4:7 “What are you, you great mountain? 2 Because of Zerubbabel you will become a level plain! And he will bring forth the temple 3 capstone with shoutings of ‘Grace! Grace!’ 4 because of this.”
13:7 “Awake, sword, against my shepherd,
against the man who is my associate,”
says the Lord who rules over all.
Strike the shepherd that the flock may be scattered; 5
I will turn my hand against the insignificant ones.
1 tc The present translation (along with most other English versions) follows the reading of the Qere and many ancient versions, “I said,” as opposed to the MT Kethib “he said.”
2 sn In context, the great mountain here must be viewed as a metaphor for the enormous task of rebuilding the temple and establishing the messianic kingdom (cf. TEV “Obstacles as great as mountains”).
3 tn The word “temple” has been supplied in the translation to clarify the referent (cf. NLT “final stone of the Temple”).
4 sn Grace is a fitting response to the idea that it was “not by strength and not by power” but by God’s gracious Spirit that the work could be done (cf. v. 6).
5 sn Despite the NT use of this text to speak of the scattering of the disciples following Jesus’ crucifixion (Matt 26:31; Mark 14:27), the immediate context of Zechariah suggests that unfaithful shepherds (kings) will be punished by the