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 2:11

2:11 “Many nations will join themselves to the Lord on the day of salvation, ⁴  and they will also be my ⁵  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.

Zechariah 7:14

7:14 ‘Rather, I will sweep them away in a storm into all the nations they are not familiar with.’ Thus the land had become desolate because of them, with no one crossing through or returning, for they had made the fruitful ⁶  land a waste.”

Zechariah 8:23

8:23 The Lord who rules over all says, ‘In those days ten people from all languages and nations will grasp hold of – indeed, grab – the robe of one Jew and say, “Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.”’” ⁷ 

Zechariah 9:10

9:10 I will remove ⁸  the chariot from Ephraim

and the warhorse from Jerusalem,

and the battle bow will be removed.

Then he will announce peace to the nations.

His dominion will be from sea to sea

and from the Euphrates River ⁹  to the ends of the earth.

Zechariah 12:6

12:6 On that day ¹⁰  I will make the leaders of Judah like an igniter ¹¹  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.

Zechariah 14:2

14:2 For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem ¹²  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. ¹³ 

Zechariah 14:12

14:12 But this will be the nature of the plague with which the Lord will strike all the nations that have fought against Jerusalem: Their flesh will decay while they stand on their feet, their eyes will rot away in their sockets, and their tongues will dissolve in their mouths.

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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 Heb “on that day.” The descriptive phrase “of salvation” has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

⁵ 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).

⁶ tn Or “desirable”; traditionally “pleasant” (so many English versions; cf. TEV “This good land”).

⁷ sn This scene of universal and overwhelming attraction of the nations to Israel’s God finds initial fulfillment in the establishment of the church (Acts 2:5-11) but ultimate completion in the messianic age (Isa 45:14, 24; 60:14; Zech 14:16-21).

⁸ tc The MT first person pronoun (“I”), which seems to shift the subject too abruptly, becomes 3rd person masculine singular (“he”) in the LXX (הִכְרִית, hikhrit, presupposed for הִכְרַתִּי, hikhratti). However, the Lord is the subject of v. 8, which speaks of his protection of Jerusalem, so it is not surprising that he is the subject in v. 10 as well.

tn Heb “cut off” (so NASB, NRSV; also later in this verse); NAB “banish”; NIV, CEV “take away.”

⁹ tn Heb “the river.” The Hebrew expression typically refers to the Euphrates, so the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹⁰ 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).

¹¹ tn Heb “a firepot” (so NASB, NIV); NRSV “a blazing pot”; NLT “a brazier.”

¹² map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

¹³ tn Heb “not be cut off from the city” (so NRSV); NAB “not be removed.”