Zechariah 1

 

בַּחֹדֶשׁ הַשְּׁמִינִי בִּשְׁנַת שְׁתַּיִם לְדָרְיָוֶשׁ הָיָה דְבַר־יְהוָה אֶל־זְכַרְיָה בֶּן־בֶּרֶכְיָה בֶּן־עִדּוֹ הַנָּבִיא לֵאמֹר׃  1:1

Zech. 1:1   In the eighth month in the second year for Darius the word of the Lord occurred to Zechariah son of Berechiah son of Iddo, the prophet, saying                    [Return to Ezra 5:1]

קָצַף יְהוָה עַל־אֲבוֹתֵיכֶם קָצֶף׃  1:2

Zech. 1:2   the Lord was exceedingly displeased because of your fathers.

From v. 1:1, we can see that Zechariah was a contemporary of Haggai.  His prophetic journey apparently started about two months after Haggai’s (see Hagg. 1:1).                                   [Return to Zech. 7:1]

וְאָמַרְתָּ אֲלֵהֶם כֹּה אָמַר יְהוָה צְבָאוֹת שׁוּבוּ אֵלַי נְאֻם יְהוָה צְבָאוֹת וְאָשׁוּב אֲלֵיכֶם אָמַר יְהוָה  1:3

 צְבָאֹות׃

 

Zech. 1:3   “So you shall say to them: Thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘Return to Me,’ declares the Lord of hosts, ‘and I will return to you,’ says the Lord of hosts.”

The imperative verb Return and the you in I will return to you in this verse are both plural.  According to my theory about second-person pronoun and verb number, this means that the Lord is addressing us as individuals.  Therefore, the Lord is saying that each of us who return to Him can revel in His presence in our lives.

אַל־תִּהְיוּ כַאֲבֹתֵיכֶם אֲשֶׁר קָרְאוּ־אֲלֵיהֶם הַנְּבִיאִים הָרִאשֹׁנִים לֵאמֹר כֹּה אָמַר יְהוָה צְבָאֹות שׁוּבוּ נָא  1:4 מִדַּרְכֵיכֶם הָרָעִים (וּמַעֲלִילֵיכֶם) [וּמַעַלְלֵיכֶם] הָרָעִים וְלֹא שָׁמְעוּ וְלֹא־הִקְשִׁיבוּ אֵלַי נְאֻם־יְהוָה׃

Zech. 1:4   “You must not be like your fathers to whom the prophets proclaimed earlier saying, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘Return now from your evil ways and from your evil practices,’ but they did not hear or pay attention to Me,” declares the Lord.

The word in the parentheses is spelled with an extra yad.  The correction is in the brackets.

אֲבֹותֵיכֶם אַיֵּה־הֵם וְהַנְּבִאִים הַלְעֹולָם יִחְיוּ׃  1:5

Zech. 1:5   “Your fathers, where are they?  And the prophets, can they live forever?”

אַךְ דְּבָרַי וְחֻקַּי אֲשֶׁר צִוִּיתִי אֶת־עֲבָדַי הַנְּבִיאִים הֲלוֹא הִשִּׂיגוּ אֲבֹתֵיכֶם וַיָּשׁוּבוּ וַיֹּאמְרוּ כַּאֲשֶׁר זָמַם  1:6     יְהוָה צְבָאוֹת לַעֲשׂוֹת לָנוּ כִּדְרָכֵינוּ וּכְמַעֲלָלֵינוּ כֵּן עָשָׂה אִתָּנוּ׃

Zech. 1:6   “But My words and My statutes that I had commanded My servants, the prophets, did they not reach your fathers, that they turned and said, ‘As the Lord of hosts had thought to do to us according to our ways and according to our deeds, so has He dealt with us?’”

בְּיוֹם עֶשְׂרִים וְאַרְבָּעָה לְעַשְׁתֵּי־עָשָׂר חֹדֶשׁ הוּא־חֹדֶשׁ שְׁבָט בִּשְׁנַת שְׁתַּיִם לְדָרְיָוֶשׁ הָיָה דְבַר־יְהוָה  1:7    אֶל־זְכַרְיָה בֶּן־בֶּרֶכְיָהוּ בֶּן־עִדּוֹא הַנָּבִיא לֵאמֹר׃

Zech. 1:7   On the twenty-fourth day into the eleventh month -- that is, the month of Shevat -- in the second year for Darius the word of the Lord occurred to Zechariah son of Berechiah son of Iddo, the prophet, saying,

The month of Shevat has the same name in the modern Jewish calendar, which was gradually adapted starting with  the Babylonian exile until post-Talmudic times.  But in the modern calendar, in which the year begins with the month of Tishrei, Shevat is the fifth month, not the eleventh.  During the Babylonian exile, some names for months were adopted from the Babylonian names.  Remarkably, this verse reveals that the year still started with Nisan, the month of Passover, at least during the 70 years of exile and shortly thereafter.  So characteristics of the calendar of Babylon, in which the year started with Tishrei, were not adopted until after the exile, after Jews had returned to Jerusalem.                                                                           [Return to Zech. 7:1]

רָאִיתִי הַלַּיְלָה וְהִנֵּה־אִישׁ רֹכֵב עַל־סוּס אָדֹם וְהוּא עֹמֵד בֵּין הַהֲדַסִּים אֲשֶׁר בַּמְּצֻלָה וְאַחֲרָיו סוּסִים  1:8 אֲדֻמִּים שְׂרֻקִּים וּלְבָנִים׃

Zech. 1:8   I saw at night, and behold, a man was mounted upon a red horse, and it was standing among the myrtle trees that were in the basin, and behind him there were red, sorrel, and white horses.

