Revised Standard Version begins this verse with a long time clause, which in Hebrew comes at the end of the verse. This somewhat hides the fact that the clause were not these the words which the LORD proclaimed by the former prophets? refers to the previous verses. Good News Translation keeps to the Hebrew order and is thus clearer in this respect, so translators should as far as possible follow the order of clauses in Good News Translation (similarly Contemporary English Version). Comments in this Handbook will follow the clause order of the Hebrew and Good News Translation for this verse. New Revised Standard Version has changed the clause order to follow the Hebrew, and it is thus an improvement on Revised Standard Version.

Were not these the words which the LORD proclaimed by the former prophets?: We take these opening words to be the prophet’s comment on the two previous verses. He claims in effect to be giving the same kind of challenge as earlier prophets had given. Although the wording of verses 5-6 is not closely parallel with anything in the writings of earlier prophets, the thought is in line with such passages as Isa 1.10-15; Isa 58.1-7; Amos 5.21-24. The phrase in Hebrew for the words is marked as a grammatical object, but there is no verb whose object it could be. The Septuagint takes the Hebrew to be another word meaning “these” instead of the object marker, and in this it is followed by a large majority of modern versions. Other versions have kept to the traditional Hebrew text and supplied a verb that fits the context; thus King James Version and Revised Version have “Should ye not hear the words…” (compare Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch “know”). If the Hebrew text is correct, then we have an example of a deliberately incomplete sentence, a device that is called an ellipsis. In an ellipsis, the word that has to be understood is normally one which can easily be recovered from the context, but neither “hear” nor “obey” nor “know” can be found in this context.

We suggest that the word which could be most easily recovered from the context is a form of the verb proclaimed, which occurs in the same sentence. The meaning would then be “Have not I proclaimed the words which the LORD proclaimed through the earlier prophets?” This would make it even clearer that Zechariah is here commenting on what he has said in verses 5-6, and showing that his message is continuous with that of the earlier prophets.

This sentence is cast in the form of a negative question, which is a roundabout way of making a positive statement (compare verse 6). Good News Translation has expressed it as a positive statement (compare New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, Contemporary English Version, Bible en français courant, and Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente), and many translators will wish to do the same, especially if they have done so in verse 6.

For the former prophets, see the comments on 1.4.

When Jerusalem was inhabited and in prosperity: This refers to the period before the Babylonian invasions. Good News Translation rephrases this clause in more modern English as “when Jerusalem was prosperous and filled with people.”

With her cities round about her: The Hebrew word translated cities usually refers to settlements with a defensive wall around them, but many such cities were quite small by modern standards. The English word cities gives the impression of settlements much too large. Good News Translation reduces this impression somewhat by saying “towns” (compare Moffatt). In contrast to 1.12, where “the cities of Judah” refers to settlements in a wider area, here the cities are only those round about Jerusalem itself, referring to what would today be called “villages” (Contemporary English Version). In many languages “villages” would probably be a better translation. For a comment on “villages,” see 1.12.

The South and the lowland were inhabited: The South is literally “the Negeb” (New Revised Standard Version), an area that was not as arid in ancient times as it has become since. Good News Translation uses the more general expression “the southern region,” and Contemporary English Version has “the Southern Desert.” The lowland (New Revised Standard Version again with the Hebrew term, “the Shephelah”) refers to the area of low hills between the uplands of Judea and the coastal plains. Good News Translation translates “the western foothills.” Another possible translation is “the low hills to the west.” Translators should be consistent throughout the Old Testament in the way they handle these two geographical terms. In Zechariah’s day the Jews controlled only a fairly small area around Jerusalem, and the population was not very great. The contrast with the time before the exile was therefore obvious to his hearers. Zechariah is suggesting that if former generations had obeyed God when things were going well for them, then there would have been no need for God to punish them and let them suffer the hardships of his own day (compare verses 13-14 below).

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 .