Zechariah 1:7

The Introduction to the Visions

1:7 On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, the month Shebat, in Darius’ second year, ¹  the word of the Lord came to the prophet Zechariah son of Berechiah son of Iddo, as follows:

Zechariah 9:16

9:16 On that day the Lord their God will deliver them as the flock of his people, for they are the precious stones of a crown sparkling over his land.

Zechariah 11:11

11:11 So it was annulled that very day, and then the most afflicted of the flock who kept faith with me knew that that was the word of the Lord.

Zechariah 12:3-4

12:3 Moreover, on that day I will make Jerusalem a heavy burden ²  for all the nations, and all who try to carry it will be seriously injured; ³  yet all the peoples of the earth will be assembled against it. 12:4 In that day,” says the Lord, “I will strike every horse with confusion and its rider with madness. I will pay close attention to the house of Judah, but will strike all the horses ⁴  of the nations ⁵  with blindness.

Zechariah 12:8

12:8 On that day the Lord himself will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the weakest among them will be like mighty David, and the dynasty of David will be like God, like the angel of the Lord before them. ⁶ 

Zechariah 13:4

13:4 “Therefore, on that day each prophet will be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies and will no longer wear the hairy garment ⁷  of a prophet to deceive the people. ⁸ 

Zechariah 14:8

14:8 Moreover, on that day living waters will flow out from Jerusalem, ⁹  half of them to the eastern sea ¹⁰  and half of them to the western sea; ¹¹  it will happen both in summer and in winter.

Zechariah 14:20

14:20 On that day the bells of the horses will bear the inscription “Holy to the Lord.” The cooking pots in the Lord’s temple ¹²  will be as holy as the bowls in front of the altar. ¹³ 

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¹ sn The twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month…in Darius’ second year was February 15, 519 b.c.

² tn Heb “heavy stone” (so NRSV, TEV, NLT); KJV “burdensome stone”; NIV “an immovable rock.”

³ sn In Israel’s and Judah’s past they had been uprooted by various conquerors such as the Assyrians and the Babylonians. In the eschaton, however, they will be so “heavy” with God’s glory and so rooted in his promises that no nation will be able to move them.

⁴ tn Heb “every horse.”

⁵ tn Or “peoples” (so NAB, NRSV).

⁶ sn The statement the dynasty of David will be like God is hyperbole to show the remarkable enhancements that will accompany the inauguration of the millennial age.

⁷ tn The “hairy garment of a prophet” (אַדֶּרֶת שֵׁעָר, ’adderet she’ar) was the rough clothing of Elijah (1 Kgs 19:13), Elisha (1 Kgs 19:19; 2 Kgs 2:14), and even John the Baptist (Matt 3:4). Yet, אַדֶּרֶת alone suggests something of beauty and honor (Josh 7:21). The prophet’s attire may have been simple the image it conveyed was one of great dignity.

⁸ tn The words “the people” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation from context (cf. NCV, TEV, NLT).

⁹ sn Living waters will flow out from Jerusalem. Ezekiel sees this same phenomenon in conjunction with the inauguration of the messianic age (Ezek 47; cf. Rev 22:1-5; also John 7:38).

¹⁰ sn The eastern sea is a reference to the Dead Sea (cf. NCV, TEV, CEV, NLT).

¹¹ sn The western sea is a reference to the Mediterranean Sea (cf. NCV, TEV, CEV, NLT).

¹² tn Heb “house” (also in the following verse).

¹³ sn In the glory of the messianic age there will be no differences between the sacred (the bowls before the altar) and the profane (the cooking pots in the Lord’s temple) – all will be dedicated to his use.