Nazarene Commentary 2000©

21^st Century Paraphrase of the Hebrew Scriptures© –
21^st Century Version of the Christian Scriptures© [NCMM]

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THE PROPHET ZECHARIAH

CHAPTER ONE:
AN ANGELIC INSPECTION

Summary

Zechariah’s first message to the Jewish returnees includes a warning that their forefathers were also threatened. YHWH appeals for their spiritual return. The first of several visions includes the specter of [angelic] four craftsmen come to terrorize enemy nations among the non-Jews. Several phrases in italicized blue are repeated in Revelation. [Zechariah 1:8, 12, 16]

Zechariah 1:1-6 – Come Back to Me

ZC1:1 The utterance of Y^eH^oW^aH that occurred 1 to Zechariah 2 son of Berechiah 3 son of Iddo 4 the prophet in the eighth month of the second year of Darius, 5 saying:
1 The utterance of Y^eH^oW^aH that occurred: Or, KJV: came the word. The LXX Greek uses LOGOS. Compare notes on Isaiah 1:1.
2 Zechariah: The name means, YHWH-Remembers. There are about 20 persons bearing this name in the Bible. He is mentioned elsewhere. [Ezra 5:1; 6:14, 16; Nehemiah 12:4, 16]
3 Berechiah: Compare 1 Chronicles 3:20; 1 Chronicles 9:16; Nehemiah 3:4, 30; Nehemiah 6:18.
4 Iddo: Compare 2 Chronicles 9:29; 12:15; 13:22; Ezra 5:1; 6:14.
5 Second year of Darius: Some believe this to be around 500 BC. Zechariah 1:12 speaks as though the 70 years are completed.
ZC1:2 “Y^eH^oW^aH became extremely incensed at all of your forefathers. 6
6 Y^eH^oW^aH became extremely incensed at all of your forefathers: Or, KJV: displeased; ASV: Jehovah was sore displeased with your fathers; BAS: very angry with. See notes on Zechariah 8:14. Compare the Mosaic Curse at Deuteronomy 29:27. [2 Kings 22:17; Jeremiah 44:6]
ZC1:3 Hence you must tell them, ‘This is what Y^eH^oW^aH of [celestial] armies 7 has said: Come back to Me, 8 is the declaration of Y^eH^oW^aH of [celestial] armies, and then I will come back to all of you, 9 Y^eH^oW^aH of [celestial] armies says.
7 Y^eH^oW^aH of [celestial] armies: Or, ASV: Jehovah of hosts; NJB: Yahweh Sabaoth. The vowel pointing is the same as that at Genesis 2:4. [See notes.] The forumla Y^eH^oW^aH of [celestial] armies occurs over 50 times in the book of Zechariah. Compare notes on Isaiah 1:24. The LXX Greek uses KYRIOS TON DYNAMEON [Lord of the Powers, or Heavenly Dynamics].
8 Come back to Me: Or, KJV: Turn; ASV: Return unto me. Jehovah says this often before such a return becomes nationally impossible. [Jeremiah 25:5; Ezekiel 33:11; Malachi 3:7]
9 Then I will come back to all of you: Or, JPS: and I will return unto you. Repentance and conversion must occur before God will forgive. [Isaiah 55:7; Hosea 14:4; Micah 7:19] Compare notes on Acts 3:19.
ZC1:4 Do not be like all of your forefathers who the prophets of old told, 10 ‘Y^eH^oW^aH of [celestial] armies says: Come back, please, and leave all of your evil ways and your hurtful behavior.’ 11 However, they did not respond and paid little attention to me, 12 declares Y^eH^oW^aH.
10 Do not be like all of your forefathers who the prophets of old told: Or, KJV: Be ye not as your fathers. [2 Chronicles 29:6; Ezra 9:7; Nehemiah 9:16; Psalm 106:6]
11 Come back, please, and leave all of your evil ways and your hurtful behavior: Or, ASV: Return ye now from your evil ways, and from your evil doings; LXX: your evil practices; NJB: evils ways and evil deeds. [Isaiah 1:16; Jeremiah 3:12; Hosea 14:1]
12 They did not respond and paid little attention to me: Or, ASV: but they did not hear, nor hearken unto me; BAS: they did not give ear to me or take note; LXX: they hearkened not, and attended not to hearken to me. Compare Zechariah 7:11. [Jeremiah 11:8; 44:16]
ZC1:5 So where are all of your forefathers? And the prophets, did they live forever? 13
13 So where are all of your forefathers? And the prophets, did they live forever: Or, BAS: and the prophets, do they go on living for ever; LXX: Will they live for ever [AIONA]. If the ancient prophets were still alive somewhere – either heaven or hell – the rhetorical question could not be asked. For details see the work Where Are The Dead? [Ecclesiastes 9:5]
ZC1:6 Consider though, did not My words and My regulations 14 that I commanded My servants, the prophets, overtake all of your forefathers? 15 So they did come back and said: ‘Y^eH^oW^aH of [celestial] armies has done to us exactly as He had in mind to do to us, 16 in harmony with His ways and in proportion to our behavior.’” 17
14 My words and My regulations: Or, ASV: my statutes; BAS: my orders; LXX: all that I command by my Spirit [EN PNEUMATI MOU] to my servants the prophets.
15 Overtake all of your forefathers: See 2 Chronicles 36:17; Daniel 9:12.
16 Has done to us exactly as He had in mind to do to us: Or, ASV: thought to do unto us; ASV: As it was the purpose of the Lord of armies to do to us; BAS: As it was the purpose of the Lord of armies to do to us. Compare the Mosaic Curse at Deuteronomy 28:45. [Numbers 33:56; Jeremiah 23:20]
17 In harmony with His ways and in proportion to our behavior: Or, ASV: according to our ways, and according to our doings, so hath he dealt with us; BAS: in reward for our ways and our doings, so has he done; LXX: the Lord Almighty determined to do to us, according to our ways, and according to our practices, so has he done to us. Compare the Mosaic Curse at Deuteronomy 28:20. [Isaiah 3:8; Ezekiel 20:43; Hosea 9:15]

