Zechariah 12:1
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KJV
1 The burden of the word of the LORD for Israel, saith the LORD, which stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him.
1 An Oracle.
The word of the LORD concerning Israel: Thus says the LORD, who stretched out the heavens and founded the earth and formed the human spirit within:New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
1 The revelation of the word of the LORD concerning Israel: The LORD—he who stretches out the heavens and lays the foundations of the earth, who forms the human spirit within a person—says,
Present or past tense?
JPS Tanakh agrees with NRSV.
Literal Reading
This passage is cited here as "accepting" events of early Genesis "as literally true". Whether present or past tense is correct, the heavens are not literally stretched out! Re the language of the sky as a tent spread out ("stretched forth") above us see other references at Unfurling the Heavens, for example Psalm 104:2-4.
How literally were The Foundations of the Earth understood in Bible times?
See Creation_Texts#Some_scholarly_views and comments at Passages said to imply literal Genesis.
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