Zechariah 1:12

1:12 The angel of the Lord then asked, “Lord who rules over all, 1  how long before you have compassion on Jerusalem 2  and the other cities of Judah which you have been so angry with for these seventy years?” 3 

Zechariah 8:14

8:14 “For the Lord who rules over all says, ‘As I had planned to hurt 4  you when your fathers made me angry,’ says the Lord who rules over all, ‘and I was not sorry,

1 sn Note that here the angel of the Lord is clearly distinct from the Lord who rules over all himself.

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

3 sn The seventy years refers to the predicted period of Babylonian exile, a period with flexible beginning and ending points depending on the particular circumstances in view (cf. Jer 25:1; 28:1; 29:10; Dan 9:2). Here the end of the seventy years appears to be marked by the completion of the temple in 516 b.c., exactly seventy years after its destruction in 586.

4 tn The verb זָמַם (zamam) usually means “to plot to do evil,” but with a divine subject (as here), and in light of v. 15 where it means to plan good, the meaning here has to be the implementation of discipline (cf. NCV, CEV “punish”). God may bring hurt but its purpose is redemptive and/or pedagogical.