Zechariah 7:11-14
Legacy Standard Bible
11 But they (A)refused to give heed and [a](B)turned a stubborn shoulder and [b](C)dulled their ears from hearing. 12 And they made their (D)hearts [c](E)diamond-hard [d]so that they could not hear the law and the (F)words which Yahweh of hosts had sent by His Spirit by the hand of the (G)former prophets; therefore great (H)wrath came from Yahweh of hosts. 13 And it happened that just as (I)He called and they would not listen, so (J)they called and I would not listen,” says Yahweh of hosts; 14 “but I [e](K)scattered them with a (L)storm wind among all the nations whom they have not known. Thus the land is (M)desolated behind them [f]so that (N)no one was passing through and returning, for they (O)made the pleasant land desolate.”
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- Zechariah 7:11 Lit gave
- Zechariah 7:11 Lit heavy, hardened; cf. Ex 8:15; 1 Sam 6:6
- Zechariah 7:12 Lit corundum
- Zechariah 7:12 Lit from hearing
- Zechariah 7:14 Lit stormed them away upon all
- Zechariah 7:14 Lit from passing and from returning
Zechariah 7:11-14
New English Translation
11 “But they refused to pay attention, turning away stubbornly and stopping their ears so they could not hear. 12 Indeed, they made their hearts as hard as diamond,[a] so that they could not obey the law of Moses[b] and the other words the Lord of Heaven’s Armies had sent by his Spirit through the former prophets. Therefore, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies poured out great wrath.
13 “‘Just as I[c] called out, but they would not obey, so they will call out, but I will not listen,’ the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says. 14 ‘Rather, I will sweep them away in a storm into all the nations they are not familiar with.’ Thus the land became desolate because of them, with no one crossing through or returning, for they had made the fruitful[d] land a waste.”
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- Zechariah 7:12 tn The Hebrew term שָׁמִיר (shamir) means literally “hardness” and since it is said in Ezek 3:9 to be harder than flint, many scholars suggest that it refers to diamond. It is unlikely that diamond was known to ancient Israel, however, so probably a hard stone like emery or corundum is in view. The translation nevertheless uses “diamond” because in modern times it has become proverbial for its hardness. A number of English versions use “flint” here (e.g., NASB, NIV).
- Zechariah 7:12 tn Heb “Torah”; the five books of Moses that make up the Pentateuch.
- Zechariah 7:13 tn Heb “he.” Since the third person pronoun refers to the Lord, it has been translated as a first person pronoun (“I”) to accommodate English style, which typically does not exhibit switches between persons of pronouns in the same immediate context as Hebrew does.
- Zechariah 7:14 tn Or “desirable”; traditionally “pleasant” (so many English versions; cf. TEV “This good land”).
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