They shall pass through: They is actually based on the Septuagint. The Hebrew text has the singular “he will pass”; this is acknowledged in a footnote in New Revised Standard Version, but is strangely ignored in Revised Standard Version itself. The question of the subject of the verb shall pass through is a complex one. Several scholars who accept the singular verb form in the Hebrew text think that the subject is the LORD (Driver, Cashdan, Gaide, Lacocque, Hebrew Old Testament Text Project). This is indeed possible, and a similar thought can be found in Isa 43.2, where the LORD says to his people, “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you” (Revised Standard Version). But it is also possible that the subject of the singular verb may be Ephraim, last mentioned in verse 7, but referred to several times in verses 8-10 by means of pronouns. The objection to this view is that in the earlier references Ephraim is referred to in the plural. The plural verb in the Septuagint may suggest that the translators were reading a Hebrew text with a plural verb. But it is equally possible that they used a plural verb on translational grounds, because they understood the singular subject to be Ephraim as a collective noun. Perhaps Revised Standard Version used the plural They for the same reason, and thus did not include a footnote because it did not consider itself to be deviating from the traditional Hebrew text. On the whole, the flow of thought through the paragraph makes it seem more probable that Ephraim is the subject rather than the LORD, and translators are urged to follow this option. Whichever term translators used for “Ephraim” in verse 10 should also be used here. Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation are ambiguous with “They,” whereas Contemporary English Version has “My people.” Many languages will have a special word for pass through water, and that word will be appropriate in this context.

The sea of Egypt: Revised Standard Version acknowledges in a footnote that this phrase is based on a proposed change in the Hebrew text. New Revised Standard Version has gone back to the Hebrew in its rendering “the sea of distress” (compare “their/the sea of trouble” in Good News Translation and New International Version, and “an ocean of troubles” in Contemporary English Version). The change from “distress” (Hebrew tsarah) to Egypt (Hebrew mitsrayim) is not at all convincing, in spite of its popularity (reflected in New American Bible, Jerusalem Bible/New Jerusalem Bible, Revised English Bible, and Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, for instance); it has no support from ancient versions and is rightly rejected by Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament and Hebrew Old Testament Text Project. As Lacocque points out, the word Egypt requires the letter m to be added both at the beginning and the end to the consonants ts-r in the word for “distress.” Although the initial m might have been accidentally lost because the previous word in Hebrew ends in m, there is no credible explanation why the final m should have been lost. Translators are therefore urged to translate “the sea of distress.” This kind of language recalls the events of the exodus from Egypt. Some scholars accept the Hebrew text tsarah, but take it in a rather literal way to mean “narrowness.” “The sea of narrowness,” they claim, could be translated as “the narrow sea” and understood as referring to the Gulf of Suez or the Gulf of Aqaba, the narrow northern arms of the Red Sea (Gaide). However, in a passage of this kind, a figurative meaning like “distress” seems much more probable. “Sea of distress [or, trouble]” may also be expressed as “sea that caused distress [or, trouble].”

And the waves of the sea shall be smitten: The traditional Hebrew text has the active singular verb “he will smite.” Those who take the LORD as the subject of the previous clause generally assume that he is also the subject of this clause: “he will smite the waves of the sea” (so King James Version, Revised Version, New American Standard Bible, New King James Version ). The Septuagint again has a plural verb, and if a translator follows its interpretation in the first clause, it seems illogical not to follow it here also. The Greek translators presumably understood the subject still to be Ephraim (that is, Israel) as a collective noun, and thought of the exiles returning through the “sea of distress” and “striking its waves,” just as Moses at the LORD’s command exercised authority over the waters of the sea in Exo 14.16, 21, 26-29. Similar thoughts are expressed in Isa 11.15-16. Revised Standard Version has retained the consonants of the Hebrew text, but has read different vowels to obtain its passive verb shall be smitten. This is not advisable as it creates a new problem for many translators to decide who is the agent of the verb.

The Good News Translation rendering “I, the LORD, will strike the waves” is probably not based on any change in the Hebrew text, but rather on a translational adjustment, putting references to the LORD in the first person, as in the rest of verses 8-12. It seems unnecessary however to use such an emphatic form at this point where the Hebrew verb is not first person at all. It also overlooks the pattern of alternating first person and third person statements by the LORD throughout verses 3-12.

And all the depths of the Nile dried up: The verbal auxiliaries shall be are understood to be carried over from the previous clause, so that the force of the Revised Standard Version is “all the depths of the Nile shall be dried up.” Again, it is better to avoid a passive form, and an adequate model is “all the depths of the Nile will dry up” (New International Version). The Nile is of course the principal river of Egypt, and a reference to it would again recall the story of the exodus. The statement may be restructured to “the Nile River, deep as it is [or, although it is so deep] will dry up.”

The pride of Assyria shall be laid low: Laid low is an English idiom meaning “brought down” (New English Bible/ Revised English Bible) or “humbled” (Good News Translation). If a passive verb presents a translation problem, then it is legitimate to assume that the LORD is the unstated subject. So translators may say, for example, “The LORD will humble proud Assyria” or “The LORD will make the proud people of Assyria lose face.”

The sceptre of Egypt shall depart: A sceptre, a ceremonial rod held by a ruler, is a symbol of power and authority. If the sceptre is removed, it means the power is gone. A possible model for the last two clauses of this verse is found by making a slight adaptation of Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch so as to say, “I will overthrow the proud Assyrians, and break the power of Egypt.” This could also be framed in the third person: “The LORD will overthrow….” Bible en français courant expresses the last clause as “Egypt will lose all power.” As in verse 10, Assyria and Egypt stand for powerful enemies of God’s people wherever they may be found.

An alternative translation model for this verse is:

• The people of Ephraim [or, Israel] will pass through a sea of trouble, but they will strike the waves of the sea, and the Nile River, deep as it is, will dry up. The LORD will humble the proud Assyrians and the Egyptians will lose their power.

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 .