וָאֹמַר מָה־אֵלֶּה אֲדֹנִי וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלַי הַמַּלְאָךְ הַדֹּבֵר בִּי אֲנִי אַרְאֶךָּ מָה־הֵמָּה אֵלֶּה׃  1:9

Zech. 1:9   And I said, “What are these, my lord?”  And the angel said to me, conversing with me, “I will show you what they are, these.”

וַיַּעַן הָאִישׁ הָעֹמֵד בֵּין־הַהֲדַסִּימ* וַיֹּאמַר אֵלֶּה אֲשֶׁר שָׁלַח יְהוָה לְהִתְהַלֵּךְ בָּאָרֶץ׃  1:10

Zech. 1:10   Then the man standing among the myrtle trees responded and said, “These are what the Lord has sent to walk throughout the earth.”

וַיַּעֲנוּ אֶת־מַלְאַךְ יְהוָה הָעֹמֵד בֵּין הַהֲדַסִּים וַיֹּאמְרוּ הִתְהַלַּכְנוּ בָאָרֶץ וְהִנֵּה כָל־הָאָרֶץ יֹשֶׁבֶת   1:11              וְשֹׁקָטֶת׃

Zech. 1:11   And they answered the angel of the Lord standing among the myrtle trees as they said, “We have walked throughout the earth and behold, the entire earth is sitting and resting.”

וַיַּעַן מַלְאַךְ־יְהוָה וַיֹּאמַר יְהוָה צְבָאוֹת עַד־מָתַי אַתָּה לֹא־תְרַחֵם אֶת־יְרוּשָׁלִַם וְאֵת עָרֵי יְהוּדָה אֲשֶׁר   1:12 זָעַמְתָּה זֶה שִׁבְעִים שָׁנָה׃

Zech. 1:12   And the angel of the Lord responded and said, “Lord of hosts, how long will You not love Jerusalem or the cities of Judah that You have denounced this seventy year period?”

וַיַּעַן יְהוָה אֶת־הַמַּלְאָךְ הַדֹּבֵר בִּי דְּבָרִים טוֹבִים דְּבָרִים נִחֻמִים׃   1:13

Zech. 1:13   And the Lord answered the angel speaking good words, comforting words, to me,

וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלַי הַמַּלְאָךְ הַדֹּבֵר בִּי קְרָא לֵאמֹר כֹּה אָמַר יְהוָה צְבָאוֹת קִנֵּאתִי לִירוּשָׁלִַם וּלְצִיּוֹן קִנְאָה   1:14     גְדוֹלָה׃

Zech. 1:14   and the angel speaking with me said to me, “Proclaim, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘I am zealous for Jerusalem and for Zion, a great passion,

וְקֶצֶף גָּדוֹל אֲנִי קֹצֵף עַל־הַגּוֹיִם הַשַּׁאֲנַנִּים אֲשֶׁר אֲנִי קָצַפְתִּי מְּעָט וְהֵמָּה עָזְרוּ לְרָעָה׃   1:15

Zech. 1:15   and a great displeasure:  I am displeased over the nations at ease with whom I had been somewhat displeased, but they helped for evil.’”

לָכֵן כֹּה־אָמַר יְהוָה שַׁבְתִּי לִירוּשָׁלִַם בְּרַחֲמִים בֵּיתִי יִבָּנֶה בָּהּ נְאֻם יְהוָה צְבָאֹות (וְקָוָה) [וְקָו]   1:15            יִנָּטֶה עַל־יְרוּשָׁלִָם׃

Zech. 1:16   “Therefore thus says the Lord:  ‘I return to Jerusalem with compassion; My house shall be rebuilt in it,’ declares the Lord of hosts, and a measuring line will be stretched over Jerusalem.’”

The word in the parentheses has a heh suffix which is inappropriate for the context.  The correction is the word to the left of the right bracket.

עוֹד קְרָא לֵאמֹר כֹּה אָמַר יְהוָה צְבָאוֹת עוֹד תְּפוּצֶינָה עָרַי מִטּוֹב וְנִחַם יְהוָה עוֹד אֶת־צִיּוֹן וּבָחַר   1:17     עוֹד בִּירוּשָׁלִָם׃

Zech. 1:17   “Again proclaim saying, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts:  ‘My cities shall again overflow from goodness, and the Lord shall comfort Zion again and join again with Jerusalem.’”

 

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