Zechariah 2:5
in Zechariah 2For I will be a wall of fire around it, declares the LORD, and I will be the glory within it.’”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
For I, saith Jehovah, will be unto her a wall of fire round about, and I will be the glory in the midst of her.
KJV
For I, saith the Lord, will be unto her a wall of fire round about, and will be the glory in the midst of her.
⋯
This verse in Zechariah 2
Commentary
9 notes on this verseFor I, saith the Lord, will be unto her a wall of fire round about,..... So that she needs no other wall to secure her, the power of God encompassing her about as the mountains did Jerusalem, Psa 125:2 and he being as a wall of fire to terrify and destroy her enemies; for our God is a consuming fire, Heb 12:
This site's exposition
with a measuring line in his hand
on Zechariah 2:1-5
The third vision shows a man setting out to measure Jerusalem's breadth and length, the ordinary work of a city planner fixing its bounds, but the angel overrules the survey before it finishes: run, tell this young man, Jerusalem shall be inhabited as towns without walls, for the multitude of men and cattle therein, a city too full of returning life to be walled in the old way. The Lord supplies what the missing wall would have supplied, I will be unto her a wall of fire round about, and will be the glory in the midst of her, defense and presence in one promise. The bench reads the fire-wall as protection outward and the glory as the Shekinah inward, a city measured not by masonry but by whom it holds.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verse 4 and following) And behold, the angel who spoke to me went out, and another angel went out to meet him, and said to him: Run, speak to this young man, saying: Jerusalem shall be inhabited without walls, because of the multitude of people and animals in its midst. And I will be to it, says the Lord, a wall of fire all around, and I will be in the midst of it in glory.
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Note, Those that have God for their God have him for their glory; those that have him in the midst of them have glory in the midst of them, and thence the church is said to be all glorious within. And those persons and places that have God to be the glory in the midst of them have him for a wall of fire round about them, for upon all that glory there is, and shall be, a defence, Isa. iv.
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
And I, Myself in My own Being, will be to her a wall of fire - Not protection only, an inner circle around her, however near an enemy might press in upon her, but destructive to her enemies. Isaiah says, “No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper, and every tongue that shall rise in judgment against thee thou shalt condemn” Isa 54:17. Its defense, Isaiah says, shall be immaterial. “We have a strong city; salvation shall God appoint for walls and bulwarks” Isa 26:1; “thou shalt call thy walls salvation and thy gates praise” Isa 60:18).
IT is evident that this vision and prophecy graciously reveal the future history of Jerusalem. You may spiritualize, if you will, and say that Jerusalem signifies the Church—but I pray you not forget the literal meaning of such words as these in the twelfth verse—"The Lord shall take possession of Judah as His inheritance in the holy land and will again choose Jerusalem." Jerusalem is spoken of and Jerusalem is meant. A man with a measuring line is about to measure the length and breadth of the city.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
The same combination of "glory and defense" is found in Isa 4:5, alluding to the pillar of cloud and fire which defended and enlightened Israel in the desert. Compare Elisha in Dothan (2Ki 6:17). As God is to be her "glory," so she shall be His "glory" (Isa 62:3).
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
IT is evident that this vision and prophecy graciously reveal the future history of Jerusalem. You may spiritualize, if you will, and say that Jerusalem signifies the Church—but I pray you not forget the literal meaning of such words as these in the twelfth verse—"The Lord shall take possession of Judah as His inheritance in the holy land and will again choose Jerusalem." Jerusalem is spoken of and Jerusalem is meant. A man with a measuring line is about to measure the length and breadth of the city. He appears to be interrupted in his work by another angel who foretells that so greatly shall Jerusalem extend that she will be as a town without walls, for the number of men and livestock that shall be in it. This prophecy has not as yet been fulfilled—it may have had some partial fulfillment in those times of peace before the coming of the Savior, but even then Jerusalem was surrounded by a triple wall. And though it is true that there was a large suburban population, yet the city was not then, "as towns without walls," nor was the Glory of God in the midst of her in any eminent degree. I believe this passage refers to a happy and glorious future yet to come when the city of Jerusalem shall have no walls, except the protection of the Lord, but shall be extended far and wide. The Jewish people and their royal city shall remain the center of the manifestations of Divine Glory, just as the city of London still remains the center of the metropolis. But the nations of the earth shall be joined unto the Lord so that while Jerusalem remains the city of the Great King, the faithful among the people of all nations shall be, as it were, a suburban population to the chosen city and the kingdom of Messiah shall extend far and wide. Jerusalem will be rebuilt in more than her former splendor. The Jews will be restored to their own land.
