So I became the shepherd of the flock doomed to be slain: The Hebrew uses the same words here as at the beginning of the direct speech in verse 4. Translators should therefore as far as possible use the same terms or expressions for became the shepherd and the flock doomed to be slain as they used in verse 4. See the notes there.

For those who trafficked in the sheep: The Hebrew text behind those who trafficked has been transmitted as two separate words, and is quite difficult to translate at this point. Among major modern English versions, only New International Version and New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh attempt to retain the traditional Hebrew. Most scholars believe that the division into two words is wrong and that the consonants should be read as one word, which Revised Standard Version renders rather clumsily as those who trafficked. Other modern versions have clearer terms, such as “Those who bought and sold” (Good News Translation), or better “merchants” (New American Bible, New Revised Standard Version) or “dealers” (New English Bible/ Revised English Bible).

The same textual problem occurs again in verse 11, and translators should take the same decision in both places. The problem is an ancient one: the Septuagint seems to have followed a Hebrew text with the letters written as one word, while the Latin Vulgate followed a text with the same letters written as two words. The arguments are not decisive, but translators should note the following two points:
(1) Although the reading with two words (“therefore the poor”) makes reasonable sense both here and in verse 11, it means that in verse 12 the prophet requests his wages from the sheep rather than from human beings, and this seems unlikely.
(2) The reading of the Hebrew as one word in verse 7 and verse 11 produces a term that actually occurs without dispute in 14.21, as well as elsewhere in the Old Testament.

Taking these points into consideration, we advise translators to follow those who read the Hebrew as one word, and to render it as “merchants” or “dealers.” It is notable that Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament and Hebrew Old Testament Text Project, which take the traditional Hebrew text very seriously, also recommend that it should be read as one word here and in verse 11.

Good News Translation restructures I became the shepherd … for those who trafficked in the sheep to “Those who bought and sold the sheep hired me, and I became the shepherd….” This is good modern usage, and fits well with the request to the merchants for wages in verse 12.

However, some scholars have objected that it is inappropriate for the prophet, who is someone they see as a good shepherd, to be employed by the merchants, who are people they see as bad. They therefore understand the sentence to say that the prophet looked after the sheep intended for slaughter by the dealers. This interpretation is prominent in French translations (Bible de Jérusalem, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, Bible en français courant; compare Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch), and has been adopted in some recent English versions also. The distinction is easily brought out by comparing the renderings of New English Bible and Revised English Bible. New English Bible has “I fattened the flock for slaughter for the dealers”; Revised English Bible changes this to “I became a shepherd to the flock destined to be slaughtered by the dealers.” There is no grammatical objection to this second rendering, but we should note that it arises from the conviction that the prophet at this point represents a good shepherd. The Hebrew has never actually claimed this, and it cannot be taken for granted. In the light of the prophet’s request to be paid by the dealers in verse 12, it is hard to sustain any objection to the first interpretation that has the prophet working for the dealers. Translators are therefore advised that the interpretation of Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation, New American Bible, and New English Bible is preferable.

And I took two staffs: Staffs are sticks that shepherds use in tending their sheep. Compare the terms for a shepherd’s sticks in Psa 23.4, though the Hebrew words used there are not the same as here. One stick was probably used as a weapon to defend the sheep against robbers or fierce animals, and the other for walking with, and for guiding the sheep with.

One I named Grace: There is no single word in English quite equivalent to the Hebrew word that Revised Standard Version translates Grace. It occurs in only a few places in the Old Testament. In Psa 27.4 Revised Standard Version renders it “beauty” (“to behold the beauty of the LORD”), in Psa 90.17 “favor” (“Let the favor of the LORD our God be upon us”), and in Pro 3.17; Pro 15.26 and 16.24 with some form of the word “pleasant.” This diversity gives rise to the range of terms used here: “Beauty” (King James Version, Revised Version), “Goodwill” (Moffatt, Jerusalem Bible/New Jerusalem Bible), “Favor” (New American Bible, New English Bible/ Revised English Bible, Good News Translation, New International Version, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh), and “Mercy” (Contemporary English Version). Since this staff is associated in verse 10 with the LORD’s covenant, perhaps Grace is the most appropriate word.

The other I named Union: Other names include “Unity” (Good News Translation, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, New Revised Standard Version, Contemporary English Version), “Bonds” (New American Bible), and the very odd “Couplers” (New Jerusalem Bible), which sounds like something used to link railway coaches! The majority of modern English versions, however, have Union (Revised Standard Version, Jerusalem Bible, New English Bible/ Revised English Bible, New International Version). In verse 14 this staff is associated with the “brotherhood between Judah and Israel,” so Union or “Unity” may be the best term. In languages with few abstract nouns, some term based on the word “brother,” such as “brotherhood” (Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch), may be possible.

And I tended the sheep may be rendered “and I looked after the animals.” This statement is a summary conclusion to the verse before the next topic is introduced.

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 .