וָאֶשָּׂא אֶת־עֵינַי וָאֵרֶא וְהִנֵּה אַרְבַּע קְרָנוֹת׃   2:1

Zech. 2:1   And I could lift up my eyes and look, and behold, four horns.

וָאֹמַר אֶל־הַמַּלְאָךְ הַדֹּבֵר בִּי מָה־אֵלֶּה וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלַי אֵלֶּה הַקְּרָנֹות אֲשֶׁר זֵרוּ אֶת־יְהוּדָה אֶת־יִשְׂרָאֵל   2:2    וִירוּשָׁלִָם׃

Zech. 2:2   And I could say to the angel speaking with me, “What are these?”  And he said to me, “These are the horns that have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.”

In the bible, horns are often a symbol of power.

וַיַּרְאֵנִי יְהוָה אַרְבָּעָה חָרָשִׁים׃   2:3

Zech. 2:3   And the Lord showed me four craftsmen.

וָאֹמַר מָה אֵלֶּה בָאִים לַעֲשֹׂות וַיֹּאמֶר לֵאמֹר אֵלֶּה הַקְּרָנֹות אֲשֶׁר־זֵרוּ אֶת־יְהוּדָה כְּפִי־אִישׁ לֹא־נָשָׂא   2:4 רֹאשֹׁו וַיָּבֹאוּ אֵלֶּה לְהַחֲרִיד אֹתָם לְיַדֹּות אֶת־קַרְנֹות הַגֹּויִם הַנֹּשְׂאִים קֶרֶן אֶל־אֶרֶץ יְהוּדָה לְזָרֹותָהּ׃

Zech. 2:4   And I would say, “What are these coming to do?”  And he spoke to say, “These are of the horns that scattered Judah -- as if it was the end of everyone, not one lifted his head -- and these have come to make them tremble, to cast down the horns of the nations that were lifting a horn to the land of Judah to scatter it.”

וָאֶשָּׂא עֵינַי וָאֵרֶא וְהִנֵּה־אִישׁ וּבְיָדוֹ חֶבֶל מִדָּה׃   2:5

Zech. 2:5   And I could lift up my eyes and look, and behold, a man, and a measuring line was in his hand.

וָאֹמַר אָנָה אַתָּה הֹלֵךְ וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלַי לָמֹד אֶת־יְרוּשָׁלִַם לִרְאוֹת כַּמָּה־רָחְבָּהּ וְכַמָּה אָרְכָּהּ׃   2:6

Zech. 2:6   And I would say, “Where are you going?”  And he said to me, “To measure Jerusalem, to see what its width is like and what its length is like.”

וְהִנֵּה הַמַּלְאָךְ הַדֹּבֵר בִּי יֹצֵא וּמַלְאָךְ אַחֵר יֹצֵא לִקְרָאתוֹ׃   2:7

Zech. 2:7   And behold, the angel speaking with me departed and another angel went out to meet him.

וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלָו רֻץ דַּבֵּר אֶל־הַנַּעַר הַלָּז לֵאמֹר פְּרָזֹות תֵּשֵׁב יְרוּשָׁלִַם מֵרֹב אָדָם וּבְהֵמָה בְּתֹוכָהּ׃   2:8

Zech. 2:8   And he said to him, “Run, speak to yonder lad saying, ‘Jerusalem shall be inhabited without walls due to the abundance of human and cattle in its midst.’”

This verse, in which the angel calls Zechariah a lad, is, I suppose, the primary scholarly evidence that Zechariah was a young man at the start of his prophetic period.  This will be important later in understanding the discussion regarding who might be the author of the final six chapters of this book.

וַאֲנִי אֶהְיֶה־לָּהּ נְאֻם־יְהוָה חֹומַת אֵשׁ סָבִיב וּלְכָבֹוד אֶהְיֶה בְתֹוכָהּ׃   2:9

Zech. 2:9   “’And I,’ declares the Lord, ‘will be a surrounding wall of fire, and for splendor, in its midst.’”

