Discovery BoxZechariah 5:9 
Context5:9 Then I looked again and saw two women 1 going forth with the wind in their wings (they had wings like those of a stork) and they lifted up the basket between the earth and the sky.
Zechariah 11:7
Context11:7 So I 2 began to shepherd the flock destined for slaughter, the most afflicted 3 of all the flock. Then I took two staffs, 4 calling one “Pleasantness” 5 and the other “Binders,” 6 and I tended the flock.
Zechariah 13:8
Context13:8 It will happen in all the land, says the Lord,
that two-thirds of the people 7 in it will be cut off and die,
but one-third will be left in it. 8
1 sn Here two women appear as the agents of the
2 sn The first person pronoun refers to Zechariah himself who, however, is a “stand-in” for the
3 tc For the MT reading לָכֵן עֲנִיֵּי (lakhen ’aniyyey, “therefore the [most] afflicted of”) the LXX presupposes לִכְנַעֲנֵיּי (“to the merchants of”). The line would then read “So I began to shepherd the flock destined for slaughter for the sheep merchants” (cf. NAB). This helps to explain the difficult לָכֵן (lakhen) here but otherwise has no attestation or justification, so the MT is followed by most modern English versions.
4 sn The two staffs represent the two kingdoms, Israel and Judah. For other examples of staffs representing tribes or nations see Num 17:1-11; Ezek 37:15-23.
5 tn The Hebrew term נֹעַם (no’am) is frequently translated “Favor” (so NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT); cf. KJV “Beauty”; CEV “Mercy.”
sn The name of the first staff, pleasantness, refers to the rest and peace of the covenant between the
6 tn The Hebrew term חֹבְלִים (khovlim) is often translated “Union” (so NASB, NIV, NLT); cf. KJV, ASV “Bands”; NAB “Bonds”; NRSV, TEV, CEV “Unity”).
sn The name of the second staff, Binders, refers to the relationship between Israel and Judah (cf. v. 14).
7 tn The words “of the people” are supplied in the translation for clarity (cf. NCV, TEV, NLT).
8 sn The fractions mentioned here call to mind the affliction of God’s people described by Ezekiel, though Ezekiel referred to his own times whereas Zechariah is looking forward to a future eschatological age. Ezekiel spoke of cutting his hair at God’s command (Ezek 5:1-4) and then of burning a third of it, striking a third with a sword, and scattering the rest. From this last third a few hairs would survive to become the nucleus of a new Israel. It is this “third” Zechariah speaks of (v. 9), the remnant who will be purified and reclaimed as God’s covenant people.
