Zechariah 2:1
in Zechariah 2Then I lifted up my eyes and saw a man with a measuring line in his hand.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And I lifted up mine eyes, and saw, and, behold, a man with a measuring line in his hand.
KJV
I lifted up mine eyes again, and looked, and behold a man with a measuring line in his hand.
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This verse in Zechariah 2
Commentary
10 notes on this verse(Chapter 2, Verses 1, 2.) And I lifted up my eyes and saw: and behold, a man, and in his hand a measuring line. And I said: Where are you going? And he said to me, to measure Jerusalem, and see how wide it is, and how long it is. (Alternate translation: And he said to me, to measure Jerusalem, and see how high it is, and how long it is.) Septuagint: And I lifted up my eyes and saw: and behold, a man, and in his hand a measuring cord, and I said to him: Where are you going?
This site's exposition
with a measuring line in his hand
on Zechariah 2:1-5
The third vision shows “a man with a measuring line in his hand” setting out to measure Jerusalem. An angel stops the survey: “Jerusalem will be a city without walls because of the multitude”. Defense comes in one promise: “I will be a wall of fire around it”.
The record, by era
The Reformation1 voice
Hence Zechariah says, that he saw in the hand of a man a measuring line. He calls him a man, who appeared in the form of man; and it is well known, and a common thing, that angels are called men. For though they put on a human form only for a time, yet as it was the Lord's will that they should be seen in that form, they are called men, though with no propriety.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
I lifted up mine eyes again, and looked,....
But that is not enough to make her happy, and therefore that is not all that is promised. Here is more carpenter's work to be done. When David had resolved to cut off the horns of the wicked he engaged likewise that the horns of the righteous should be exalted, Ps. lxxv.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
A man with a measuring line in his hand - Probably the Angel of the Lord, of whom Ezekiel has a like vision. Jerome: “He who before, when he lift up his eyes, had seen in the four horns things mournful, now again lifts up his eves to see a man, of whom it is written, “Behold a man whose name is the Branch” Zec 6:12; of whom we read above, “Behold a man riding upon a red horse, and he stood among the myrtle trees, which were in the bottom” Zec 1:
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.
3 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
man with a measuring-line--the same image to represent the same future fact as in Eze 40:3; The "man" is Messiah (see on Zec 1:8), who, by measuring Jerusalem, is denoted as the Author of its coming restoration. Thus the Jews are encouraged in Zechariah's time to proceed with the building.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
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.
A man with a measuring-line in his hand - Probably a representation of Nehemiah, who got a commission from Artaxerxes Longimanus to build up the walls of Jerusalem; for hitherto it had remained without being enclosed.
The words behind it
8 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וָאֶשָּׂ֥א | vaesa' | and I lifted up | H5375 → | 656 times |
| עֵינַ֛י | ʾeinai | eyes my | H5869 → | 887 times |
| וָאֵ֖רֶא | vaere' | and I saw | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| וְהִנֵּה־ | vehineh- | and there! | H2009 → | 843 times |
| אִ֑ישׁ | ʾish | a man | H376 → | 1663 times |
| וּבְיָד֖וֹ | uveyado | and [was] in hand his | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| חֶ֥בֶל | chevel | a cord of | H2256 → | 62 times |
| מִדָּֽה׃ | midah | measurement | H4060 → |
וָאֶשָּׂ֥אand I lifted up
vaesa'H5375 →656 times
עֵינַ֛יeyes my
ʾeinaiH5869 →887 times
וָאֵ֖רֶאand I saw
vaere'H7200 →1300 times
וְהִנֵּה־and there!
vehineh-H2009 →843 times
אִ֑ישׁa man
ʾishH376 →1663 times
וּבְיָד֖וֹand [was] in hand his
uveyadoH3027 →1618 times
חֶ֥בֶלa cord of
chevelH2256 →62 times
מִדָּֽה׃measurement
midahH4060 →
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 11:1Then I was given a measuring rod like a staff and was told, “Go and measure the temple of God and the altar, and count the number of worshipers there.
it leads to
- Revelation 21:15
The angel who spoke with me had a golden measuring rod to measure the city and its gates and walls.
- Ezekiel 42:15–20
Now when the man had finished measuring the interior of the temple area, he led me out by the gate that faced east, and he measured the area all around:
- Zechariah 2:1–2
Then I lifted up my eyes and saw a man with a measuring line in his hand.
- Revelation 21:15
Through
Ezekiel 40:5And I saw a wall surrounding the temple area. Now the length of the measuring rod in the man’s hand was six long cubits (each measuring a cubit and a handbreadth), and he measured…
it leads to
- Ezekiel 42:20
So he measured the area on all four sides. It had a wall all around, five hundred cubits long and five hundred cubits wide, to separate the holy from the common.
- Ezekiel 42:20
Through
Zechariah 1:16Therefore this is what the LORD says: ‘I will return to Jerusalem with mercy, and there My house will be rebuilt, declares the LORD of Hosts, and a measuring line will be stretched out…
it leads to
- Zechariah 8:3
This is what the LORD says: “I will return to Zion and dwell in Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will be called the City of Truth, and the mountain of the LORD of Hosts will be…
- Zechariah 8:3
Through
Ezekiel 40:3So He took me there, and I saw a man whose appearance was like bronze. He was standing in the gateway with a linen cord and a measuring rod in his hand.
it leads to
- Ezekiel 47:3
As the man went eastward with a measuring line in his hand, he measured off a thousand cubits and led me through ankle-deep water.
- Revelation 11:1
Then I was given a measuring rod like a staff and was told, “Go and measure the temple of God and the altar, and count the number of worshipers there.
- Daniel 10:5–6
I lifted up my eyes, and behold, there was a certain man dressed in linen, with a belt of fine gold from Uphaz around his waist.
- Ezekiel 47:3
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
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); 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 Calvin, Commentaries; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.