Though I scattered them among the nations: There is some uncertainty about the Hebrew word translated scattered. The traditional Hebrew text has the form weʾezraʿem, “and I will sow them” (King James Version, Revised Version). Many scholars such as Mitchell prefer to delete one consonant, and read waʾazarem, meaning “and I will scatter them.” It is generally accepted that this is a reference to the exile, and that the sense of “scatter” is appropriate. However, it is hardly necessary to propose changing the traditional text, because the word “sow” carries the sense of scattering seed (Delcor, Meyers & Meyers). As Baldwin and Gaide point out, the word “sow” (retained in New American Bible, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh) not only includes scattering as part of its meaning, but also the hope of future increase. In some languages there may be a word for “scatter” which is particularly associated with scattering seeds, and if so, it could well be appropriate in this context. In other languages it may be helpful to make the picture clear by saying, “I will scatter them among other nations [or, peoples] as a farmer sows seed” (as in Bible en français courant, New English Bible footnote). It is not certain whether this action is best interpreted as referring to past events, the exiles of 721 B.C. and 586 B.C., or to an event still in the future (R. L. Smith). Revised Standard Version and most modern English versions take it to refer to the past and translate with a perfect tense (Good News Translation “have scattered”) or a simple past tense (scattered). Some however use a future (New Jerusalem Bible) or a conditional form (New English Bible/ Revised English Bible, New International Version). A past tense seems most likely. In some languages it will be helpful to render them as “the people of Judah” or “my people,” as they have not been identified for several verses.

Yet in far countries they shall remember me: The Hebrew has no word for countries, so some modern versions simply say “from far away” (Jerusalem Bible, Beck, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible). Translators may also say “yet far away from their land.” The far countries are of course the places where the people were in exile. For the thought of this clause, compare 1 Kgs 8.46-51. Remember does not mean simply to recall something that had been forgotten, but rather to think carefully about something that had been overlooked before. Translators should be sure to choose the appropriate term.

And with their children they shall live and return: This clause is somewhat ambiguous. It could mean either that the parents will reside with their children, and that both parents and children will return to the Promised Land, or that the parents and their children will all survive and return to the land. The first alternative is not what the Hebrew intends, and arises only from the ambiguity of the English word live. The second is the interpretation of Good News Translation, New International Version, and Bible en français courant. Other versions, such as New American Bible, New English Bible/ Revised English Bible, and Contemporary English Version, on the basis of the Septuagint read the Hebrew word for live with different vowels, and understand it to mean “give life” in the sense of “rear their children” (New American Bible, Revised English Bible, New Revised Standard Version, Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente). This reading is supported by Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament, Hebrew Old Testament Text Project, Driver, Lamarche, Delcor, R. L. Smith, and Meyers & Meyers, and does seem to offer the best sense. The rendering “they will instruct their children” (New Jerusalem Bible) depends on a change in the Hebrew text, and is not recommended. It is not entirely clear who will return: the children, the parents, or both. In Hebrew “the children” are the nearest possible subjects for the verb, and are taken as such by Mitchell, Delcor, and R. L. Smith. Baldwin on the other hand holds the view that both children and parents are intended, and this view is expressed in Good News Translation “return home together” (also Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch). If correct, it points to a shorter period of exile. New American Bible and New English Bible/ Revised English Bible could be understood to mean that only the parents will return, but this seems an unlikely interpretation. In a context of blessing, it seems most likely that both parents and children would return. In translating the verb return, translators should be careful not to give the idea that those returning to the Promised Land had actually been there before. In all likelihood the vast majority had been born in exile, but they still looked upon Judah as the homeland where they belonged, and this is why the verb return could be used in Hebrew.

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 .

The phrase On that day opens a new subparagraph covering just this one verse. As discussed in the notes at the beginning of chapter 12, we recommend that there should not be any section heading here.

