants of the city.

[10:9]  ⁹ tn Or “sow” (so KJV, ASV). The imagery is taken from the sowing of seed by hand.

[3:7]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “walk,” a frequent biblical metaphor for lifestyle or conduct; TEV “If you [+ truly CEV] obey.” To “walk” in the ways of the Lord is to live life as he intends (cf. Deut 8:6; 10:12-22; 28:9).

[3:7]  ¹¹ sn The statement you will be able to preside over my temple (Heb “house,” a reference to the Jerusalem temple) is a hint of the increasingly important role the high priest played in the postexilic Jewish community, especially in the absence of a monarchy. It also suggests the messianic character of the eschatological priesthood in which the priest would have royal prerogatives.

[14:8]  ¹² sn Living waters will flow out from Jerusalem. Ezekiel sees this same phenomenon in conjunction with the inauguration of the messianic age (Ezek 47; cf. Rev 22:1-5; also John 7:38).

[14:8]  ¹³ sn The eastern sea is a reference to the Dead Sea (cf. NCV, TEV, CEV, NLT).

[14:8]  ¹⁴ sn The western sea is a reference to the Mediterranean Sea (cf. NCV, TEV, CEV, NLT).

[14:2]  ¹⁵ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[14:2]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “not be cut off from the city” (so NRSV); NAB “not be removed.”

[1:10]  ¹⁷ sn The stem used here (Hitpael) with the verb “walk” (הָלַךְ, halakh) suggests the exercise of dominion (cf. Gen 13:17; Job 1:7; 2:2-3; Ezek 28:14; Zech 6:7). The Lord is here about to claim sovereignty over the nations. Cf. NAB, NASB, NRSV, NLT “to patrol”; TEV “to go and inspect.”

[12:6]  ¹⁸ 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]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “a firepot” (so NASB, NIV); NRSV “a blazing pot”; NLT “a brazier.”

[1:11]  ²⁰ sn The angel of the Lord is a special being who throughout the OT represents God himself and on occasion almost approaches divine hypostatization or incarnation (cf. Gen 18:2, 13, 17, 22; Exod 23:20-21; Josh 5:13-15; Judg 6:11-24; 13:2-20).

[8:8]  ²¹ sn The affirmation They will be my people, and I will be their God speaks of covenant renewal, a restoration of the unbroken fellowship the Lord desired to have with his people but which their disloyalty had shattered. In the eschaton God and Israel will be in covenant union once again (cf. Jer 31:33).

[3:10]  ²² tn Heb “under the vine and under the fig tree,” with the Hebrew article used twice as a possessive pronoun (cf. NASB “his”). Some English translations render this as second person rather than third (NRSV “your vine”; cf. also NAB, NCV, TEV).

[3:10]  sn The imagery of fellowship under his vine and under his fig tree describes the peaceful dominion of the Lord in the coming messianic age (Mic 4:4; cf. 1 Kgs 4:25).

[5:2]  ²³ tn Heb “twenty cubits…ten cubits” (so NAB, NRSV). These dimensions (“thirty feet long and fifteen feet wide”) can hardly be referring to the scroll when unrolled since that would be all out of proportion to the normal ratio, in which the scroll would be 10 to 15 times as long as it was wide. More likely, the scroll is 15 feet thick when rolled, a hyperbole expressing the enormous amount and the profound significance of the information it contains.

[1:8]  ²⁴ tn Heb “riding,” but since this verb in English is usually associated with horses in motion rather than standing still, the translation uses “seated.” Cf. NAB “the driver of a red horse.”

[1:8]  ²⁵ tc The LXX presupposes הֶהָרִים (heharim, “mountains”) rather than the MT הַהֲדַסִּים (hahadassim, “myrtles”), probably because of reference to the ravine. The MT reading is preferred and is followed by most English versions.

[1:8]  ²⁶ sn The Hebrew שְׂרֻקִּים (sÿruqqim) means “red” (cf. NIV, NCV, NLT “brown”). English translations such as “speckled” (KJV) or “dappled” (TEV) are based on the reading of the LXX (ψαροί) that attempts to bring the color of this horse into conformity with those described in Zech 6:2-3. However, since these are two different and unrelated visions, this is a methodological fallacy.