I - will be unto her a wall of fire - Her safety shall consist in my defense. I shall be as fire round about her. No adversary shall be permitted to touch her. Much of this must refer to the New Jerusalem.
The words behind it
11 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַאֲנִ֤י | vaani | and I | H589 → | 874 times |
| אֶֽהְיֶה־ | ʾehyeh- | I will be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| לָּהּ֙ | lah | to it | ||
| נְאֻם־ | neum- | [the] utterance of | H5002 → | 376 times |
| יְהוָ֔ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| ח֥וֹמַת | chomat | a wall of | H2346 → | |
| אֵ֖שׁ | ʾesh | fire | H784 → | 378 times |
| סָבִ֑יב | saviv | all around | H5439 → | 336 times |
| וּלְכָב֖וֹד | ulekhavod | and <into> glory | H3519 → | |
| אֶֽהְיֶ֥ה | ʾehyeh | I will become | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| בְתוֹכָֽהּ׃ פ | vetokhah | in [the] middle of it | H8432 → | 418 times |
וַאֲנִ֤יand I
vaaniH589 →874 times
אֶֽהְיֶה־I will be
ʾehyeh-H1961 →3559 times
לָּהּ֙to it
lah
נְאֻם־[the] utterance of
neum-H5002 →376 times
יְהוָ֔הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
ח֥וֹמַתa wall of
chomatH2346 →
אֵ֖שׁfire
ʾeshH784 →378 times
סָבִ֑יבall around
savivH5439 →336 times
וּלְכָב֖וֹדand <into> glory
ulekhavodH3519 →
אֶֽהְיֶ֥הI will become
ʾehyehH1961 →3559 times
בְתוֹכָֽהּ׃ פin [the] middle of it
vetokhahH8432 →418 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
Psalms 3:3But You, O LORD, are a shield around me, my glory, and the One who lifts my head.
it leads to
- Psalms 27:6
Then my head will be held high above my enemies around me. At His tabernacle I will offer sacrifices with shouts of joy; I will sing and make music to the LORD.
- Psalms 28:7
The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him, and I am helped. Therefore my heart rejoices, and I give thanks to Him with my song.
- Genesis 15:1
After these events, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.”
- Psalms 119:114
You are my hiding place and my shield; I put my hope in Your word.
- Isaiah 60:19
No longer will the sun be your light by day, nor the brightness of the moon shine on your night; for the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your…
- Psalms 27:6
Through
Revelation 21:23And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, because the glory of God illuminates the city, and the Lamb is its lamp.
it leads to
- Isaiah 60:19–20
No longer will the sun be your light by day, nor the brightness of the moon shine on your night; for the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your…
- Revelation 22:5
There will be no more night in the city, and they will have no need for the light of a lamp or of the sun. For the Lord God will shine on them, and…
- Isaiah 60:19–20
Through
Isaiah 4:5Then the LORD will create over all of Mount Zion and over her assemblies a cloud of smoke by day and a glowing flame of fire by night. For over all the glory there…
it leads to
- Exodus 13:21–22
And the LORD went before them in a pillar of cloud to guide their way by day, and in a pillar of fire to give them light by night, so that they could travel…
- Exodus 13:21–22
About Zechariah
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Carl Friedrich Keil, The Twelve Minor Prophets; Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 604: “The Man With The Measuring Line” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); 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.