Zechariah 1:19
in Zechariah 1So I asked the angel who was speaking with me, “What are these?” And he told me, “These are the horns that have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And I said unto the angel that talked with me, What are these? And he answered me, These are the horns which have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.
KJV
And I said unto the angel that talked with me, What be these? And he answered me, These are the horns which have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.
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This verse in Zechariah 1
Commentary
9 notes on this verse(Verse 18, 19.) And I lifted up my eyes and saw: and behold four horns, and I said to the angel who spoke with me: What are these? And he said to me: These are the horns that have scattered Judah, and Israel, and Jerusalem. And the Lord showed me four craftsmen, and I said: What are these coming to do?
This site's exposition
behold four horns
on Zechariah 1:18-21
The second vision answers the first with a change of image: four horns, the power to gore and scatter, which have scattered Judah, Israel and Jerusalem so that no man did lift up his head. The bench names the readings on which four are meant, some hearing the four world powers later named in Daniel, others the regional enemies nearer Zechariah's own day, and settles on no single identification. Against the horns the Lord shows four carpenters, or smiths, raised up to fray them, to cast out the horns of the Gentiles, a craftsman's tool matched to every weapon lifted against Zion, so that no power that scatters outlasts the hand that answers it.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Before he came to visions and revelations, and delivered his prophetic discourses, he preached that which was plain and practical; for it is best to begin with that. Before he published the promises of mercy, he published calls to repentance, for thus the way of the Lord must be prepared. Law must be first preached, and then gospel.
And I said unto the angel that talked with me,....
They are the horns which have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem, that is, the Jews both in the country and in the city, because they were the Israel of God. They have tossed them (so some read it), as furious bulls with their horns toss that which they are enraged at.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
These are the horns which have scattered - o “The four horns which scattered Judah, Israel and Jerusalem, are four nations, Babylonians, Medes and Persians, Macedonians and Romans; as the Lord, on the prophet’s enquiry, explains here, and Daniel unfolds most fully Dan. 2; who in the vision of the image with golden head, silver breast, belly and thighs of brass, feet of iron and clay, explained it of these four nations, and again in another vision of four beasts Dan. 7, lion, bear, leopard and another unnamed dreadful beast, he pointed out the same nations under another figure.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Judah, Israel--Though some of the ten tribes of Israel returned with Judah from Babylon, the full return of the former, as of the latter, is here foretold and must be yet future.
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
Therefore thus says the Lord; I am returned to Jerusalem with mercies: My house shall be built in it, says the Lord of Hosts and a line shall be stretched forth upon Jerusalem. Cry yet, saying, Thus says the Lord of hosts: My cities through prosperity shall yet be spread abroad. And the Lord shall yet comfort Zion and shall yet choose Jerusalem. Then lifted I up my eyes and sa w and behold four horns. And I said unto the angel that talked with me, What are these? And he answered me, These are the horns which have scattered Judah, Israel and Jerusalem. And the Lord showed me four carpenters. Then said I, What come these to do? And He spoke, saying, These are the horns which have scattered Judah, so that no man did lift up his head: but these are come to scatter them, to cast out the horns of the Gentiles, which lifted up their horn over the land of Judah to scatter it." Zechariah 1:8-21. THIS is a somewhat dark and mysterious passage. And if we should ask many a reader, "Do you understand what you are reading?" he would be compelled to reply as did the Ethiopian eunuch, "How can I, except some man should guide me?" Although there are some portions of the Word of God which are hard to be understood—by far the greater portion of Scriptures which are at first perplexing—will open up if we will carefully peruse them and prayerfully ask the illumination of God's Holy Spirit. We should seek to know all of God's Word which can be known. You will perceive that the Prophet Zechariah himself was not content with beholding the two visions described in this passage, but had to ask, in the ninth verse, "O my Lord, what are these?" And then, again, in the nineteenth verse, "What are these?" Nor did he cease his enquiries! In the twenty-first verse he says, "What come these to do?" If the seer of the vision asked for an interpretation, much more may you and I.
Therefore thus says the Lord; I am returned to Jerusalem with mercies: My house shall be built in it, says the Lord of Hosts and a line shall be stretched forth upon Jerusalem. Cry yet, saying, Thus says the Lord of hosts: My cities through prosperity shall yet be spread abroad. And the Lord shall yet comfort Zion and shall yet choose Jerusalem. Then lifted I up my eyes and sa w and behold four horns. And I said unto the angel that talked with me, What are these?
