This verse begins with an imperative and a vocative, that is, an address to a person by name; these indicate that it opens a new subunit within the words of the LORD that begin in verse 7 and continue to the end of verse 10. Hear now is a rather solemn opening that would lead the reader to expect an important announcement (compare Deut 6.4; Micah 1.2; Micah 3.1, 9; Micah 6.1). The verb Hear in Hebrew is singular, but the command is addressed both to Joshua the high priest and your friends who sit before you. In some languages it will be more natural to use a plural verb because there is more than one subject. In many languages it will also be necessary to put the vocatives at the beginning of the sentence, and the command Hear after them. An alternative approach is to repeat the verb with each subject, as Good News Translation does (“Listen then, Joshua…; and listen, you fellow priests of his”). Another way of expressing this is: “Listen carefully to what I say, Joshua…; and you fellow priests of his must listen too.”
Your friends who sit before you indicates priests of lower rank. It was customary for pupils to sit before their masters when receiving advice or instruction from a senior person. Compare 2 Kgs 4.38; Ezek 8.1; Ezek 14.1; Ezek 20.1; Ezek 33.31; Acts 22.3. In cultures where students or apprentices sit in front of their teachers on a mat or on the floor, translators should maintain the Hebrew expression. A number of modern English versions (New English Bible/ Revised English Bible, New Revised Standard Version) use the term “colleagues” and this may be a helpful model. In cultures where seniority is normally indicated, these would of course be “junior colleagues.”
For they are men of good omen: The use of the pronoun they appears to exclude Joshua himself from the men of good omen, though there seems to be no reason why this should be so. Probably it is no more than a slight grammatical awkwardness in the Hebrew. The ancient Syriac version has “you” instead of they, and so includes Joshua. Some modern translations (Moffatt, Jerusalem Bible, New American Bible, New English Bible, Good News Translation, Beck, New Living Translation, Contemporary English Version, Bible en français courant, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente) follow the Syriac in this. Others rephrase in such a way that their intention is not completely clear (New International Version). There does not seem to be any significant difference of meaning involved, and translators will probably have to make their decision on the basis of good style in their own language.
The Hebrew word translated good omen is used elsewhere in the Old Testament. In Isa 8.18 (Revised Standard Version “portents”), Isaiah and his children are by their very names tokens of God’s impending judgment. In Ezek 12.6; Ezek 24.24, 27, Ezekiel by his actions is a sign to his people of God’s plans. Here the priests are not named, and do not do anything. The meaning seems to be that simply by being priests and carrying out priestly duties (compare verse 7), these men are a good omen that God will again bless his people. The fact that the omen is in this case good arises from the context rather than the basic meaning of the Hebrew word. The restoration of regular Temple worship was an important step forward in the national life of the returned exiles, and was seen as an indication that the coming of the Messiah was not far off. An alternative way to express this clause is “You that are a sign that something good is going to happen” or “You are the guarantee…” (Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch).
Behold, I will bring my servant the Branch: This is the good omen of which Joshua and his fellow priests are the symbol. For behold see the comments on 1.8. Since the word bring is rather vague in English, Good News Translation translates it as “reveal” and Jerusalem Bible as “raise.” Other ways to express this clause are “I will cause my … to appear” (compare Bible en français courant, Biblen: Det Gamle og Det Nye Testamente) and “I will send…” (Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch). Translators should use a term for bring that fits the context in their own languages. The expression my servant would remind the readers of similar expressions in Isaiah (Isa 42.1; Isa 49.3, 6; Isa 52.13; Isa 53.11).
The Branch is used as a title for the Messiah in such places as Jer 23.5; Jer 33.15, and similar language occurs in Isa 11.1. This figure was associated with the family of King David. Several scholars (Driver, Mitchell, Cashdan, Thomas, Stuhlmueller [1968], Meyers & Meyers) insist that Branch is not an accurate translation of the meaning of the Hebrew word, and that “Shoot” would be better. However, most modern English versions (New Jerusalem Bible, Good News Translation, Revised English Bible, New International Version, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh) retain the word Branch. This may be because it has become part of the vocabulary of theologians and hymn writers; or it may be because the word “Shoot” also has other meanings in English. Translators should choose a term that will not carry a wrong meaning in their languages. They may also need to make it clearer that the Branch is a human being. They may need to say something like “I will bring my servant, a man who is called the Branch.” The context here does not identify who Zechariah meant by the Branch and translators should not try to do so. They should however understand that the term indicated a person who would be both king and Messiah, and may include such information in a footnote.
Quoted with permission from Clark, David J. & Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Zechariah. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2002. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .