Zakharia 1:9

The Interpretation of the First Vision

1:9 Then I asked one nearby, “What are these, sir?” The angelic messenger ¹  who replied to me said, “I will show you what these are.”

Zakharia 1:21

1:21 I asked, “What are these going to do?” He answered, “These horns are the ones that have scattered Judah so that there is no one to be seen. ²  But the blacksmiths have come to terrify Judah’s enemies ³  and cut off the horns of the nations that have thrust themselves against the land of Judah in order to scatter its people.” ⁴ 

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 ⁵  on the earth.”

Zakharia 4:4

4:4 Then I asked the messenger who spoke with me, “What are these, ⁶  sir?”

Zakharia 4:13-14

4:13 He replied, “Don’t you know what these are?” And I said, “No, sir.” 4:14 So he said, “These are the two anointed ones ⁷  who stand by the Lord of the whole earth.”

Zakharia 6:4

6:4 Then I asked the angelic messenger ⁸  who was speaking with me, “What are these, sir?”

Zakharia 1:19

1:19 So I asked the angelic messenger ⁹  who spoke with me, “What are these?” He replied, “These are the horns ¹⁰  that have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.” ¹¹ 

Zakharia 4:5

4:5 He replied, “Don’t you know what these are?” So I responded, “No, sir.”

Zakharia 6:5

6:5 The messenger replied, “These are the four spirits ¹²  of heaven that have been presenting themselves before the Lord of all the earth.

Zakharia 8:16

8:16 These are the things you must do: Speak the truth, each of you, to one another. Practice true and righteous judgment in your courts. ¹³ 

Zakharia 4:10

4:10 For who dares make light of small beginnings? These seven eyes ¹⁴  will joyfully look on the tin tablet ¹⁵  in Zerubbabel’s hand. (These are the eyes of the Lord, which constantly range across the whole earth.)

Zakharia 8:12

8:12 ‘for there will be a peaceful time of sowing, the vine will produce its fruit and the ground its yield, and the skies ¹⁶  will rain down dew. Then I will allow the remnant of my people to possess all these things.

Zakharia 8:17

8:17 Do not plan evil in your hearts against one another. Do not favor a false oath – these are all things that I hate,’ says the Lord.”

[1:9]  ¹ tn Heb “messenger” or “angel” (מַלְאָךְ, mal’akh). This being appears to serve as an interpreter to the prophet (cf. vv. 13, 14).

[1:21]  ² tn Heb “so that no man lifts up his head.”

[1:21]  ³ tn Heb “terrify them”; the referent (Judah’s enemies) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:21]  ⁴ tn Heb “to scatter it.” The word “people” has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[1:10]  ⁵ 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.”

[4:4]  ⁶ sn Here these must refer to the lamps, since the identification of the olive trees is left to vv. 11-14.

[4:14]  ⁷ tn The usual word for “anointed (one),” מָשִׁיַח (mashiakh), is not used here but rather בְנֵי־הַיִּצְהָר (vÿne-hayyitshar), literally, “sons of fresh oil.” This is to maintain consistency with the imagery of olive trees. In the immediate context these two olive trees should be identified with Joshua and Zerubbabel, the priest and the governor. Only the high priest and king were anointed for office in the OT and these two were respectively the descendants of Aaron and David.

[6:4]  ⁸ tn See the note on the expression “angelic messenger” in 1:9.

[1:19]  ⁹ tn See the note on the expression “angelic messenger” in v. 9.

[1:19]  ¹⁰ sn An animal’s horn is a common OT metaphor for military power (Pss 18:2; 75:10; Jer 48:25; Mic 4:13). The fact that there are four horns here (as well as four blacksmiths, v. 20) shows a correspondence to the four horses of v. 8 which go to four parts of the world, i.e., the whole world.

[1:19]  ¹¹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[6:5]  ¹² tn The Hebrew term translated “spirit” here may also be translated “wind” or “breath” depending on the context (cf. ASV, NRSV, CEV “the four winds of heaven”; NAB similar).

[8:16]  ¹³ sn For a similar reference to true and righteous judgment see Mic 6:8.

[4:10]  ¹⁴ 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]  ¹⁵ 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.

[8:12]  ¹⁶ tn Or “the heavens” (so KJV, NAB, NIV). The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heavens” or “skies” depending on the context.