Zechariah Chapter 1
1 In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, the LORD's word came to Zechariah the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo, the prophet, saying,
2 "The LORD was very displeased with your fathers.
3 Therefore tell them: the LORD of Armies says: 'Return to me,' says the LORD of Armies, 'and I will return to you,' says the LORD of Armies.
4 Don't you be like your fathers, to whom the former prophets proclaimed, saying: The LORD of Armies says, 'Return now from your evil ways, and from your evil doings;' but they didn't hear, nor listen to me, says the LORD.
5 Your fathers, where are they? And the prophets, do they live forever?
6 But my words and my decrees, which I commanded my servants the prophets, didn't they overtake your fathers? "Then they repented and said, 'Just as the LORD of Armies determined to do to us, according to our ways, and according to our practices, so he has dealt with us.' "
7 On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, which is the month Shebat, in the second year of Darius, the LORD's word came to Zechariah the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo, the prophet, saying,
8 "I had a vision in the night, and behold, a man riding on a red horse, and he stood amongst the myrtle trees that were in a ravine; and behind him there were red, brown, and white horses.
9 Then I asked, 'My lord, what are these?' " The angel who talked with me said to me, "I will show you what these are."
10 The man who stood amongst the myrtle trees answered, "They are the ones the LORD has sent to go back and forth through the earth."
11 They reported to the LORD's angel who stood amongst the myrtle trees, and said, "We have walked back and forth through the earth, and behold, all the earth is at rest and in peace."
12 Then the LORD's angel replied, "O LORD of Armies, how long will you not have mercy on Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah, against which you have had indignation these seventy years?"
13 The LORD answered the angel who talked with me with kind and comforting words.
14 So the angel who talked with me said to me, "Proclaim, saying, 'The LORD of Armies says: "I am jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with a great jealousy.
15 I am very angry with the nations that are at ease; for I was but a little displeased, but they added to the calamity."
16 Therefore the LORD says: "I have returned to Jerusalem with mercy. My house shall be built in it," says the LORD of Armies, "and a line shall be stretched out over Jerusalem." '
17 "Proclaim further, saying, 'The LORD of Armies says: "My cities will again overflow with prosperity, and the LORD will again comfort Zion, and will again choose Jerusalem." ' "
18 I lifted up my eyes, and saw, and behold, four horns.
19 I asked the angel who talked with me, "What are these?" He answered me, "These are the horns which have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem."
20 The LORD showed me four craftsmen.
21 Then I asked, "What are these coming to do?" He said, "These are the horns which scattered Judah, so that no man lifted up his head; but these have come to terrify them, to cast down the horns of the nations, which lifted up their horn against the land of Judah to scatter it."
Footnotes
- Verse 1 (LORD)
- When rendered in ALL CAPITAL LETTERS, "LORD" or "GOD" is the translation of God's Proper Name.
- Verse 8 (Behold)
- "Behold" means look at, take notice, observe, see, or gaze at. It is often used as an interjection.
Version: World English Bible
- About World English Bible (WEB)
- WEB Glossary
- WEB Web Site (source documents)
- Bible on one web page
- Download WEB (for MS Word)
Audio
To Listen to this Chapter
The mp3 Audio File should start to play in a new Tab. Then return to this Tab to follow the text whilst listening.
Zechariah Chapter 1 Guide
About a month after Haggai's second message, in which he had encouraged the people who were in danger of being disheartened by the memory of the past, Zechariah uttered his first prophetic word. He gave them another view of the past, intended to warn them. He reminded them that Jehovah was sore displeased with their fathers, and warned them not to walk in the same sins. Thus Haggai encouraged them by looking on to the new spiritual glory, while Zechariah exhorted them by looking back to the past of disobedience.
Two months after Haggai had delivered his last message, Zechariah delivered his great message consisting of eight symbolic visions.
Under the figure of the myrtle trees Israel is described as "in the bottom," or, far better, as the margin reads, "in the shady place." It is the day of her overshadowing, but she is still watched. The whole earth is sitting still and at rest. The angel watcher appeals to Jehovah on behalf of Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, and is answered with "comfortable words."
These words declare Jehovah's determination to deliver and re-establish His people. This vision, therefore, is a picture of Israel as she long has been, and still is, outcast from privilege and position, yet never forgotten by Jehovah, who declares His determination ultimately to return to her with mercies, and to restore her to favour.
