The Hebrew text does not state who the speaker is here, but the use of the first person pronoun in verse 10 strongly suggests that the speaker throughout verses 9-11 is the LORD. It would be better therefore to make this clear by adding “The LORD says” here rather than at the beginning of verse 10 as Good News Translation does.

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem!: This is clearly the beginning of a new section, which is marked in Hebrew not only by poetic rhythm and meter but also by the imperative verbs Rejoice and Shout aloud. The sentences that these verbs introduce are parallel with each other, and this parallelism should be retained if possible; but if necessary, the two sentences may be joined into one, as in Contemporary English Version: “Everyone in Jerusalem, celebrate and shout!” Both verbs are typically used in contexts of worship and other formal occasions. Rejoice greatly is translated as “Rejoice, rejoice” in Good News Translation and “celebrate” in Contemporary English Version. Shout aloud may also be expressed as “Shout to show your joy [or, happiness].” The vocative phrases O daughter of Zion and O daughter of Jerusalem may need to come at the beginning of their sentences in some languages. The phrase daughter of … may be misunderstood. Grammatically it does not refer to a single individual born in or living in Zion/Jerusalem, but rather to the city itself addressed as a female figure, because the Hebrew word for city is grammatically feminine. The expression daughter of Jerusalem does not mean that “Jerusalem has a daughter,” but that “Jerusalem is called ‘daughter,’ ” and so it may be translated “O daughter Zion/Jerusalem” (New American Bible, New Revised Standard Version) rather than “daughter of….” Some languages may require a possessive pronoun with daughter, and in this case it would be “my daughter Zion/Jerusalem.” In many languages translators will find it best to go further and make it clear that the city stands for its population. Thus Good News Translation has “people of Zion … you people of Jerusalem” (similarly Beck, New Living Translation) and Contemporary English Version has “Everyone in Jerusalem.” Such renderings are easy to understand, but risk losing the element of tender affection conveyed by the figurative term daughter. Zion and Jerusalem are in parallel with each other and have the same meaning here, although, to be more precise, Zion refers to the part of the city of Jerusalem where the Temple stood (see 1.14). If possible, translators should retain both names; but if this would cause problems, then it is better to keep “Jerusalem” as the more general term, as Contemporary English Version has.

Lo, your king comes to you: The word Lo in Revised Standard Version is archaic in English (compare 2.10). In this context the opening Hebrew word hinneh means “Look” (Good News Translation, New Jerusalem Bible, New Living Translation) or “See” (New American Bible, New International Version, Revised English Bible, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, 2. Edition). In some languages there may be no precise term for king and it may be necessary to say “leader,” “great chief,” or something similar (see verse 5). However, translators should be careful to avoid any expression that may carry political overtones in their own country. The words your and you are feminine singular in Hebrew agreeing with daughter, but if translators have made it clear that the city stands for its people, then they will need to use a plural form for these pronouns (compare Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch).

Triumphant and victorious is he: The Hebrew words underlying these terms recall various earlier parts of the Old Testament. The first term is literally “righteous” (New International Version, Beck, New Living Translation), as for instance in Isa 9.7; Isa 11.4-5; 32.1 and Jer 23.5, and is not so much a static quality as the active establishment of justice and encouraging of right conduct. The second term is a little more difficult. The ancient Greek and Latin versions understood it as active in meaning: “saving others” (as in New International Version, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, 1. Edition). But the Hebrew word is actually a passive participle, and carries the meaning of receiving salvation from God rather than offering it to others. Most modern scholars interpret it as experiencing God’s help in time of trouble and emerging successfully from the difficulty, hence victorious (Revised Standard Version/New Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation, New Jerusalem Bible, Beck, New Living Translation, Contemporary English Version). The two ideas of righteousness and salvation occur together elsewhere, for instance Isa 45.8; Isa 46.13; Isa 51.5 (Revised Standard Version having “deliverance” for righteousness in these last two places). If suitable adjectives are not available, translators may say, for example, “he does what is right and receives [or, experiences] God’s help.”

Humble and riding on an ass: The previous description emphasized the glory of the coming king, and these two expressions by contrast emphasize his humility. If the earlier words link the king with human ideas of kingship, these words show how different the Messiah will be from human kings.

The word translated humble more often means “oppressed” or “afflicted,” but on the basis of its use in Zeph 3.12, many scholars are willing to accept the sense of humble here also. Others make a small alteration to the Hebrew text to obtain this meaning, but this seems unnecessary. Humble is a difficult term to express in many languages, as it often has overtones of low social status. In the context of this present verse, it refers to “gentleness of heart.” In a variety of languages, humble is often expressed idiomatically; for example, “heart/liver that bows down” or “person who makes himself small.” In English ass is an old-fashioned word for the animal more commonly called a donkey. Good News Translation and most modern versions use the word “donkey,” not least because ass nowadays carries an insulting meaning in American and some other varieties of English. The point of the statement in Hebrew is that human kings usually displayed their power and glory by riding on a war-horse (compare Est 6.8; Jer 22.4), whereas the king who is the Messiah shows his humility by riding a donkey, the ordinary peasant’s beast of burden. Note that horses are associated with war in the next verse (verse 10). This statement carries echoes of the mysterious prophecy in Gen 49.10-11, and is itself quoted in Matt 21.5 and John 12.15, where it is applied to Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem.

In cultures where donkeys are unknown, translators may borrow a term from a prestige language. In such situations an illustration of a donkey should also be included. Most translators will have solved this problem when they translated such New Testament passages as Matt 21.2; Mark 11.2; Luke 19.30; John 12.14, and such Old Testament passages as Gen 16.12; Gen 22.3, 5.

On a colt the foal of an ass: This statement is parallel with the one before it and gives a poetic expansion of it rather than forming a separate statement. Translators should be careful not to give the impression to their readers that the verse is referring to two separate animals. A colt is a young donkey (male in this case) and foal is another term for a young donkey, probably referring to an even younger animal. The Hebrew word for ass here is a different word from the one in the previous clause. Here the word means a female animal, though this is not always clear in English versions (but note “she-ass” in New English Bible, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh). The Hebrew term is actually plural, but since it is biologically impossible for any animal to be born of more than one mother, the sense must be general: “born of a line of [female] donkeys.” This is made clear in a footnote in Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, 2. Edition, and some translators may find it helpful to do likewise. Some scholars interpret the expression to mean “a pureblooded donkey,” that is, not a mule or cross between a horse and donkey (Baldwin).

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 .