Zechariah 1:7-9 – First Vision: A Horsemen among Myrtles

ZC1:7 The utterance of Y^eH^oW^aH occurred to the prophet Zechariah the son of Berechiah the son of Iddo the prophet on the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month Shebat, saying: ZC1:8 During the night I had a vision, and behold, 18 [Revelation 6:2] a human being astride a red horse. 19 [Revelation 6:4] He was standing among the deep myrtle trees. 20 Behind him were red horses, sorrels and white ones. 21
18 During the night I had a vision, and behold: Or, ASV: I saw in the night, and, behold. The phrase is similar to that of Revelation 6:2. There are many phrases in Zechariah echoed or alluded to in the book of Revelation.
19 A human being astride a red horse: Or, ASV: a man riding upon a red horse; JPS: a man riding upon; LXX: a man mounted on a red horse; TAN: a bay horse. The LXX Greek is EPI HIPPON PYRRON [fire-red]. Revelation 6:4 uses HIPPOS PYRROS.
20 He was standing among the deep myrtle trees: Or, ASV: he stood among the myrtle-trees that were in the bottom; BAS: a man on a red horse, between the mountains in the valley; JPS: he stood among the myrtle-trees that were in the bottom; LXX: he stood between the shady mountains; TAN: in the Deep. Horses are some times a symbol of war. [Proverbs 21:31]
21 Behind him were red horses, sorrels and white ones: Or, ASV: and behind him there were horses, red, sorrel, and white; BAS: and at his back were horses, red, black, white, and of mixed colours; LXX: and behind him were red horses, and grey, and piebald, and white; TAN: bay, sorrel, and white horses; NJB: red, chestnut, and white. Compare Zechariah 6:2, 6.
ZC1:9 And so I asked: “Sir, who are these?” 22 Then the angel who was communicating with me told me: 23 “I will show you who they are.” 24
22 Sir, who are these: Or, ASV: O my lord, what are these. Compare Zechariah 4:4. [Daniel 7:16; Revelation 7:13]
23 Then the angel who was communicating with me told me: Or, ASV: the angel that talked with me said; JPS: the angel that spoke with me. Compare Zechariah 4:5. [Daniel 8:16] Note that the angel is also called a man, or human being. [Genesis 18:1, 2]
24 I will show you who they are: Or, BAS: I will make clear to you what they are.

