Zechariah 2
New Living Translation
Future Prosperity of Jerusalem
2 [a]When I looked again, I saw a man with a measuring line in his hand. 2 “Where are you going?” I asked.
He replied, “I am going to measure Jerusalem, to see how wide and how long it is.”
3 Then the angel who was with me went to meet a second angel who was coming toward him. 4 The other angel said, “Hurry, and say to that young man, ‘Jerusalem will someday be so full of people and livestock that there won’t be room enough for everyone! Many will live outside the city walls. 5 Then I, myself, will be a protective wall of fire around Jerusalem, says the Lord. And I will be the glory inside the city!’”
The Exiles Are Called Home
6 The Lord says, “Come away! Flee from Babylon in the land of the north, for I have scattered you to the four winds. 7 Come away, people of Zion, you who are exiled in Babylon!”
8 After a period of glory, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies sent me[b] against the nations who plundered you. For he said, “Anyone who harms you harms my most precious possession.[c] 9 I will raise my fist to crush them, and their own slaves will plunder them.” Then you will know that the Lord of Heaven’s Armies has sent me.
10 The Lord says, “Shout and rejoice, O beautiful Jerusalem,[d] for I am coming to live among you. 11 Many nations will join themselves to the Lord on that day, and they, too, will be my people. I will live among you, and you will know that the Lord of Heaven’s Armies sent me to you. 12 The land of Judah will be the Lord’s special possession in the holy land, and he will once again choose Jerusalem to be his own city. 13 Be silent before the Lord, all humanity, for he is springing into action from his holy dwelling.”
Zechariah 2
New English Translation
Vision Three: The Surveyor
2 (2:5) I looked again, and there was a man with a measuring line in his hand. 2 I asked, “Where are you going?” He replied, “To measure Jerusalem in order to determine its width and its length.” 3 At this point the angelic messenger[a] who spoke to me went out, and another messenger came to meet him 4 and said to him, “Hurry, speak to this young man[b] as follows: ‘Jerusalem will no longer be enclosed by walls[c] because of the multitude of people and animals there. 5 But I,’ the Lord says, ‘will be a wall of fire surrounding Jerusalem[d] and the source of glory in her midst.’”
6 “You there![e] Flee from the northland!” says the Lord, “for like the four winds of heaven[f] I have scattered you,” says the Lord. 7 “Escape, Zion, you who live among the Babylonians!”[g] 8 For the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: “For his own glory[h] he has sent me to the nations that plundered you—for anyone who touches you touches the pupil[i] of his[j] eye. 9 Yes, look here, I am about to punish them[k] so that they will be looted by their own slaves.” Then you will know that the Lord of Heaven’s Armies has sent me.
10 “Sing out and be happy, Zion my daughter![l] For look, I have come; I will settle in your midst,” says the Lord. 11 “Many nations will join themselves to the Lord on the day of salvation,[m] and they will also be my[n] people. Indeed, I will settle in the midst of you all. Then you will know that the Lord of Heaven’s Armies has sent me to you. 12 The Lord will take possession of[o] Judah as his portion in the holy land and he will choose Jerusalem once again. 13 Be silent in the Lord’s presence, all people everywhere,[p] for he is being moved to action in his holy dwelling place.”[q]
Footnotes
- Zechariah 2:3 tn See the note on the expression “angelic messenger” in 1:9.
- Zechariah 2:4 sn That is, to Zechariah.
- Zechariah 2:4 tn Heb “Jerusalem will dwell as open regions (פְּרָזוֹת, perazot)”; cf. NAB “in open country”; CEV “won’t have any boundaries.” The population will be so large as to spill beyond the ancient and normal enclosures. The people need not fear, however, for the Lord will be an invisible but strong wall (v. 5).
- Zechariah 2:5 tn Heb “her”; the referent (Jerusalem) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Zechariah 2:6 sn These are the scattered Jews of eschatological times (as the expression four winds of heaven makes clear) and not those of Zechariah’s time who have, for the most part, already returned by 520 b.c. This theme continues and is reinforced in vv. 10-13.
- Zechariah 2:6 tn Or “of the sky.” The same Hebrew term, שָׁמַיִם (shamayim), may be translated “heaven(s)” or “sky” depending on the context.
- Zechariah 2:7 tn Heb “live in [or “with” (cf. NASB), i.e., “among”] the daughter of Babylon” (so NIV; NAB “dwell in daughter Babylon”).
- Zechariah 2:8 tn Heb “After glory has he sent me” (similar KJV, NASB). What is clearly in view is the role of Zechariah who, by faithful proclamation of the message, will glorify the Lord.
- Zechariah 2:8 tn Heb “gate” (בָּבָה, bavah) of the eye, that is, pupil. The rendering of this term by KJV as “apple” has created a well-known idiom in the English language, “the apple of his eye” (so ASV, NIV). The pupil is one of the most vulnerable and valuable parts of the body, so for Judah to be considered the “pupil” of the Lord’s eye is to raise her value to an incalculable price (cf. NLT “my most precious possession”).
- Zechariah 2:8 tc A scribal emendation (tiqqun sopherim) has apparently altered an original “my eye” to “his eye” in order to allow the prophet to be the speaker throughout vv. 8-9. This alleviates the problem of the Lord saying, in effect, that he has sent himself on the mission to the nations.
- Zechariah 2:9 tn Heb “I will wave my hand over them” (so NASB); NIV, NRSV “raise my hand against them.”
- Zechariah 2:10 sn This individualizing of Zion as a daughter draws attention to the corporate nature of the covenant community and also to the tenderness with which the Lord regards his chosen people.
- Zechariah 2:11 tn Heb “on that day.” The descriptive phrase “of salvation” has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
- Zechariah 2:11 tc The LXX and Syriac have the third person masculine singular suffix in both places (“his people” and “he will settle”; cf. NAB, TEV) in order to avoid the Lord’s speaking of himself in the third person. Such resort is unnecessary, however, in light of the common shifting of person in Hebrew narrative (cf. 3:2).
- Zechariah 2:12 tn Heb “will inherit” (so NIV, NRSV).
- Zechariah 2:13 tn Heb “all flesh”; NAB, NIV “all mankind.”
- Zechariah 2:13 sn The sense here is that God in heaven is about to undertake an occupation of his earthly realm (v. 12) by restoring his people to the promised land.
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