Zechariah 2:8-9

2:8 For the Lord who rules over all says to me that for his own glory 1  he has sent me to the nations that plundered you – for anyone who touches you touches the pupil 2  of his 3  eye. 2:9 “I am about to punish them 4  in such a way,” he says, “that they will be looted by their own slaves.” Then you will know that the Lord who rules over all has sent me.

Zechariah 3:2

3:2 The Lord 5  said to Satan, “May the Lord rebuke you, Satan! May the Lord, who has chosen Jerusalem, 6  rebuke you! Isn’t this man like a burning stick snatched from the fire?”

Zechariah 4:9

4:9 “The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundations of this temple, 7  and his hands will complete it.” Then you will know that the Lord who rules over all has sent me to you.

Zechariah 10:3

10:3 I am enraged at the shepherds and will punish the lead-goats.

For the Lord who rules over all has brought blessing to his flock, the house of Judah, and will transform them into his majestic warhorse.

1 tn Heb “After glory has he sent me” (similar KJV, NASB). What is clearly in view is the role of Zechariah who, by faithful proclamation of the message, will glorify the Lord.

2 tn Heb “gate” (בָּבָה, bavah) of the eye, that is, pupil. The rendering of this term by KJV as “apple” has created a well-known idiom in the English language, “the apple of his eye” (so ASV, NIV). The pupil is one of the most vulnerable and valuable parts of the body, so for Judah to be considered the “pupil” of the Lord’s eye is to raise her value to an incalculable price (cf. NLT “my most precious possession”).

3 tc A scribal emendation (tiqqun sopherim) has apparently altered an original “my eye” to “his eye” in order to allow the prophet to be the speaker throughout vv. 8-9. This alleviates the problem of the Lord saying, in effect, that he has sent himself on the mission to the nations.

4 tn Heb “I will wave my hand over them” (so NASB); NIV, NRSV “raise my hand against them.”

5 sn The juxtaposition of the messenger of the Lord in v. 1 and the Lord in v. 2 shows that here, at least, they are one and the same. See Zech 1:11, 12 where they are distinguished from each other.

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

7 tn Heb “house” (so NAB, NRSV).