Zechariah 1:10-12 – Angelic Inspection

ZC1:10 Then the human being standing among the myrtle trees responded, saying: “Those are the ones sent out by Y^eH^oW^aH to walk about in the inhabited earth.” 25
25 Those are the ones sent out by Y^eH^oW^aH to walk about in the inhabited earth: Or, ASV: These are they whom Jehovah hath sent to walk to and fro through the earth; BAS: to go up and down through the earth; LXX: sent forth to go round the earth; NJB: to patrol the world; TAN: roam the earth. Compare similar language at Job 1:7. The language seems to point to angels who are inspecting the earth and reporting back to God.
ZC1:11 These then responded to the angel standing among the myrtle trees, saying: “We have walked about in the inhabited earth, and behold, the entire earth is quiet and peaceful.” 26
26 The entire earth is quiet and peaceful: Or, ASV: all the earth sitteth still, and is at rest; LXX: all the earth is inhabited, and is at rest. These are the non-Jewish “nations” who have a feeling of “peace and security”. [Compare Zechariah 1:15 and 1 Thessalonians 5:3.]
ZC1:12 Then the angel of Y^eH^oW^aH responded, saying: “O Y^eH^oW^aH of [celestial] armies, how long will You refrain from 27 [Revelation 6:10] showing compassion 28 on Jerusalem and the cities of Judah with whom You have been indignant for these seventy years?” 29
27 How long will You refrain from: Or, BAS: how long will it be before. An oft-asked question from Moses to the Martyrs. [Psalm 90:13; Revelation 6:10] Compare Habakkuk chapter one.
28 Showing compassion: Or, KJV: not have mercy; NJB: pity; TAN: withhold pardon. [Psalm 74:10; 102:13; Isaiah 64:9]
29 You have been indignant for these seventy years: Or, BAS: had indignation these threescore and ten years; JPS: your wrath has been burning; LXX: disregarded. Abraham Lincoln used the phrase “three score and ten” in his Gettysburg Address. Compare Zechariah 7:5. This period is mentioned in 2 Chronicles 36:21; Jeremiah 25:12; Daniel 9:2. Scholars and Bible students are divided on the exact timing, but some feel it runs from the desolation of Jerusalem to about 540 BC with the return of the Jews to Israel.

Zechariah 1:13-17 – Jerusalem to Be Rebuilt

ZC1:13 Now Y^eH^oW^aH answered the angel communicating with me with good Sayings – words of comfort. 30
30 The angel communicating with me with good Sayings – words of comfort: Or, ASV: the angel that talked with me with good words, even comfortable words; BAS: gave an answer in good and comforting words to the angel who was talking to me; LXX: answered the angel that spoke with me good words [RHEMATA] and consolatory sayings [LOGOUS PARAKLETIKOUS]; NJB: kind and comforting. Compare Isaiah 40:1 and Jeremiah 29:10.
ZC1:14 The angel then told me: “Shout: 31 ‘This is what Y^eH^oW^aH of [celestial] armies has said: I have been possessive of Jerusalem, and very jealous for Zion. 32
31 Shout: Or, call out, cry out, proclaim. The LXX Greek is ANGELOS.
32 I have been possessive of Jerusalem, and very jealous for Zion: Or, ASV: I am jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with a great jealousy; BAS: I am greatly moved about the fate of Jerusalem and of Zion. Compare Zechariah 8:2. [Joel 2:18; Nahum 1:2] Jerusalem has been a special city from its first capture from the Jebusites by David. Recently it celebrated its 3,000-year anniversary. There will finally be a “new Jerusalem”. [Revelation chapters 19-22]
ZC1:15 I have felt very indignant regarding the non-Jewish national groups now resting contented. 33 For I can assure you I felt only slight indignation, 34 while they contributed to [Jerusalem’s] tragedy. 35
33 I have felt very indignant regarding the non-Jewish national groups now resting contented: Or, ASV: I am very sore displeased with the nations that are at ease; BAS: I am very angry with the nations; JPS: I am very sore displeased with the nations; LXX: I am very angry with the heathen [ETHNE]. Return to Zechariah 1:11. [Jeremiah 48:11] These nations are listed in Isaiah 1-35. For details on the Greek ETHNE [ETHNOS; English = ethnic] see notes in the Christian Scriptures.
34 For I can assure you I felt only slight indignation: Or, ASV: for I was but a little displeased; BAS: I was only a little angry. [Isaiah 54:8] If the destruction of Jerusalem and the 70 years of Babylonian captivity were an expression of God’s “slight indignation” one can imagine what His full wrath would result in.
35 They contributed to [Jerusalem’s] tragedy: Or, ASV: hey helped forward the affliction; BAS: they made the evil worse; LXX: they combined to attack her for evil. [Isaiah 47:6; Jeremiah 51:35] Though YHWH used the non-Jewish nations to discipline His People, these often went too far and exposed themselves as liable to God’s punishment.
ZC1:16 So this is what Y^eH^oW^aH says, ‘I will go back to Jerusalem with compassion. 36 My House will be rebuilt within her,’ 37 is the declaration of Y^eH^oW^aH of [celestial] armies, ‘and the plumb-line will stretch out over Jerusalem.’ 38 [Revelation 11:1, 2]
36 I will go back to Jerusalem with compassion: Or, ASV: I am returned to Jerusalem with mercies; BAS: I have come back to Jerusalem with mercies; LXX: I will return to Jerusalem with compassion. Compare Zechariah 8:3. [Isaiah 12:1; Jeremiah 33:14]
37 My House will be rebuilt within her: Or, BAS: my house is to be put up in her; LXX: my house [OIKTIRMO] shall be rebuilt in her; NJB: Temple. The word “house” in Hebrew and Greek is often a synonym for temple or sanctuary. [Ezra 6:14; Isaiah 44:28; Haggai 1:14]
38 The plumb-line will stretch out over Jerusalem: Or, ASV: a line shall be stretched forth over Jerusalem; LXX: a measuring line shall yet be stretched out. Compare Zechariah 2:1. [Jeremiah 31:39; Ezekiel 40:3] See notes on Revelation 11:1, 2 where the LXX Greek word METRON is also used in the prophetic context of measuring the Divine Habitant of The God.
ZC1:17 [The angel continued, saying:] “Cry out more, 39 ‘This is what Y^eH^oW^aH of [celestial] armies says, My cities will become yet again very prosperous and wealthy. 40 Y^eH^oW^aH will once again feel compassion toward Zion, and will yet again decide in favor of Jerusalem.’” 41
39 Cry out more: Or, ASV: Cry yet again; BAS: again let your voice be loud.
40 My cities will become yet again very prosperous and wealthy: Or, ASV: My cities shall yet overflow with prosperity; BAS: overflowing with good things; JPS: overflow with prosperity. There are two opposing views of such prophecies regarding the restoration of Jerusalem and the rebuilding of the Temple; a] they were prophecies uttered years before; or, b] they are fraudulent history written in retrospect.
41 Decide in favor of Jerusalem: Or, ASV: yet choose Jerusalem; BAS: take Jerusalem for himself. Compare Zechariah 3:2. [Psalm 132:13]

