diff --git a/oh-my-zsh.sh b/oh-my-zsh.sh
index 30b55fb4e..c497aa17d 100644
--- a/oh-my-zsh.sh
+++ b/oh-my-zsh.sh
@@ -69,9 +69,12 @@ _source_zsh_theme() {
     source "$RANDOM_THEME"
     echo "[oh-my-zsh] Random theme '$theme_name' loaded..."
   elif [ ! "$ZSH_THEME" = ""  ]; then
+    local theme_path
+    local zsh_path
+
     # custom themes take precedence over built-in themes!
     for zsh_path in $ZSH_CUSTOM $ZSH; do
-      local theme_path="themes/$ZSH_THEME.zsh-theme"
+      theme_path="themes/$ZSH_THEME.zsh-theme"
       if [ -f "$zsh_path/$theme_path" ]; then
         source "$zsh_path/$theme_path"
         break