Zechariah 1:6
1:6 But have my words and statutes, which I commanded my servants the prophets, not outlived your fathers? 1 Then they paid attention 2 and confessed, ‘The Lord who rules over all has indeed done what he said he would do to us, because of our sinful ways.’”
Zechariah 7:12
7:12 Indeed, they made their heart as hard as diamond, 3 so that they could not obey the Torah and the other words the Lord who rules over all had sent by his Spirit through the former prophets. Therefore, the Lord who rules over all had poured out great wrath.
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 4 land a waste.”
Zechariah 11:6
11:6 Indeed, I will no longer have compassion on the people of the land,” says the Lord, “but instead I will turn every last person over to his neighbor and his king. They will devastate the land, and I will not deliver it from them.”
Zechariah 14:2
14:2 For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem 5 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. 6
1 tc BHS suggests אֶתְכֶם (’etkhem, “you”) for the MT אֲבֹתֵיכֶם (’avotekhem, “your fathers”) to harmonize with v. 4. In v. 4 the ancestors would not turn but in v. 6 they appear to have done so. The subject in v. 6, however, is to be construed as Zechariah’s own listeners.
2 tn Heb “they turned” (so ASV). Many English versions have “they repented” here; cf. CEV “they turned back to me.”
3 tn The Hebrew term שָׁמִיר (shamir) means literally “hardness” and since it is said in Ezek 3:9 to be harder than flint, many scholars suggest that it refers to diamond. It is unlikely that diamond was known to ancient Israel, however, so probably a hard stone like emery or corundum is in view. The translation nevertheless uses “diamond” because in modern times it has become proverbial for its hardness. A number of English versions use “flint” here (e.g., NASB, NIV).
4 tn Or “desirable”; traditionally “pleasant” (so many English versions; cf. TEV “This good land”).
5 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
6 tn Heb “not be cut off from the city” (so NRSV); NAB “not be removed.”