The second vision of horns and smiths, while indefinite as to detail, yet carries its own explanation. The horn is a symbol of power, and the four stand for the powers which have scattered the chosen people. The smiths are the symbol of that which destroys power, and stand for those who are to break the power of the horns.
The vision thus foretells the ultimate overthrow of the enemies of the purpose of God, and therefore stands in immediate and striking contrast to the one preceding it. As we have seen, there the chosen people are in the shady place, cast out, without influence or power among the nations. The second, while not entering into any detailed account of the instrument to be used, does, nevertheless, symbolize that ultimately those who have oppressed the people of God will be broken in power, and thus the oppressed people be delivered.
From "An Exposition of the Whole Bible" by G. Campbell Morgan.
Zechariah Chapter 1 Commentary
Chapter Outline
- An exhortation to repentance. -- (1-6)
- A vision of the ministry of angels. -- (7-17)
- The security of the Jews and the destruction of their enemies. -- (18-21)
Verses 1-6
God's almighty power and sovereign dominion, should engage and encourage sinners to repent and turn to Him. It is very desirable to have the Lord of hosts for our friend, and very dreadful to have him for our enemy. Review what is past, and observe the message God sent by his servants, the prophets, to your fathers. Turn ye now from your evil ways, and from your evil doings. Be persuaded to leave your sins, as the only way to prevent approaching ruin. What is become of our fathers, and of the prophets that preached to them? They are all dead and gone. Here they were, in the towns and countries where we live, passing and repassing in the same streets, dwelling in the same houses, trading in the same shops and exchanges, worshipping God in the same places. But where are they? When they died, there was not an end of them; they are in eternity, in the world of spirits, the unchangeable world to which we hasten apace. Where are they? Those of them who lived and died in sin, are in torment. Those who lived and died in Christ, are in heaven; and if we live and die as they did, we shall be with them shortly and eternally. If they minded not their own souls, is that a reason why their posterity should ruin theirs also? The prophets are gone. Christ is a Prophet that lives for ever, but all other prophets have a period put to their office. Oh that this consideration had its due weight; that dying ministers are dealing with dying people about their never-dying souls, and an awful eternity, upon the brink of which both are standing! In another world, both we and our prophets shall live for ever: to prepare for that world ought to be our great care in this. The preachers died, and the hearers died, but the word of God died not; not one jot or title of it fell to the ground; for he is righteous.
Verses 7-17
The prophet saw a dark, shady grove, hidden by hills. This represented the low, melancholy condition of the Jewish church. A man like a warrior sat on a red horse, in the midst of this shady myrtle-grove. Though the church was in a low condition, Christ was present in the midst, ready to appear for the relief of his people. Behind him were angels ready to be employed by him, some in acts of judgment, others of mercy, others in mixed events. Would we know something of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, we must apply, not to angels, for they are themselves learners, but to Christ himself. He is ready to teach those humbly desirous to learn the things of God. The nations near Judea enjoyed peace at that time, but the state of the Jews was unsettled, which gave rise to the pleading that followed; but mercy must only be hoped for through Christ. His intercession for his church prevails. The Lord answered the Angel, this Angel of the covenant, with promises of mercy and deliverance. All the good words and comfortable words of the gospel we receive from Jesus Christ, as he received them from the Father, in answer to the prayer of his blood; and his ministers are to preach them to all the world. The earth sat still, and was at rest. It is not uncommon for the enemies of God to be at rest in sin, while his people are enduring correction, harassed by temptation, disquieted by fears of wrath, or groaning under oppression and persecution. Here are predictions which had reference to the revival of the Jews after the captivity, but those events were shadows of what shall take place in the church, after the oppression of the New Testament Babylon is ended.
Verses 18-21
The enemies of the church threaten to cut off the name of Israel. They are horns, emblems of power, strength, and violence. The prophet saw them so formidable that he began to despair of the safety of every good man, and the success of every good work; but the Lord showed him four workmen empowered to cut off these horns. With an eye of sense we see the power of the enemies of the church; look which way we will, the world shows us that; but it is only with an eye of faith that we see it safe. The Lord shows us that. When God has work to do, he will raise up some to do it, and others to defend it, and to protect those employed in doing it. What cause there is to look up in love and praise to the holy and eternal Spirit, who has the same care over the present and eternal interests of believers, by the holy word bringing the church to know the wonderful things of salvation!
From the "Concise Commentary on the Bible" by Matthew Henry.