When the steeds came out: This verse begins with the Hebrew word ʾamutsim which caused a problem in verse 3. Basically the same problem exists here: is ʾamutsim to be treated as a color word, or is it to be taken as meaning “strong”? New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, Bible en français courant, and Biblen: Det Gamle og Det Nye Testamente take it as a color word, as they did in verse 3, and so does Good News Translation, which omitted it in verse 3. New Jerusalem Bible, New American Bible, New International Version, and Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch all give it the meaning “strong,” as they did in verse 3. Revised Standard Version, which translated it as “gray” in verse 3, seems to take the meaning “strong” here. No such word appears in its rendering, but it uses steeds instead of “horses” as before, and the word steeds has the sense of “good horses, strong and fit.” On the whole, it seems more probable that verse 7 is making a general statement about all the horses in the vision rather than another statement about one of the color groups in particular. We therefore advise translators to take ʾamutsim as meaning “strong” and treat verse 7 as a general statement, as in Jerusalem Bible/New Jerusalem Bible, New American Bible, and New International Version.
New English Bible and Revised English Bible add here the statement that the chariot with the red horses went “to the land of the east.” A footnote in Revised English Bible indicates that it is following the Syriac version at this point. An addition like this makes the whole picture more complete, but cannot be justified on the basis of the traditional Hebrew text, even though there are some Hebrew manuscripts with variant forms of the text at this point. Translators are advised not to make any addition here, and not to follow the Syriac.
They were impatient to get off and patrol the earth: Impatient or “eager” (New English Bible/ Revised English Bible, New Living Translation, Contemporary English Version) in some languages will be expressed idiomatically; for example, “their hearts were hot to.” Translators should ensure that the word they choose is appropriate for animals and is not limited to human beings. To get off means simply “to start.” The word translated patrol is the same term as that used about the troops of horses in 1.10, 11. Its military overtones are also appropriate here in speaking about horse-drawn chariots.
And he said, “Go, patrol the earth”: It is not certain who the speaker is. New Living Translation, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, Bible en français courant, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, 1. Edition, and Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente state that it is the LORD, and Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version, and Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, 2. Edition that it is “the angel.” The majority of versions, like Revised Standard Version, use he. In the context this seems more likely to refer to the angel, especially as the LORD has not spoken in this vision. However, in verse 8 the quotation includes the words “my Spirit,” suggesting that the LORD is speaking. There is no indication of a change of speaker between verse 7 and verse 8. We must draw one of four conclusions. Either (1) the angel is the speaker in both verses and the text in verse 8 should be read as “the Spirit of the LORD”; or (2) the LORD speaks in verse 7 and the angel in verse 8, which also means we must understand “the Spirit of the LORD” in verse 8; or (3) the LORD is the speaker in both verses; or (4) the speaker is the angel in verse 7, but changes without warning to the LORD in verse 8.
The first solution is adopted in Jerusalem Bible, Good News Translation, and Contemporary English Version, and is mentioned in a footnote in New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh and Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, 2. Edition. It does not involve altering the consonants of the traditional Hebrew text, but rather assuming that the LORD’s name was written in an abbreviated form. The second solution is adopted in Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, 1. Edition, but since it means assuming two changes of speaker with neither indicated in the Hebrew, it is the least convincing possibility. The third solution is followed by New Living Translation, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, Bible en français courant, and Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente, and involves assuming one unstated change of speaker. The fourth solution is apparently accepted by Revised Standard Version/New Revised Standard Version, Moffatt, New American Bible, New English Bible/ Revised English Bible, New International Version, and Bible de Jérusalem, but it is impossible to know whether the translators have really thought through the problem, or have merely translated literally and so retained the ambiguity of the Hebrew. This solution also involves assuming one unstated change of speaker. New Jerusalem Bible accepts this view and explains it in its footnote.
None of the solutions is free from problems, but there seems to be less objection to the first than to any of the others. It does not involve assuming any unstated change of speaker, it does not introduce any fresh speaker, and it can be derived from the existing Hebrew text. We therefore recommend that translators should accept the angel as the speaker in both verse 7 and verse 8, as in Jerusalem Bible, Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version, and Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, 2. Edition. An alternative translation model is:
• When the strong [or, dappled] horses came out, they were eager to go and patrol the earth [or, world]. The angel said, “Go and patrol the earth,” and off they went.
It would also be acceptable to express the angel’s words in indirect speech:
• The angel gave permission to go, and off they went.
Quoted with permission from Clark, David J. & Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Zechariah. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2002. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .