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From him will come the cornerstone,[a] the wall peg,[b] the battle bow, and every ruler.[c] And they will be like warriors trampling the mud of the streets in battle. They will fight, for the Lord will be with them, and will defeat the enemy cavalry.[d]

“I (says the Lord) will strengthen the kingdom[e] of Judah and deliver the people of Joseph[f] and will bring them back[g] because of my compassion for them. They will be as though I had never rejected them, for I am the Lord their God, and therefore I will hear them.

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Footnotes

  1. Zechariah 10:4 sn On the NT use of the image of the cornerstone, see Luke 20:17; Eph 2:20; 1 Pet 2:6.
  2. Zechariah 10:4 sn The metaphor of the wall peg (יָתֵד, yated), together with the others in this list, describes the remarkable change that will take place at the inauguration of God’s eschatological kingdom. Israel, formerly sheep-like, will be turned into a mighty warhorse. The peg refers to a wall hook (although frequently translated “tent peg,” but cf. ASV “nail”; TWOT 1:419) from which tools and weapons were suspended, but figuratively also to the promise of God upon which all of Israel’s hopes were hung (cf. Isa 22:15-25; Ezra 9:8).
  3. Zechariah 10:4 tn This is not the usual word to describe a king of Israel or Judah (such as מֶלֶךְ, melekh, or נָשִׂיא, nasiʾ), but נוֹגֵשׂ, noges, “dictator” (cf. KJV “oppressor”). The author is asserting by this choice of wording that in the messianic age God’s rule will be by force.
  4. Zechariah 10:5 tn Heb “and the riders on horses will be put to shame,” figurative for the defeat of mounted troops. The word “enemy” in the translation is supplied from context.
  5. Zechariah 10:6 tn Heb “the house.”
  6. Zechariah 10:6 tn Or “the kingdom of Israel”; Heb “the house of Joseph.”sn Joseph is mentioned here instead of the usual Israel (but see 2 Sam 19:20; Pss 78:67; 80:1; 81:5; Ezek 37:16; Amos 5:6, 15; 6:6) because of the exodus motif that follows in vv. 8-11.
  7. Zechariah 10:6 tc The anomalous MT reading וְחוֹשְׁבוֹתִים (vekhoshevotim) should probably be וַהֲשִׁי בוֹתִם (vahashi votim), the Hiphil perfect consecutive of שׁוּב (shuv), “return” (cf. Jer 12:15).