On that day the LORD their God will save them: The phrase On that day functions as the marker of a new discourse unit (a subparagraph) when it occurs at the beginning of a sentence, as in 12.4, 6, 8, 11; 13.1; 14.20. In this verse however, despite the order of the words in Revised Standard Version, it does not occur at the beginning of the sentence in Hebrew, and therefore it is not seen as marking the beginning of a new unit. The Hebrew order is preserved in New American Bible, Jerusalem Bible, New International Version, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, and Contemporary English Version. Other similar occurrences of this phrase are found in 12.8 (second occurrence); 14.4, 9, 21. A time phrase of this kind may be used at any point in the sentence where it sounds natural in the translation. Many languages prefer to put indications of time at the beginning, as Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation have done.

The word save here has a wide general meaning. Probably the thought at this point is not so much military victory as in the previous verses, but rather pastoral care. This is suggested by the picture in the second part of the verse: for they are the flock of his people. The Hebrew text consists of only two words, “like-a-flock his-people,” and translators need to expand this and restructure it to show its relationship with the words before it. Good News Translation does this well with “the LORD will save his people, as a shepherd saves his flock from danger.” The Hebrew does not contain any word for “shepherd,” but the use of flock makes it clear that this is the picture in the prophet’s mind. It is a common picture in the Old Testament, and is also found for instance in Psa 79.13; Psa 95.7; Psa 100.3. In cultures where shepherds and sheep are unknown, translators may say, for example, “as a person who looks after domestic animals saves them from danger.”

For like the jewels of a crown they shall shine on his land: There is a textual problem in this clause, in that the Hebrew does not contain a word for like. Some scholars have suggested that the Hebrew word translated for should be written a little differently to give the meaning “like.” Though this suggestion has no support from ancient versions, Jerusalem Bible adopts it with “(like the flashing jewels of a diadem) on his land” (a diadem is a small crown), and New English Bible with “setting them all about his land, like jewels set to sparkle in a crown.” However, it is noticeable that the revisions of both these translations have departed from this position. New Jerusalem Bible has “yes, the stones of a diadem will sparkle over his country,” while Revised English Bible has “For they are the precious stones in a crown which sparkle all about his land.” The overall effect of translating “like” instead of “for” is to change a metaphor into a simile. This is something that translators may often do anyway for translational rather than textual reasons. In this particular case, it may be that “like” can be understood as continuing from the word “like-a-flock” in the previous phrase. Translators are recommended to retain for and to translate the following words as a simile or as a metaphor according to what sounds more natural in their language.

Jewels may be rendered as “precious stones” (Revised English Bible) or “beautiful stones.” A crown is a piece of headgear worn by a king. The word is rendered “diadem” in Jerusalem Bible/New Jerusalem Bible. This is another, perhaps less magnificent, kind of crown that may be worn by people who are important but of lower rank than a king. The problem word in this clause is the word translated shine in Revised Standard Version. It is a rare word and there is some doubt about its range of meaning. King James Version and Revised Version, perhaps influenced by the ancient Latin translation, render it as “lifted up” and “lifted on high” respectively. The only modern version to accept this interpretation is New American Bible with “raised aloft.” Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament also recommends this option. However, all other available modern versions have shine (Revised Standard Version/New Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version), “sparkle” (New English Bible/ Revised English Bible, New American Standard Bible, New International Version, New Jerusalem Bible, Beck, New Living Translation), or “glitter” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh), and this does seem to make better sense in relation to the jewels of a crown. There are parallels to both interpretations in Isa 62, where in verse 3 Zion is compared with a beautiful crown, and in verse 10 an ensign is lifted up. However, these parallels are not decisive for the interpretation here in Zechariah.

We may ask how jewels can shine on the land. Mitchell has suggested that this clause is a continuation of the picture of the flock in the earlier part of the verse. He maintains that sheep or goats seen on a sunny hillside could well be compared with jewels on the land, and his comment is referred to with apparent approval by Cashdan, Lacocque, and Petersen. On the other hand, Gaide suggests that the jewels of a land may be its rich crops, and this also makes sense in terms of an agricultural economy. However, translators should keep the figure of the jewels of a crown shining.

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 .