Passage

Zechariah 1.14

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"12. Then the angel of Jehovah answered and said, O Jehovah of hosts, how long wilt thou not have mercy on Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah, against which thou hast had indignation these threescore and ten years? 13. And Jehovah answered the angel that talked with me with good words, even comfortable words."

"14. So the angel that talked with me said unto me, Cry thou, saying, Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: I am jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with a great jealousy."

"15. And I am very sore displeased with the nations that are at ease; for I was but a little displeased, and they helped forward the affliction. 16. Therefore thus saith Jehovah: I am returned to Jerusalem with mercies; my house shall be built in it, saith Jehovah of hosts, and a line shall be stretched forth over Jerusalem." (Zechariah 1:12-16, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"12. Then Yahweh’s angel replied, “O Yahweh of Armies, how long will you not have mercy on Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah, against which you have had indignation these seventy years?” 13. Yahweh answered the angel who talked with me with kind and comforting words."

"14. So the angel who talked with me said to me, “Proclaim, saying, ‘Yahweh of Armies says: “I am jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with a great jealousy."

"15. I am very angry with the nations that are at ease; for I was but a little displeased, but they added to the calamity.” 16. Therefore Yahweh says: “I have returned to Jerusalem with mercy. My house shall be built in it,” says Yahweh of Armies, “and a line shall be stretched out over Jerusalem.”’" (Zechariah 1:12-16, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"12. Then the angel of the LORD answered and said, O LORD of hosts, how long wilt thou not have mercy on Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah, against which thou hast had indignation these threescore and ten years? 13. And the LORD answered the angel that talked with me with good words and comfortable words."

"14. So the angel that communed with me said unto me, Cry thou, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; I am jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with a great jealousy."

"15. And I am very sore displeased with the heathen that are at ease: for I was but a little displeased, and they helped forward the affliction. 16. Therefore thus saith the LORD; I am returned to Jerusalem with mercies: my house shall be built in it, saith the LORD of hosts, and a line shall be stretched forth upon Jerusalem." (Zechariah 1:12-16, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"12. And the messenger of Jehovah answereth and saith, 'Jehovah of Hosts! till when dost Thou not pity Jerusalem, and the cities of Judah, that Thou hast abhorred these seventy years?' 13. And Jehovah answereth the messenger, who is speaking with me, good words, comfortable words."

"14. And the messenger who is speaking with me, saith unto me, 'Call, saying: Thus said Jehovah of Hosts: I have been zealous for Jerusalem, and for Zion [with] great zeal."

"15. And [with] great wrath I am wroth against the nations who are at ease, For I was a little wroth, and they assisted, for evil. 16. Therefore, thus said Jehovah: I have turned to Jerusalem with mercies, My house is built in it, An affirmation of Jehovah of Hosts, And a line is stretched over Jerusalem." (Zechariah 1:12-16, YLT)

Setting

Speaker: YHWH of hosts, mediated through the interpreting angel of Zechariah's first vision (the man among the myrtle trees)
Audience: Zechariah; through Zechariah, the returned exiles in early-postexilic Yehud
Location: Jerusalem
Time period: the second year of Darius (520 BC), at the beginning of the temple-rebuilding effort

Theological reading

Zechariah 1:14 is the most concentrated OT statement of God's positive-protective qana deployed on behalf of Zion. The construction is intensified: qinneʾti... qinʾah gedolah, "I am jealous... with a great jealousy", the noun-and-verb cognate pairing that maximally emphasizes the divine attribute. The setting is the postexilic moment: the seventy years of Babylonian discipline are ending; the temple has begun to be rebuilt under Zerubbabel and Joshua; the question pressing on the returned community is whether YHWH still cares about Zion. The first-vision answer is qinneʾti qinʾah gedolah, God's covenant-protective zeal for Jerusalem is undiminished by the exile. Paired with v. 15's "I am very sore displeased with the nations" and v. 16's "I am returned to Jerusalem with mercies; my house shall be built," the verse names the divine qana as the source of restoration-mercy, not the obstacle to it. The verse echoes Joel 2.18's pivot-statement ("then was the LORD jealous for his land") and is repeated almost verbatim at Zech 8:2 ("I am jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I am jealous for her with great wrath"). The verse is foundational to the apologetic defeater treating the New Atheist mischaracterization of divine qana (see H7065 - qana §"Apologetic deployment"): biblical divine-jealousy is covenant-love that protects what is rightly His, the same attribute that judges idolatry and restores the repentant people.

Key words

H7065 - qana, qana / qinneʾti (Strong's H7065). The verbal root deployed in the intensified noun-verb pairing.
H7068 - qinah, qinʾah (Strong's H7068). The cognate noun; "with great jealousy."

Quoted in

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.