The words behind it
18 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וָאֹמַ֗ר | vaomar | and I said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| הַמַּלְאָ֛ךְ | hamalakh | the angel | H4397 → | 213 times |
| הַדֹּבֵ֥ר | hadover | who was speaking | H1696 → | 1141 times |
| בִּ֖י | bi | with me | ||
| מָה־ | mah- | what? | H4100 → | 752 times |
| אֵ֑לֶּה | ʾeleh | [are] these | H428 → | 746 times |
| וַיֹּ֣אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֵלַ֔י | ʾelai | to me | H413 → | 5510 times |
| אֵ֤לֶּה | ʾeleh | these | H428 → | 746 times |
| הַקְּרָנוֹת֙ | hakeranot | [are] the horns | H7161 → | 76 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֣ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| זֵר֣וּ | zeru | they scattered | H2219 → | 39 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| יְהוּדָ֔ה | yehudah | Judah | H3063 → | 819 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| וִירוּשָׁלָֽם׃ ס | virushalam | and Jerusalem | H3389 → | 643 times |
וָאֹמַ֗רand I said
vaomarH559 →5305 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
הַמַּלְאָ֛ךְthe angel
hamalakhH4397 →213 times
הַדֹּבֵ֥רwho was speaking
hadoverH1696 →1141 times
בִּ֖יwith me
bi
מָה־what?
mah-H4100 →752 times
אֵ֑לֶּה[are] these
ʾelehH428 →746 times
וַיֹּ֣אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
אֵלַ֔יto me
ʾelaiH413 →5510 times
אֵ֤לֶּהthese
ʾelehH428 →746 times
הַקְּרָנוֹת֙[are] the horns
hakeranotH7161 →76 times
אֲשֶׁ֣רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
זֵר֣וּthey scattered
zeruH2219 →39 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
יְהוּדָ֔הJudah
yehudahH3063 →819 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֖לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
וִירוּשָׁלָֽם׃ סand Jerusalem
virushalamH3389 →643 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Zechariah 1:21“What are these coming to do?” I asked. And He replied, “These are the horns that scattered Judah so that no one could raise his head; but the craftsmen have come to terrify them…
it leads to
- Psalms 75:10
“All the horns of the wicked I will cut off, but the horns of the righteous will be exalted.”
- Lamentations 2:17
The LORD has done what He planned; He has accomplished His decree, which He ordained in days of old; He has overthrown you without pity. He has let the enemy gloat over you and…
- Psalms 75:10
Through
Zechariah 8:14For this is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Just as I resolved to bring disaster upon you when your fathers provoked Me to anger, and I did not relent,” says the LORD of…
it leads to
- Ezekiel 24:14
I, the LORD, have spoken; the time is coming, and I will act. I will not refrain or show pity, nor will I relent. I will judge you according to your ways and deeds,’…
- Jeremiah 31:28
Just as I watched over them to uproot and tear down, to demolish, destroy, and bring disaster, so I will watch over them to build and to plant,” declares the LORD.
- Ezekiel 24:14
Through
Ezra 4:4Then the people of the land set out to discourage the people of Judah and make them afraid to build.
it leads to
- Ezra 3:3
They set up the altar on its foundation and sacrificed burnt offerings on it to the LORD—both the morning and evening burnt offerings—even though they feared the people of the land.
- Jeremiah 38:4
Then the officials said to the king, “This man ought to die, for he is discouraging the warriors who remain in this city, as well as all the people, by speaking such words to…
- Ezra 3:3
Through
Zechariah 2:2“Where are you going?” I asked. “To measure Jerusalem,” he replied, “and to determine its width and length.”
it leads to
- Ezekiel 45:6
As the property of the city, you are to set aside an area 5,000 cubits wide and 25,000 cubits long, adjacent to the holy district. It will belong to the whole house of Israel.
- Revelation 21:15–17
The angel who spoke with me had a golden measuring rod to measure the city and its gates and walls.
- Ezekiel 45:6
Where this verse is studied
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About Zechariah
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PersonPatriarchsJudahJacob's fourth son who pledges himself for Benjamin; the tribe that carries the scepter to Shiloh (49:10) and the line to Christ (…
- PlaceJerusalemJerusalemThe city David took from the Jebusites and made his capital, where Solomon built the temple, where Christ was crucified and rose,…
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 598: “Two Visions” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); Jamieson Fausset and Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Zechariah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.