There shall be a fountain opened: The phrase shall be … opened is not a simple verb form but a form of the verb “to be” plus a participle. The effect of this construction is to indicate not a single act of opening but rather a continuous state in which the fountain once opened remains so constantly. English versions generally fail to convey this idea. Probably the one that comes nearest is Knox with “a fountain flowing openly,” though this does not sound very natural. Possible models are “there will be a fountain that stays open” and “a fountain will spring up” (Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, Bible en français courant, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente). Some languages do not have a technical term for a fountain. In fact, the very word fountain is somewhat misleading in modern English, even though it is used by all available English versions. Its primary meaning today is an artificial device, often decorative, that shoots water into the air. The required meaning in this context, however, is a natural spring of water, and words meaning “spring” are used in French, German, Italian, Norwegian, and Swedish versions. These provide a better model, so translators may say, for example, “water will pour out of the ground” or “there will be a spring available.”

For the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem: The same phrase occurred in 12.7, 8, 10, and 12. Here, as in 12.7 and 10, it probably means “the rulers and people of Jerusalem.” See the notes on those verses.

To cleanse them from sin and uncleanness: The idea of water being used to make people clean from defilement is an ancient one (see Num 8.7; Num 19.9; Ezek 36.25). The word used for sin is a very general one. The word translated uncleanness is particularly associated with ritual impurity arising from menstruation (Lev 15.19; Ezek 18.6; Ezek 22.10; Ezek 36.17) or from contact with a dead body (Num 19.11-13). In Ezek 36.17-18, the word is linked with idolatrous worship, and that sense is probably present here also. Good News Translation translates it as “idolatry” (Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente also). The overall effect is that the waters of the spring (or, fountain) will cleanse the leaders and people both morally and ritually. “Idolatry” may also be expressed as “worship of the images of false gods.”

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 .

And said to him: In the Hebrew it is not clear which angel addressed the other. Revised Standard Version takes the second angel to be the speaker, as do Moffatt, New American Bible, Revised English Bible, New International Version, New Revised Standard Version, Contemporary English Version, and Biblen: Det Gamle og Det Nye Testamente. Good News Translation takes the first one to be the speaker, as do New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, New Jerusalem Bible, Bible en français courant, and Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch. A majority of commentators (Driver, Mitchell, Cashdan, Delcor, Thomas, Amsler, Meyers & Meyers) take the latter view and translators are recommended to follow it. As Driver observes, the interpreting angel is not likely to have been sent away to deliver a message. However, if he had been sent away, the verb translated “came again” in 4.1 would have more significance. See the comments on 4.1. One way to say this is “The first angel said to the second.”

Run, say to that young man: A different Hebrew word is used here from the one translated man in verse 1. See the comments on verse 1. Good News Translation makes it clear that this is the same person by repeating some information from verse 1, and saying, “tell that young man with the measuring line.” Another way to express this is “tell that young man who is holding the measuring line in his hand.” Some scholars such as Merrill take that young man to refer to Zechariah himself, but this view is not convincing, and cannot be recommended.

Jerusalem shall be inhabited as villages without walls, because of the multitude of men and cattle in it: These words begin a quotation within a quotation in Revised Standard Version. Good News Translation and Contemporary English Version avoid this by putting the second half of the verse into indirect speech. In many languages translators will find this a helpful example to follow. The relationship between the two halves of this sentence is not altogether clear in a literal translation like Revised Standard Version. Good News Translation restructures to make it clearer, and says, “there are going to be so many people and so much livestock [or more neatly “so many people and cattle” in the earlier British editions] in Jerusalem that it will be too big to have walls.” This will be a satisfactory translation model in many languages, but some translators may need to simplify and say, “there will be so many people and cattle in Jerusalem that….” Cattle, as in Hag 1.11, refers to domesticated animals of all kinds, so translators may say “so many people and animals.” The words villages without walls translate a single Hebrew word. This word does not actually mention walls. However, the same Hebrew word is used in Ezek 38.11 in a context where the absence of walls is in focus, so it is reasonable to assume that their absence is implied here. The words without walls suggest a condition of peace and security such that no walls were needed for protection. This could be brought out clearly by saying, “Jerusalem will need no wall to protect it because of the large number of men and cattle in it.” This is further explained in the next verse. In certain languages villages without walls can be expressed as “small groups of houses without fences around them.” In such cases it will be better to delete the reference to villages, as Good News Translation and Contemporary English Version have done. Good News Translation has “that it will be too big to have walls.” Contemporary English Version has “Jerusalem won’t have any boundaries. It will be too full of people and animals even to have a wall.” In some languages walls will need to be singular because the plural would refer to walls around gardens or houses rather than around a city. A possible translation model is:

