And I said, “What is it?”: Compare the prophet’s reaction in 1.9, 19. Since the content of the quotation is a question, it is better in English to introduce it by “I asked” (New American Bible, Good News Translation, New International Version, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, Beck, New Living Translation; compare Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, Bible en français courant, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente). It would also be possible to express the question in indirect speech, as in New English Bible and Revised English Bible (“I asked what it was”).
The angel’s reply is in two parts, each introduced separately in Revised Standard Version. There is no reason why the two parts cannot be put together in one utterance, as in Moffatt, New American Bible, Good News Translation, New Living Translation, Bible en français courant, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, and Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente. If the two introductory verbs He said are retained, as in Revised Standard Version, it is better English style to translate the second one as “He went on” (Jerusalem Bible/New Jerusalem Bible) or “he added” (New English Bible/ Revised English Bible, New International Version, Beck). Translators should decide which overall structure best fits their own language before tackling even the first part of the reply.
He said is better translated “He answered” (Moffatt, New American Bible) or “He replied” (Good News Translation, New International Version, New Living Translation).
This is the ephah that goes forth: An ephah was originally a measurement of volume for dry materials like grain. The word also came to be used for a vessel holding that amount. The volume of an ephah is not known for certain. Scholars usually estimate it to be between about 23 liters (6 us gallons) and 36 liters (9½ us gallons) according to Stuhlmueller (1988). The lower figure is preferred by Merrill and the higher one by Chary. A container of this size would not be large enough to hold an adult human being as in verse 7, so probably in this context, the word is used in the general sense of “a large container.” Some translators may need to know the shape of the container. The line drawing in the illustrated editions of Good News Translation shows an oblong container like a coffin, but this is probably wrong. Several scholars such as Driver and G. A. Smith have suggested that the vessel was round like a barrel, because the Hebrew word for the “leaden cover” in verse 7 usually means something round.
The translation “basket” (Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version), both in the text and in the section heading, is probably not correct in this context. A basket made of a coarse material like cane and/or wicker often has small gaps between its strands, and it would therefore not make a good receptacle for seeds of grain, as some could be lost through the gaps. Also, a basket is not likely to have a lead cover. In this context it seems more likely that a vessel for holding grain would be made of earthenware or wood. A number of versions translate ephah as “barrel” (Moffatt, Knox, New English Bible/ Revised English Bible; compare Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch), and this seems more likely to be correct. New English Bible has “a great barrel” and Revised English Bible “a barrel for measuring.” New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh uses the term “tub,” but this is less satisfactory as a tub would not normally have a lid (see verse 7).
In handling this term, translators do not need to worry about the exact size of an ephah, but should try to find a word that meets three conditions: (1) it refers to a vessel big enough for an adult to sit in; (2) it is suitable for holding grain without loss, probably made of wood or earthenware; and (3) it is preferably round in shape.
The words that goes forth have already occurred in verse 5, and there is no need for translators to repeat them if this would be poor style in their language. Good News Translation does not do so (nor do New International Version, Bible en français courant, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente). Translators who wish to include these words may find a helpful model in Revised English Bible: “The thing that is coming is a barrel for measuring.”
And he said, “This is their iniquity in all the land”: For the translation of And he said, see the notes above. This is means “the barrel stands for” or “… represents” (Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente). In place of the word translated their iniquity, the traditional Hebrew text has a word meaning “their eye.” The Hebrew text is followed by King James Version, Revised Version and New King James Version , and is translated as “their resemblance.” It is hard to see what this is supposed to mean, and most available modern versions, except New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh and Contemporary English Version, follow the ancient Greek and Syriac translations, and have iniquity (Revised Standard Version, Moffatt, Jerusalem Bible, New International Version), “guilt” (New American Bible, New English Bible, New Jerusalem Bible), or “sin” (Good News Translation). The ancient translations are based on a Hebrew text that is only one letter different from the traditional text, and are probably right. We recommend that translators follow the example of Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation, and most modern versions and accept the evidence of the ancient translations. Contemporary English Version seems to be following Hebrew Old Testament Text Project in its rendering “it shows what everyone in the land has in mind,” but this is not recommended as a model.
Their iniquity in all the land is rendered more naturally in Good News Translation as “the sin of the whole land,” meaning of course Judah (compare verse 3). In languages where it will not be natural to speak about the land committing sin (as Good News Translation does), translators may say something like “the sins of all the people of Judah.”
An alternative translation model for this verse is:
• I asked, “What is it?”
The angel replied, “It is a barrel coming, and it represents the sins of all the people of the land of Judah.”
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 .