1 I lifted up mine eyes again, and looked, and behold a man with a measuring line in his hand.
2 Then said I, Whither goest thou? And he said unto me, To measure Jerusalem, to see what is the breadth thereof, and what is the length thereof.
3 And, behold, the angel that talked with me went forth, and another angel went out to meet him,
4 And said unto him, Run, speak to this young man, saying, Jerusalem shall be inhabited as towns without walls for the multitude of men and cattle therein:
5 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.
6 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.
7 Deliver thyself, O Zion, that dwellest with the daughter of Babylon.
8 For thus saith the Lord of hosts; After the glory hath he sent me unto the nations which spoiled you: for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye.
9 For, behold, I will shake mine hand upon them, and they shall be a spoil to their servants: and ye shall know that the Lord of hosts hath sent me.
10 Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion: for, lo, I come, and I will dwell in the midst of thee, saith the Lord.
11 And many nations shall be joined to the Lord in that day, and shall be my people: and I will dwell in the midst of thee, and thou shalt know that the Lord of hosts hath sent me unto thee.
12 And the Lord shall inherit Judah his portion in the holy land, and shall choose Jerusalem again.
13 Be silent, O all flesh, before the Lord: for he is raised up out of his holy habitation.
<html><b>These are the horns</b> These are the nations in the four corners of the heavens that gored Judah and Jerusalem with their horns until they scattered them.</html>
<html><b>four craftsmen</b> Carpenters who know how to saw the horns. And our Rabbis explained in tractate <i>Sukkah</i> (52b) who they are.</html>
<html><b>And he said, saying, “These are the horns”</b> that you first saw. <b>that scattered Judah</b> and humbled them to the extent that no man lifted his head, and they did not allow anyone of My people to raise his head. <b>And these came</b> These craftsmen came to cause those horns to quake and to cast them away. <b>to cast away</b> לְיַדּוֹת</html>
<html><b>a measuring line</b> A measuring line to measure Jerusalem, how much its length and its breadth shall be.</html>
<html><b>And behold, the angel who was speaking with me was coming forth</b> He is the one with the measuring line in his hand.</html>
<html><b>Run, speak to this young man</b> You shall no longer go forth to measure, for the Holy One, blessed be He, has taken counsel with His heavenly household [and decreed] that [Jerusalem] will not have a limit or a measure. <b>And now, run and speak to Zechariah: It shall be inhabited like unwalled towns</b>, without a wall, so that all who come there shall settle therein, and it shall grow from day to day.</html>
<html><b>But I will be for it</b> as a shield, as though a wall of fire surrounds it. Also, My Shechinah shall dwell in its midst for your glory.</html>
<html><b>Ho, Ho!</b> “Ho” is only an expression of proclamation and an announcement of assembly. And so did <i>Jonathan</i> render it: Announce to the scattered ones. אַכְלוּ means announce, as in (II Sam. 22: 14): “The Lord thundered from heaven,” which <i>Jonathan</i> renders: אַכְלוּ מִן שְׁמַיַּא <b>Flee from the land of the north</b> The exiles of My people, [flee] from within Babylon and Assyria.</html>
<html><b>Ho, Zion! Flee</b> This too is an expression of announcement: Assemble, O exile of Zion, and flee from the midst of Babylon.</html>
<html><b>After glory</b> After your glory I am sent, to magnify your glory. And the Midrash Aggadah (Addendum to <i>Tan.</i> Buber, <i>Devarim</i> 4) states: After the honor - After I pay Esau for the honor that he bestowed upon his father.</html>
<html><b>and they shall be prey, etc.,</b> to Israel, who are now slaves to them.</html>
<html><b>And many nations shall join</b> shall join.</html>
<html><b>And the Lord shall inherit Judah</b> as His inheritance and His share.</html>
<html><b>Silence all flesh</b> All the rest of the nations. <b>for He is aroused</b> An expression [denoting] arousal and awakening.</html>