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Zechariah 1:1-6
New English Translation

Introduction

1 In the eighth month of Darius’[a] second year,[b] the Lord’s message came to the prophet Zechariah,[c] son of Berechiah son of Iddo:

2 “The Lord was very angry with your ancestors.[d] 3 Therefore say to the people:[e] The Lord of Heaven’s Armies[f] says, ‘Turn[g] to me,’ says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, ‘and I will turn to you,’ says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. 4 Do not be like your ancestors, to whom the former prophets called out, saying, ‘This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies has said, “Turn now from your evil wickedness.”’ But they would by no means obey me, says the Lord. 5 As for your ancestors, where are they? And did the prophets live forever? 6 But have my words and statutes, which I commanded my servants the prophets, not outlived your fathers?[h] Then they paid attention[i] and confessed, ‘The Lord of Heaven’s Armies has indeed done what he said he would do to us, because of our sinful ways.’”

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Footnotes

  1. Zechariah 1:1 sn Darius is Darius Hystaspes, king of Persia from 522-486 b.c.
  2. Zechariah 1:1 sn The eighth month of Darius’ second year was late October—late November, 520 b.c., by the modern (Julian) calendar. This is two months later than the date of Haggai’s first message to the same community (cf. Hag 1:1).
  3. Zechariah 1:1 sn Both Ezra (5:1; 6:14) and Nehemiah (12:16) speak of Zechariah as a son of Iddo only. A probable explanation is that Zechariah’s actual father Berechiah had died and the prophet was raised by his grandfather Iddo. The “Zechariah son of Barachiah” of whom Jesus spoke (Matt 23:35; Luke 11:51) was probably the martyred prophet by that name who may have been a grandson of the priest Jehoiada (2 Chr 24:20-22).
  4. Zechariah 1:2 tn Heb “fathers” (so KJV, NAB); NIV “forefathers” (also in vv. 4, 5).
  5. Zechariah 1:3 tn Heb “to them”; the referent (the people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  6. Zechariah 1:3 sn The epithet Lord of Heaven’s Armies occurs frequently as a divine title throughout Zechariah (53 times total). This name (יְהוָה צְבָאוֹת, yehvah tsevaʾot), traditionally translated “Lord of hosts” (so KJV, NAB, NASB; cf. NIV, NLT “Lord Almighty”; NCV, CEV “Lord All-Powerful”), emphasizes the majestic sovereignty of the Lord, an especially important concept in the postexilic world of great human empires and rulers. For a thorough study of the divine title, see T. N. D. Mettinger, In Search of God, 123-57.
  7. Zechariah 1:3 tn The Hebrew verb שׁוּב (shuv) is common in covenant contexts. To turn from the Lord is to break the covenant and to turn to him (i.e., to repent) is to renew the covenant relationship (cf. 2 Kgs 17:13).
  8. Zechariah 1:6 tc BHS suggests אֶתְכֶם (ʾetkhem, “you”) for the MT אֲבֹתֵיכֶם (ʾavotekhem, “your fathers”) to harmonize with v. 4. In v. 4 the ancestors would not turn but in v. 6 they appear to have done so. The subject in v. 6, however, is to be construed as Zechariah’s own listeners.
  9. Zechariah 1:6 tn Heb “they turned” (so ASV). Many English versions have “they repented” here; cf. CEV “they turned back to me.”
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Haggai 2
Zechariah 2
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Haggai 2:10-19
New English Translation

The Promised Blessing

10 On the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month of Darius’ second year,[a] the Lord’s message came to the prophet Haggai:[b] 11 “This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies has said, ‘Ask the priests about the law.[c] 12 If someone carries holy meat in a fold of his garment and that fold touches bread, a boiled dish, wine, olive oil, or any other food, will that item become holy?’”[d] The priests answered, “It will not.” 13 Then Haggai asked, “If a person who is ritually unclean because of touching a dead body[e] comes in contact with one of these items, will it become unclean?” The priests answered, “It will be unclean.”

