Zechariah 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. 1 But the blacksmiths have come to terrify Judah’s enemies 2 and cut off the horns of the nations that have thrust themselves against the land of Judah in order to scatter its people.” 3
Zechariah 10:2
10:2 For the household gods 4 have spoken wickedness, the soothsayers have seen a lie, and as for the dreamers, they have disclosed emptiness and give comfort in vain. Therefore the people set out like sheep and become scattered because they have no shepherd. 5
Zechariah 11:16
11:16 Indeed, I am about to raise up a shepherd in the land who will not take heed to the sheep headed to slaughter, will not seek the scattered, and will not heal the injured. 6 Moreover, he will not nourish the one that is healthy but instead will eat the meat of the fat sheep 7 and tear off their hooves.
1 tn Heb “so that no man lifts up his head.”
2 tn Heb “terrify them”; the referent (Judah’s enemies) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
3 tn Heb “to scatter it.” The word “people” has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
4 tn The Hebrew word תְּרָפִים (tÿrafim, “teraphim”) refers to small images used as means of divination and in other occult practices (cf. Gen 31:19, 34-35; 1 Sam 19:13, 16; Hos 3:4). A number of English versions transliterate the Hebrew term (cf. ASV, NAB, NASB, NRSV) or simply use the generic term “idols” (so KJV, NIV, TEV).
5 sn Shepherd is a common OT metaphor for the king (see esp. Jer 2:8; 3:15; 10:21; 23:1-2; 50:6; Ezek 34).
6 tn Heb “the broken” (so KJV, NASB; NRSV “the maimed”).
7 tn Heb “the fat [ones].” Cf. ASV “the fat sheep”; NIV “the choice sheep.”