KJV: “my covenant which I had made with all the people.”
ESV: “the covenant that I had made with all the peoples.”
“As an aside, it should be pointed out that the rendering ‘all the people’ in the KJV does not reflect an understanding of עמים as singular. It is a peculiarity of earlier English that ‘people’ is the equivalent of the plural ‘nations;’ see Oxford English Dictionary s.v. ‘people,’ 1d.”
Al Wolters, Zechariah, Historical Commentary on the Old Testament (Leuven: Peeters, 2014), 378.
This is exegetically significant: is it a covenant made with “all the people,” that is with Israel. Or is it a covenant made with “all the peoples”?
(I should note that Wolters argues that the plural should be read as a singular, with the final ם being read as enclitic. In this case a misreading of the KJV would arrive at the correct interpretation. However, I think that it is more likely that the plural reading is correct.)
After being alterted to this false friend by Wolters’ commentary on Zechariah, I noticed it again in Pslam 2:1.
NKJV: “Why do the nations rage, And the people plot a vain thing?”
ESV: “Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain?”
The GB, KJV, and NKJV all translate “people.” The contemporary translations (other than the NKJV) all translate “peoples.” The Hebrew is plural.
Interestingly, Acts 4:25 quotes Psalm 2:1, and the breakdown with the translations is the same. The GB, KJV, and NKJV all translate “people.” The modern translations (other than KJV) “peoples.” The Greek is plural.
Acts 4:27 then interprets the psalm. The GB, KJV, NKJV, NIV, H/CSB, translate “the Gentiles and the people of Israel” whereas the RSV, NRSV, ESV, NASB, LSB translate “the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel.” The Greek λαός is again plural here.
I would understand nations and peoples in Psalm 2:1 to be synonymous. However, in the application of the Psalm Acts 4:27 makes clear that Israel is not distinct from but included within the nations/peoples who rise in rebellion against the Messiah by referring to “peoples of Israel.” Peoples is still plural because it is being quoted from the Psalms, but “of Israel” is added for the sake of application.
The KJV translators had the option to use people in a multivalent way. The more dynamic translations translate plural in the psalm and its quotation but translate 4:27 according to its sense. The more formal translations retain the plural throughout.