14 Then Haggai responded, “‘The people of this nation are unclean in my sight,’[f] decrees the Lord. ‘And so is all their effort; everything they offer is also unclean.[g] 15 Now therefore reflect carefully on the recent past,[h] before one stone was laid on another in the Lord’s temple.[i] 16 From that time[j] when one came expecting a heap of twenty measures, there were only ten; when one came to the wine vat to draw out fifty measures from it, there were only twenty. 17 I struck all the products of your labor[k] with blight, disease, and hail, and yet you brought nothing to me,’[l] says the Lord. 18 ‘Think carefully[m] about the past: from today, the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month,[n] to the day work on the temple of the Lord was resumed,[o] think about it.[p] 19 The seed is still in the storehouse, isn’t it? And the vine, fig tree, pomegranate, and olive tree have not produced. Nevertheless, from today on I will bless you.’”

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Footnotes

  1. Haggai 2:10 sn The twenty-fourth day of the ninth month of Darius’ second year was Kislev 24 or December 18, 520 b.c.
  2. Haggai 2:10 sn This Hebrew expression is slightly different from the one in 1:1, 3; 2:1.
  3. Haggai 2:11 tn Heb “Ask the priests a torah, saying”; KJV “concerning the law”; NAB “for a decision”; NCV “for a teaching”; NRSV “for a ruling.”
  4. Haggai 2:12 sn This is probably not an appeal to the Torah (i.e., the Pentateuch) as such but to a priestly ruling (known in postbiblical Judaism as a pesaq din). There is, however, a Mosaic law that provides the basis for the priestly ruling (Lev 6:27).
  5. Haggai 2:13 tn Heb “unclean of a person,” a euphemism for “unclean because of a dead person”; see Lev 21:11; Num 6:6. Cf. NAB “unclean from contact with a corpse.”
  6. Haggai 2:14 tn Heb “so this people, and so this nation before me.” In this context “people” and “nation” refer to the same set of individuals; the repetition is emphatic. Cf. CEV “this entire nation.”
  7. Haggai 2:14 sn The point here is that the Jews cannot be made holy by unholy fellowship with their pagan neighbors; instead, they and their worship will become corrupted by such associations.
  8. Haggai 2:15 tn Heb “and now set your heart from this day and upward.” The juxtaposition of מָעְלָה (maʿlah, “upward”) with the following מִטֶּרֶם (mitterem, “before”) demands a look to the past. Cf. ASV “consider from this day and backward.”
  9. Haggai 2:15 sn Before one stone was laid on another in the Lord’s temple is best taken as referring to the laying of the present temple’s foundation, sixteen years earlier (536 b.c.; see Ezra 3:8). Cf. NCV “before you started laying stones”; TEV “before you started to rebuild”; NLT “before you began to lay (started laying CEV) the foundation.”
  10. Haggai 2:16 tn Heb “from their being,” idiomatic for “from the time they were then,” or “since the time.” Cf. KJV “Since those days were.”
  11. Haggai 2:17 tn Heb “you, all the work of your hands”; NRSV “you and all the products of your toil”; NIV “all the work of your hands.”
  12. Haggai 2:17 tn Heb “and there was not with you to me.” The context favors the idea that the harvests were so poor that the people took care of only themselves, leaving no offering for the Lord. Cf. KJV and many English versions “yet ye turned not to me,” understanding the phrase to refer to the people’s repentance rather than their failure to bring offerings.
  13. Haggai 2:18 tn Heb “set your heart.” A similar expression occurs in v. 15.
  14. Haggai 2:18 sn The twenty-fourth day of the ninth month was Kislev 24 or December 18, 520. See v. 10. Here the reference is to “today,” the day the oracle is being delivered.
  15. Haggai 2:18 sn The day work…was resumed. This does not refer to the initial founding of the Jerusalem temple in 536 b.c. but to the renewal of construction three months earlier (see 1:15). This is clear from the situation described in v. 19 which accords with the food scarcities of that time already detailed in Hag 1:10-11.
  16. Haggai 2:18 tn Heb “set your heart.” A similar expression occurs in v. 15 and at the beginning of this verse.
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