Thus says the LORD of hosts: Once again Good News Translation has no equivalent to these words. See the comments on verse 2. Contemporary English Version indicates that this is a new paragraph by inserting at this point “I am the LORD All-Powerful!” This is of some help on the structural level, but does not show that the Hebrew has a quotation formula that signals the beginning of direct speech here.

Let your hands be strong: As explained in the introduction to this section, this command really goes with verses 10-13d rather than with the rest of verse 9. In order to maintain this connection, it may be helpful in many languages to change the order, and put the long vocative expression (you who …) at the beginning and the command at the end, as New International Version has done:

• This is what the LORD Almighty says: “You who now hear these words spoken by the prophets who were there when the foundation was laid for the house of the LORD Almighty, let your hands be strong….”

This arrangement would also have the advantage of making clear immediately who the prophet is speaking to. The command Let your hands be strong is not just talking about hands. Several versions give the underlying meaning as “Take courage” (New English Bible, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh; compare Good News Translation, Revised English Bible, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, Bible en français courant, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, 1. Edition, Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente), and this may be a helpful translation model. Similar expressions occur elsewhere in the Old Testament, for instance in Jdg 7.11; 2 Sam 2.7; 2 Sam 16.21; compare Hag 2.4. In some languages an idiom using the heart, liver, or some other organ may be used; for example, “Let your heart/liver be brave” or “Have a strong heart.”

You who in these days have been hearing these words from the mouth of the prophets: Zechariah is here addressing his own audience. However, it is not certain exactly what in these days refers to. It may refer only to the present time, that is, the last few days. Or it may refer to the general period during which Haggai and Zechariah (and perhaps other prophets unknown to us) had been prophesying, that is to say, the last couple of years. Revised Standard Version, together with Moffatt, New American Bible, and New English Bible, keeps the literal form of the Hebrew. However, several other versions (Jerusalem Bible, Good News Translation, New International Version, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, Revised English Bible, Bible en français courant) show that they take the reference to be only to the present by translating “now” (similarly New Jerusalem Bible with “today”). New Revised Standard Version assumes a wider reference, and translates “recently.”

Since the day that the foundation of the house of the LORD of hosts was laid: A further problem arises with these words. Revised Standard Version is following the ancient Greek and Syriac versions rather than the Hebrew text, though there is no footnote to acknowledge this. Moffatt, Jerusalem Bible, and New Jerusalem Bible do the same, though the last two add footnotes. Other modern versions follow the traditional Hebrew text, which says “on the day” (New American Bible, Good News Translation, New International Version, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh) instead of since the day. Thus there are two options for translators at each of two points, giving four possible combinations.
(1) You who in these days have been hearing these words from the mouth of the prophets, since the day that the foundation … was laid (Revised Standard Version; compare Moffatt, New Living Translation). With this combination, Zechariah is seen as addressing all who had been hearing the messages of the prophets over the period of two years or so since the foundation of the Temple was laid.
(2) “You who in these days hear these words spoken by the prophets on the day when the foundation … was laid” (New American Bible; also supported by Revised English Bible, Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament). This combination seems to assume that the prophetic words spoken (presumably by Haggai and perhaps others) on the day that the foundation of the Temple was laid had been frequently repeated over the two-year period since that day.
(3) “You who here and now listen to these words from the mouths of the prophets who have been prophesying since the day … had its foundation laid” (Jerusalem Bible; similarly New Jerusalem Bible). This combination could theoretically be taken to mean that the people were still listening to prophets who had started speaking two years ago and never stopped. Such an interpretation would obviously be nonsense, and the words are more likely to mean that the message Zechariah is giving “here and now” is another in the same series that he and others had been giving from time to time since the laying of the Temple foundation;
(4) “You who now hear these words which the prophets spoke when the foundations were laid” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh; compare Good News Translation, New International Version, Bible en français courant, Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente). This combination takes Zechariah’s current message as basically a repetition of the message given (presumably by Haggai) when the foundation of the Temple was laid.

All of these combinations make sense, and there is not a lot to choose between them. Since options (1) and (3) above depend on ancient versions rather than the Hebrew text, probably translators should choose between options (2) and (4). Option (4) has the support of more modern versions than option (2), and fits well with the context, which does indeed echo the general idea of Hag 1.6-11; Hag 2.15-19. This then is the one that we would recommend. Good News Translation takes this option, and expresses it very clearly with “You are now hearing the same words the prophets spoke at the time the foundation was being laid….”

That the temple might be built: These words are added rather awkwardly at the end of the verse in Hebrew, and many scholars think they are a marginal note that was later mistakenly added to the text. Good News Translation manages to express their meaning without using awkward English: “at the time the foundation was being laid for rebuilding my Temple.” This avoids the repetition in Revised Standard Version (the house of the LORD of hosts … the temple) that makes the English clumsy and adds nothing to the meaning. New International Version takes that the temple might be built with Let your hands be strong, translating “let your hands be strong so that the temple may be built.” In the Hebrew, however, these two clauses are so far apart that it is very unlikely that they should be taken together. In languages that do not use the passive, translators may say, for example, “at the time [or, when] people were laying the foundation in order to rebuild the Temple.”

A possible alternative translation model for this verse is:

• This is what the LORD Almighty says: “You are now hearing the same words that the prophets spoke when people were laying the foundation in order to rebuild my Temple. Let your hearts be brave!”

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 .