Zechariah 7:11-14
Lexham English Bible
11 But they refused to listen, and turned[a] a stubborn shoulder and stopped their ears from listening.[b] 12 They made their hearts adamant[c] in order not to hear the law[d] and the words that Yahweh of hosts had sent by his spirit through[e] the former prophets; therefore great wrath came from Yahweh of hosts. 13 ‘Thus, just as I[f] called and they would not hear, so they will call and I will not hear,’ says Yahweh of hosts. 14 ‘And I scattered them with a wind among all the nations that they had not known; the land was made desolate behind them— no one crossing through it or returning—and they made the desirable land[g] a desolation.’”
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- Zechariah 7:11 Hebrew “gave”
- Zechariah 7:11 Literally “their ears were heavy from hearing”
- Zechariah 7:12 Literally “They set their hearts like hard stone”
- Zechariah 7:12 Hebrew torah
- Zechariah 7:12 Literally “by the hand of”
- Zechariah 7:13 Hebrew “he called” (but still referring to Yahweh)
- Zechariah 7:14 Hebrew “land of desire,” but this could be understood as a land characterized by desire rather than a desirable land
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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