Thus says the LORD of hosts has no equivalent in Good News Translation. See the comments on verse 2.

Behold: See the comments on 1.8.

I will save my people from the east country and from the west country: In this context save means to bring back from exile, as in Jer 30.10-11. The east country probably means Babylonia, and the west country probably means Egypt. But east and west together stand for all directions (compare Psa 50.1; Psa 113.3; Isa 59.19; Mal 1.11); it is therefore not necessary for translators to identify the countries. The important fact is that the prophet is talking about the countries where the people of God were in exile. Good News Translation expresses this well with “I will rescue my people from the lands where they have been taken.” Good News Translation also carries the words “from east and west” over into the next verse. If other translators do this, it would be better to run the two verses together and number them 7-8.

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 .