Table of Contents
Zechariah 1
Zechariah 1
1 In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the Lord unto Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet, saying,
2 The Lord hath been sore displeased with your fathers.
3 Therefore say thou unto them, Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Turn ye unto me, saith the Lord of hosts, and I will turn unto you, saith the Lord of hosts.
4 Be ye not as your fathers, unto whom the former prophets have cried, saying, Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Turn ye now from your evil ways, and from your evil doings: but they did not hear, nor hearken unto me, saith the Lord.
5 Your fathers, where are they? and the prophets, do they live for ever?
6 But my words and my statutes, which I commanded my servants the prophets, did they not take hold of your fathers? and they returned and said, Like as the Lord of hosts thought to do unto us, according to our ways, and according to our doings, so hath he dealt with us.
7 Upon the four and twentieth day of the eleventh month, which is the month Sebat, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the Lord unto Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet, saying,
8 I saw by night, and behold a man riding upon a red horse, and he stood among the myrtle trees that were in the bottom; and behind him were there red horses, speckled, and white.
9 Then said I, O my lord, what are these? And the angel that talked with me said unto me, I will shew thee what these be.
10 And the man that stood among the myrtle trees answered and said, These are they whom the Lord hath sent to walk to and fro through the earth.
11 And they answered the angel of the Lord that stood among the myrtle trees, and said, We have walked to and fro through the earth, and, behold, all the earth sitteth still, and is at rest.
12 Then the angel of the Lord answered and said, O Lord of hosts, how long wilt thou not have mercy on Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah, against which thou hast had indignation these threescore and ten years?
13 And the Lord answered the angel that talked with me with good words and comfortable words.
14 So the angel that communed with me said unto me, Cry thou, saying, Thus saith the Lord of hosts; I am jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with a great jealousy.
15 And I am very sore displeased with the heathen that are at ease: for I was but a little displeased, and they helped forward the affliction.
16 Therefore thus saith the Lord; I am returned to Jerusalem with mercies: my house shall be built in it, saith the Lord of hosts, and a line shall be stretched forth upon Jerusalem.
17 Cry yet, saying, Thus saith the Lord of hosts; My cities through prosperity shall yet be spread abroad; and the Lord shall yet comfort Zion, and shall yet choose Jerusalem.
18 Then lifted I up mine eyes, and saw, and behold four horns.
19 And I said unto the angel that talked with me, What be these? And he answered me, These are the horns which have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.
20 And the Lord shewed me four carpenters.
21 Then said I, What come these to do? And he spake, saying, These are the horns which have scattered Judah, so that no man did lift up his head: but these are come to fray them, to cast out the horns of the Gentiles, which lifted up their horn over the land of Judah to scatter it.
Notes
Cross Reference
Commentary
Rashi
Verse 1
<html><b>The prophecy</b> of Zechariah is extremely enigmatic, because it contains visions resembling a dream that requires an interpretation. We cannot ascertain the truth of its interpretation until the teacher of righteousness comes. Nonetheless, I will put my heart to reconciling the verses, one by one, according to the interpretations that resemble it and following the interpretation of <i>Jonathan</i>. <b>In the eighth month</b> Before they commenced resuming the work of the construction, for they commenced it on the twenty-fourth day of the [ninth] month.</html>
Verse 2
<html><b>with your fathers</b> who were in the generation of the destruction of the Temple.</html>
Verse 5
<html><b>[As for] your fathers - where are they?</b> See that they suffered an evil blow, with famine, with the sword, and with pestilence. <b>But the prophets - do they live forever?</b> And if you ask, “the prophets, too where are they? Have they not died?” I [God] will answer you, “Should the prophets have lived forever?” But their end proves that their words were true; for all My words, and the declarations of the decrees of My retribution that I commanded My servants, the prophets, concerning you - did they not overtake your fathers?</html>
Verse 8
<html><b>I saw tonight</b> Our Sages explained [this phrase as] they explained [it] in the Aggadah of the chapter entitled “<i>Helek</i>” (<i>Sanh.</i> 93a), but the sequence of the chapter and the language do not fit it. <b>and behold! A man</b> an angel. <b>on a red horse</b> This is an allusion that He would exact retribution upon the Chaldeans, Media, and Persia with the sword and with blood, as He says (verse 15 below): “And I was very wroth with the nations.” <b>and after him were red, etc., horses</b> prepared for the mission of the Omnipresent. That there were among them [horses of] many sorts of colors was a [means of] praise for him. <b>black</b> do not know what color this is. <i>Jonathan</i> rendered קְוָחִין. <b>among the myrtles that were in the pool</b> Among the myrtle trees of Babylon.</html>
Verse 9
<html><b>And I said</b> to one angel who showed me all this. <b>“What are these, my lord?”</b> He was the one riding on the red horse.</html>
Verse 10
<html><b>to walk to and fro on the earth</b> To see the tranquility of the nations.</html>
Verse 12
<html><b>And the angel of the Lord replied</b> The angel that was speaking to me.</html>
Verse 13
<html><b>And the Lord answered the angel who was speaking to me, good words</b> Not that the prophet heard what He answered [the angel], but from what the angel said to him, “Proclaim, saying, ‘I am jealous etc.,’” I know that He answered him good words.</html>
Verse 14
<html><b>I am jealous for Jerusalem</b> I am exacting the retribution [for] the cause of Jerusalem from those who oppress her.</html>
Verse 15
<html><b>that are at ease</b> Concerning whom these [messengers] say that they sit still and are at rest. <b>for I was wroth</b> with My people, a little. <b>and they helped to do harm</b> In addition to the wrath, [they helped] to do harm.</html>
Verse 16
<html><b>and a plumb line shall be stretched out</b> to measure its wall, its length and breadth.</html>