• The first angel said to the second one, “Run [or, Hurry] and tell that young man to stop. Jerusalem will grow and have very many people and cattle, and will not need any wall to protect it.”

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 .

And he said to me, “What do you see?”: See the comments on the same words in 4.2. He refers to the same angel as in the previous vision. Good News Translation and Contemporary English Version make that clear in English by saying “The angel,” and many translators will need to do the same.

The words I answered translate the same Hebrew expression as that translated “I said” in 4.2. In reporting a conversation, the word answered is more natural in English, and translators should be aware of stylistic points of this kind.

I see a flying scroll; its length is twenty cubits, and its breadth ten cubits: This reply makes it clear that the scroll was not rolled up, but completely unrolled; otherwise, the prophet would not have known its size. The size given, twenty cubits by ten cubits, is much larger than any normal scroll would be. These measurements are in fact the same as those of the entrance hall of Solomon’s Temple (1 Kgs 6.3), though it does not seem possible to draw any conclusion from the similarity. Good News Translation translates the measurements into modern units. The cubit was about seventeen and a half inches, so in the American editions of Good News Translation, the size is given as “thirty feet long and fifteen feet wide” (compare Moffatt, New International Version, New Living Translation, Contemporary English Version). In the British and Australian editions, which use metric measurements, the size is given as “nine metres long and four and a half metres wide.” Since the size in cubits is in round figures, some think this is calculated too precisely. Translators who use metric measurements may also consider following the example of Bible en français courant, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch and Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente and give the size in round figures as ten meters long and five meters wide.

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 .

The second introductory formula Thus says the LORD of hosts often follows the previous formula at the beginning of longer paragraphs (compare Hag 1.2; Hag 2.11; Zech 8.2, 19) and may be seen as a marker of subdivisions within the paragraph (see the comments on 8.1-17). For LORD of hosts, see the comments on Hag 1.2.

The words that follow are in fact a repetition of the ethical teaching typical of the eighth century prophets. Good News Translation makes it clear that these are not original ideas of Zechariah by translating Thus says the LORD of hosts as “Long ago I gave these commands to my people.” Contemporary English Version has “So once again, I, the LORD All-Powerful, tell you.” (The change to first person “I/my” is part of the stylistic restructuring that Good News Translation and Contemporary English Version carry through the whole paragraph. See the introductory comments on this section.)

Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy each to his brother: These are general statements of the principles underlying sound social and personal relationships. Good News Translation expresses the first in modern language as “You must see that justice is done.” Translators could also say, “Apply the law fairly” (Jerusalem Bible/New Jerusalem Bible). The context here is a legal one. For this command compare Isa 1.17; Jer 21.12; Jer 22.3; Amos 5.14-15, 24.

For an emphasis on the quality of kindness, compare Hos 4.1 and Micah 6.8. The Hebrew word chesed here translated kindness was particularly associated with loyalty to the obligations accepted when a person entered into a covenant relationship. It was thus expected that the Jews, as a people having a covenant relationship with God, would show this quality in their attitudes both to God and to one another. Mercy is translated “compassion” in Moffatt, New American Bible, Jerusalem Bible/New Jerusalem Bible, New English Bible/ Revised English Bible, and New International Version. Each to his brother is the Hebrew way of saying “to one another” (Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version). Brother does not mean only close relatives, or only male relatives, and this should be made clear.

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 .