Zechariah 1:18-21 – Four Craftsmen Terrorize Nations

ZC1:18 Next I looked up to see - and behold! – there were four horns! 42
42 There were four horns: [Some versions start chapter 2 here.] “Horns” are sometimes a symbol for “power”, though the root of the Hebrew QEREN [Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance #7160-7161] may suggest something that shines emitting rays. [Deuteronomy 33:17; Psalm 75:4; Daniel 7:24; 8:2-10, 20-24; Luke 1:69-71; Revelation 13:1, 11; 17:3, 12] The number four is understood by many to suggest universality. [Revelation 7:1]
ZC1:19 So I asked the angel communicating with me, “What are these?” His response was: “These are the horns that scattered Judah, 43 Israel and Jerusalem.”
43 These are the horns that scattered Judah: Or, LXX: the horns which have sent Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem in flight. [2 Kings 24:12; 25:11] Such horns or powers were likely those nations used by angelic forces against Israel.
ZC1:20 Next Y^eH^oW^aH gave me the vision of four craftsmen. 44
44 Next Y^eH^oW^aH gave me the vision of four craftsmen: Or, ASV: And Jehovah showed me four smiths; KJV: carpenters; JPS: artificers; LXX: metal-workers. The LXX Greek uses TECTONAS [English = technician]. The Hebrew is CHARASH [Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance #2796, craftsman, artisan, engraver, graver, artificer… skilful to destroy (warriors)].
ZC1:21 So I asked: “What are these prepared to do?” 45 Y^eH^oW^aH continued to reveal to me: “These are the horns that scattered Judah so completely that none dare raise their heads. 46 Now these [four craftsmen] will arrive to terrorize them! 47 They will throw down the non-Jewish horns that raised a horn against the land of Judah 48 for the purpose of scattering her.”
45 What are these prepared to do: Or, ASV: What come these to do; JPS: What are these coming to do.
46 These are the horns that scattered Judah so completely that none dare raise their heads: Or, ASV: These are the horns which scattered Judah, so that no man did lift up his head; JPS: they broke Israel in pieces, and none of them lifted up his head; LXX: sent Judah in flight, and kept him from lifting up his head. That is, keeping the head down out of fear and danger.
47 Arrive to terrorize them: Or, ASV: these are come to terrify them; BAS: to frighten them; JPS: these are come forth to sharpen [CHARAD] them for their hands; LXX: these men have come to send fear on them. The LXX Greek uses OXYNAI [English = oxygen] and is harmony with the idea of the iron-smiths. [Jeremiah 48:25]
48 They will throw down the non-Jewish horns that raised a horn against the land of Judah: Or, ASV: to cast down the horns of the nations, which lifted up their horn against the land of Judah; JPS: the nations that lifted up the horn against the land of the Lord. The LXX uses EPI [over] TEN [the] GEN [earth/land] YHWH. [Psalm 75:4]

Mark Heber Miller