So it was annulled on that day: This clause is in effect the conclusion of the thought of the previous verse. The prophet’s action in breaking the stick meant that the covenant was not merely broken, but broken at once. The words on that day when occurring at the beginning of a clause can function as a discourse marker (compare 12.4, 6, 8, 11; 13.1; 14.20), but coming later in the clause as they do here they simply carry their ordinary meaning. Other ways of expressing this meaning are “on that same day” (Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente), “at that very moment” (Bible en français courant), and “immediately” (Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch). The attempt by Jerusalem Bible/New Jerusalem Bible to take on that day with the words that follow is forced, and cannot be recommended. In languages that do not use the passive, translators may say, for example, “On that very day I canceled the agreement.”
The traffickers in the sheep: This translation arises from treating the consonants in the Hebrew text as one word rather than two. The textual problem is the same as that discussed in verse 7, and we recommend the same conclusion here. The wording of Revised Standard Version is awkward, however; more modern English is found in “the sheep merchants” (New American Bible, New Revised Standard Version) or “the dealers” (Jerusalem Bible, New English Bible/ Revised English Bible).
Who were watching me: The dealers were naturally observing the activity of the shepherd they had employed to look after the sheep. Some scholars see a play on words between the Hebrew for watching and the term for “Samaritans,” because both words share the root letters sh-m-r. Even if they are right (which is by no means certain), such a wordplay is almost impossible to translate, and even if it could be translated, most modern readers would not understand it anyway. It is also possible that the use of this word is a subtle hint that the dealers represent priestly leaders, since the verb sh-m-r is also used of observing (in the sense of keeping) the rules of priestly duties in Ezek 44.15, 16, 24.
Knew that it was the word of the LORD: It refers to the prophet’s action in breaking the staff called Grace, as described in verse 10. The fact that the dealers recognized in this action a message from the LORD is regarded by some scholars as evidence that the dealers stand for Jewish leaders and not foreign oppressors. This seems a reasonable argument, though it does not directly affect the translation. Good News Translation expresses the meaning as “they knew that the LORD was speaking through what I did.”
An alternative model for this verse is:
• On that very day, I canceled the covenant. The sheep dealers, who were watching me, knew that the LORD was speaking through [or, sending a message by] what I did.
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 .