Zechariah 2:6
in Zechariah 2“Get up! Get up! Flee from the land of the north,” declares the LORD, “for I have scattered you like the four winds of heaven,” declares the LORD.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Ho, ho, flee from the land of the north, saith Jehovah; for I have spread you abroad as the four winds of the heavens, saith Jehovah.
KJV
Ho, ho, come forth, and flee from the land of the north, saith the Lord: for I have spread you abroad as the four winds of the heaven, saith the Lord.
⋯
This verse in Zechariah 2
Commentary
9 notes on this verse(Verse 6 and following) O, O flee from the land of the North, says the Lord, for I have scattered you like the four winds of heaven, says the Lord. O Zion, arise, you who dwell in the daughter of Babylon. LXX: O flee from the land of the north, says the Lord, for I will gather you from the four winds of heaven, says the Lord. In Zion you shall be saved, you who dwell in the daughter of Babylon.
This site's exposition
flee from the land of the north
on Zechariah 2:6-9
The vision breaks into a direct summons: come forth, and flee from the land of the north, Babylon named the north because her armies came that way though the city itself lay east, a call to exiles still lingering there after the first return had already gone up. The tenderness of the appeal turns on one clause, he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye, covenant affection stated in the most physical figure available, and it is followed by judgment on the nations that plundered Zion, they shall be a spoil to their servants. The refrain ye shall know that the Lord of hosts hath sent me repeats at verse 9 and again at verse 11, authenticating the messenger's own commission, and the older writers note the phrase after the glory hath he sent me as language in which the sent one speaks as one with the Lord who sends him, a reading named rather than pressed to a verdict.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
They are now in bondage, and are concerned to assert their own liberty; and therefore, " Deliver thyself, O Zion! flee from the oppressor, and make the best of thy way.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — odd-straight-quotes
Flee - Make all the haste you can. From the land - Babylon, which lay north of Canaan. For I have spread you abroad - As I executed my threats in scattering you, so I will perform my promise, and gather you.
Ho, ho,....
Note, The promises and privileges with which God's people are blessed should engage us, whatever it cost us, to join ourselves to them and cast in our lot among them. When Zion is enlarged, to make room for all God's Israel, it is the greatest madness imaginable for any of them to stay in Babylon.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Flee from the land of the north - From Chaldee, Persia, and Babylon, where several of the Jews still remained. See Zec 2:7.
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
flee from the land of the north--that is, from Babylon: a type of the various Gentile lands, from which the Jews are to be recalled hereafter; hence "the four winds of heaven" are specified, implying that they are to return from all quarters (De 28:64; The reason why they should flee from Babylon is: (1) because of the blessings promised to God's people in their own land;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase+unbalanced-parens
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Ho! ho! and flee - Such being the safety and glory in store for God’s people in Jerusalem, He who had so provided it, the Angel of the Lord, bids His people everywhere to come to it, saving themselves also from the peril which was to come on Babylon. So Isaiah bade them, “Go ye forth of Babylon; flee ye from the Chaldaeans with a voice of singing; declare ye, tell this, utter it to the end of the earth; say ye, The Lord hath redeemed His servant Jacob” Isa 48:20. “Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence; touch no unclean thing: go ye out of the midst of her; be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the Lord” Isa 52:11; and Jeremiah, “Flee ye out of the midst of Babylon, and deliver every man his soul; be not cut off in her iniquity, for this is the time of the Lord’s vengeance. He will render unto her a recompense” (Jer 51:6, add. Jer 50:8). “My people, go ye out of the midst of her, and deliver ye, every man his soul from the fierce anger of the Lord” Jer 51:45. The words, “flee, deliver thyself,” imply an imminent peril on Babylon, such as came upon her, two years after this prophecy, in the fourth year of Darius. But the earnestness of the command, its repetition by three prophets, the context in isaiah and Jeremiah, imply something more than temporal peril, the peril of the infection of the manners of Babylon, which may have detained there many who did not return. […]
The words behind it
15 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ה֣וֹי | ho | alas! | H1945 → | 51 times |
| ה֗וֹי | ho | alas! | H1945 → | 51 times |
| וְנֻ֛סוּ | venusu | <and> flee | H5127 → | 159 times |
| מֵאֶ֥רֶץ | meeretz | from [the] land of | H776 → | 2504 times |
| צָפ֖וֹן | tzafon | [the] north | H6828 → | 153 times |
| נְאֻם־ | neum- | [the] utterance of | H5002 → | 376 times |
| יְהוָ֑ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| כִּ֠י | ki | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| כְּאַרְבַּ֞ע | kearba' | like [the] four | H702 → | 318 times |
| רוּח֧וֹת | ruchot | [the] winds of | H7307 → | 378 times |
| הַשָּׁמַ֛יִם | hashamayim | the heavens | H8064 → | 421 times |
| פֵּרַ֥שְׂתִּי | perasti | I have scattered | H6566 → | |
| אֶתְכֶ֖ם | ʾetkhem | <obj.> you | H853 → | 10935 times |
| נְאֻם־ | neum- | [the] utterance of | H5002 → | 376 times |
| יְהוָֽה׃ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
ה֣וֹיalas!
hoH1945 →51 times
ה֗וֹיalas!
hoH1945 →51 times
וְנֻ֛סוּ<and> flee
venusuH5127 →159 times
מֵאֶ֥רֶץfrom [the] land of
meeretzH776 →2504 times
צָפ֖וֹן[the] north
tzafonH6828 →153 times
נְאֻם־[the] utterance of
neum-H5002 →376 times
יְהוָ֑הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
כִּ֠יthat
kiH3588 →4482 times
כְּאַרְבַּ֞עlike [the] four
kearba'H702 →318 times
רוּח֧וֹת[the] winds of
ruchotH7307 →378 times
הַשָּׁמַ֛יִםthe heavens
hashamayimH8064 →421 times
פֵּרַ֥שְׂתִּיI have scattered
perastiH6566 →
אֶתְכֶ֖ם<obj.> you
ʾetkhemH853 →10935 times
נְאֻם־[the] utterance of
neum-H5002 →376 times
יְהוָֽה׃Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 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
Revelation 18:4Then I heard another voice from heaven say: “Come out of her, My people, so that you will not share in her sins or contract any of her plagues.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 51:6
Flee from Babylon! Escape with your lives! Do not be destroyed in her punishment. For this is the time of the LORD’s vengeance; He will pay her what she deserves.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Jeremiah 51:45
Come out of her, My people! Save your lives, each of you, from the fierce anger of the LORD.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Jeremiah 50:8
Flee from the midst of Babylon; depart from the land of the Chaldeans; be like the he-goats that lead the flock.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 2 Corinthians 6:17
“Therefore come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.”
- Isaiah 52:11
Depart, depart, go out from there! Touch no unclean thing; come out from it, purify yourselves, you who carry the vessels of the LORD.
- Jeremiah 51:6
Through
Deuteronomy 28:64Then the LORD will scatter you among all the nations, from one end of the earth to the other, and there you will worship other gods, gods of wood and stone, which neither you…
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 4:27–28
Then the LORD will scatter you among the peoples, and only a few of you will survive among the nations to which the LORD will drive you.
- Leviticus 26:33
But I will scatter you among the nations and will draw out a sword after you as your land becomes desolate and your cities are laid waste.
- Deuteronomy 28:36
The LORD will bring you and the king you appoint to a nation neither you nor your fathers have known, and there you will worship other gods—gods of wood and stone.
- Deuteronomy 4:27–28
About Zechariah
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); 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; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.