כִּי הִנְנִי מֵנִיף אֶת־יָדִי עֲלֵיהֶם וְהָיוּ שָׁלָל לְעַבְדֵיהֶם וִידַעְתֶּם כִּי־יְהוָה צְבָאֹות שְׁלָחָנִי׃   2:10

Zech. 2:10   “’Alas, alas!  Then flee from the land of the north,’ declares the Lord, ‘for I have spread you as the four winds of heaven,’ declares the Lord.”

הֹוי צִיֹּון הִמָּלְטִי יֹושֶׁבֶת בַּת־בָּבֶל׃   2:11

Zech. 2:11   “Alas, Zion!  Escape, inhabitant of the daughter of Babylon!”

כִּי כֹה אָמַר יְהוָה צְבָאוֹת אַחַר כָּבוֹד שְׁלָחַנִי אֶל־הַגּוֹיִם הַשֹּׁלְלִים אֶתְכֶם כִּי הַנֹּגֵעַ בָּכֶם נֹגֵעַ בְּבָבַת   2:12 עֵינוֹ׃

Zech. 2:12   “For thus says the Lord of hosts (He sent me after glory to the nations that were plundering you; surely, whoever is touching you is touching the apple of His eye)

This verse is mistranslated in one way or another in most, if not all, bibles, to make it appear that the Lord is saying things that I believe are being said by the angel.  For one example of typical translations, in some bibles the translation of the start of this verse goes something like this:  “For thus says the Lord of hosts, Who sent me after ....”  The word translated by others as Who sent me does not include the “Who” and is correctly translated only as “He sent me.”  Other examples include mistranslations of the last part of the verse, again to make it seem that the Lord is saying these words.  I put the words including and following the first mistranslated word in parentheses to make it seem like an interjection by the angel before he quotes the Lord starting in the second word of the next verse.  As I interpret these verses, the angel is speaking since v. 2:8, quoting the Lord from v. 2:9 on, and in verse 2:11 he is addressing Zion (the inhabitant of the daughter of Babylon)   In this verse (2:12) and the next three, he continues addressing the former exiles and Zion (or Jerusalem), using a mixture of second-person pronouns, masculine plural for the former exiles in this verse and the next, and feminine singular for Zion or Jerusalem in vss. 2:14 and 15.  In my considered (and humble) opinion, these verses, as well as v. 2:15, are all voiced by the angel quoting the Lord.

כִּי הִנְנִי מֵנִיף אֶת־יָדִי עֲלֵיהֶם וְהָיוּ שָׁלָל לְעַבְדֵיהֶם וִידַעְתֶּם כִּי־יְהוָה צְבָאוֹת שְׁלָחָנִי׃   2:13

Zech. 2:13  for, ‘Behold, I will be shaking my hand over them and they shall be prey for their servants.’  And you shall know that the Lord of hosts sent me.”

רָנִּי וְשִׂמְחִי בַּת־צִיּוֹן כִּי הִנְנִי־בָא וְשָׁכַנְתִּי בְתוֹכֵךְ נְאֻם־יְהוָה׃   2:14

Zech. 2:14   “’Sing out and rejoice, daughter of Zion, for I come, and I will dwell in your midst,’ declares the Lord.”

וְנִלְווּ גוֹיִם רַבִּים אֶל־יְהוָה בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא וְהָיוּ לִי לְעָם וְשָׁכַנְתִּי בְתוֹכֵךְ וְיָדַעַתְּ כִּי־יְהוָה צְבָאוֹת   2:15          שְׁלָחַנִי אֵלָיִךְ׃

Zech. 2:15   “And many nations shall join themselves to the Lord at that time, ‘And they shall be for a people to Me, and I shall dwell in your midst.’  Then you will know that the Lord of hosts sent me to you. ”

וְנָחַל יְהוָה אֶת־יְהוּדָה חֶלְקֹו עַל אַדְמַת הַקֹּדֶשׁ וּבָחַר עֹוד בִּירוּשָׁלִָם׃   2:16

Zech. 2:16   And the Lord shall possess Judah, His portion upon the holy land, and join again with Jerusalem.

הַס כָּל־בָּשָׂר מִפְּנֵי יְהוָה כִּי נֵעֹור מִמְּעֹון קָדְשֹׁו׃    2:17

Zech. 2:17   Silence, all flesh, before the Lord!  For He is roused from His holy habitation.

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