They made their hearts like adamant: The third picture is a common one in the Old Testament (compare Exo 8.15, 32; Exo 9.34; Jer 6.28; Ezek 3.7-9; 11.19). Adamant is a very hard stone. This picture will be understood in many parts of the world and most translators will be able to keep it. Many modern versions use the word “diamond” (New American Bible, Bible de Jérusalem, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, Bible en français courant, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente) and others use “flint” (New International Version, Beck). Translators could also say “as hard as granite” in areas where this stone is common. Good News Translation uses a more general term: “as hard as rock.” However, a translation will be more vivid if some particular type of rock or stone is named. Revised English Bible keeps the term “adamant,” but uses it as an adjective rather than a noun because this is more natural in English: “They were adamant in their refusal.” Languages that use ideophones may have a suitable one that could replace “as hard as a rock” here.

Lest they should hear the law and the words: It is not certain whether the law and the words are to be taken as two separate items or just two labels for the same item. If they are taken as separate items, then the law could be seen as referring to the Torah (the first five books of the Old Testament), and the words to the writings of the former prophets. Such a formulation would be unusual as early as the time of Zechariah, but it seems quite possible that the Septuagint and the Vulgate understood the sentence in this way. Among modern English versions, only New International Version definitely accepts this interpretation, translating “They … would not listen to the law or to the words that…” (compare New Living Translation). Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente indicates in a footnote that it also accepts this view. The Hebrew word translated the law also has a more general meaning of “teaching” (New American Bible, Jerusalem Bible/New Jerusalem Bible, Good News Translation, Beck) or “instruction” (New English Bible, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh) and many translators take it to have that sense here. If so, then the relative clause (which the LORD of hosts had sent …) qualifies both “the teaching” and the words. Beck makes this interpretation clear by saying “the teaching, namely the words.” This second possibility avoids the imbalance that the sentence would show if the very long relative clause applied only to the second noun, the words. On the whole therefore, this interpretation seems preferable. As for translation, some versions run the two ideas into one word such as “teaching” (Good News Translation, Bible en français courant, Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente) while others use two words of similar meaning, such as “the directions and the orders” (Moffatt).

Which the LORD of hosts had sent by his Spirit through the former prophets: For LORD of hosts, see the comments on Hag 1.2. In spelling Spirit with a capital letter, Revised Standard Version indicates a heavenly person or divine being (compare Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, New International Version, Beck, New Living Translation). Other modern versions (New Jerusalem Bible, New American Bible, Revised English Bible, Bible en français courant, Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente) do not use a capital letter, and of course in many scripts there is no distinction between capital and small letters anyway. In any case, people who are listening to the text being read aloud will not hear any difference. In the present context, where the LORD has just been mentioned, the meaning should be clear. For Spirit see also the comments on Hag 2.5 and Zech 4.6. In Good News Translation, where verses 11-12 are restructured as first person, both the LORD of hosts and his Spirit are expressed in the single word “I” (compare Hag 2.5). This is not an entirely adequate translation, and if other translators are restructuring these verses as first person, there is no reason why they cannot say “which I sent by my S/spirit through the prophets” (similarly Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente). For the activity of God’s Spirit in connection with prophecy, compare Neh 9.30; Isa 61.1; Micah 3.8. In this last place in particular, God’s Spirit is linked with his “power” filling the prophet and causing him to speak God’s word. For the middle part of this verse, perhaps translators may say something like “Instead they refused to listen to the law and the teaching that I had caused the earlier prophets to preach through my power.”

For the former prophets, see the comments on 1.4.

Therefore great wrath came from the LORD of hosts: In many languages this will need to be expressed with a personal subject as “So the LORD Almighty became very angry” (similarly New International Version, Bible en français courant, Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente).

Good News Translation has restructured verses 11 and 12 so as to reduce the amount of repetition. In this way it has slightly altered the relationships between the clauses, though it has not distorted the main intent. In languages that do not consider repetition to be good style, Good News Translation may be a useful model.

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 .