Berean Standard Bible
Zechariah 1:8
8I looked out into the night and saw a man riding on a red horse. He was standing among the myrtle trees in the hollow, and behind him were red, sorrel, and white horses.
Zechariah 1:8 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)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.
- New International Version (NIV)During the night I had a vision, and there before me was a man mounted on a red horse. He was standing among the myrtle trees in a ravine. Behind him were red, brown and white horses.
- English Standard Version (ESV)"I saw in the night, and behold, a man riding on a red horse! He was standing among the myrtle trees in the glen, and behind him were red, sorrel, and white horses.
- New King James Version (NKJV)I saw by night, and behold, a man riding on a red horse, and it stood among the myrtle trees in the hollow; and behind him were horses: red, sorrel, and white.
Context of Zechariah 1:8
6But did not My words and My statutes, which I commanded My servants the prophets, overtake your fathers? They repented and said, ‘Just as the LORD of Hosts purposed to do to us according to our ways and deeds, so He has done to us.’” 7On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, the month of Shebat, in the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to the prophet Zechariah son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo. I looked out into the night and saw a man riding on a red horse. He was standing among the myrtle trees in the hollow, and behind him were red, sorrel, and white horses. 9“What are these, my lord?” I asked. And the angel who was speaking with me replied, “I will show you what they are.” 10Then the man standing among the myrtle trees explained, “They are the ones the LORD has sent to patrol the earth.”
Read all of Zechariah 1Zechariah 1:8 word by word
רָאִ֣יתִי׀ הַלַּ֗יְלָה וְהִנֵּה־אִישׁ֙ רֹכֵב֙ עַל־ס֣וּס אָדֹ֔ם וְה֣וּא עֹמֵ֔ד בֵּ֥ין הַהֲדַסִּ֖ים אֲשֶׁ֣ר בַּמְּצֻלָ֑ה וְאַחֲרָיו֙ סוּסִ֣ים אֲדֻמִּ֔ים שְׂרֻקִּ֖ים וּלְבָנִֽים׃Read the interlinear
- I looked outרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seerH7200
- into the nightלַ֫יְלָהlayil lêyl layelâh · nightH3915
- and sawהִנֵּהhinnêh · beholdH2009
- a manאִישׁ'îysh · manH376
- ridingרָכַבrâkab · to rideH7392
- onעַל‛al · uponH5921
- a redאָדֹם'âdôm · redH122
- horseסוּסsûs sûs · horseH5483
- Heהוּאhû' hîy' · he/she/itH1931
- was standingעָמַד‛âmad · to stand: standH5975
- amongבַּ֫יִןbêyn · betweenH996
- the myrtle treesהֲדַסhădas · myrtleH1918
- ·אֲשֶׁר'ăsher · whichH834
- in the hollowמְצֻלָהmetsûllâh · ravineH4699
- and behind himאַחַר'achar · afterH310
- sorrelשָׂרֹקώârûq · sorrelH8320
- and whiteלָבָןlâbân lâbên · whiteH3836
Cross-references for Zechariah 1:8
- Genesis 20:3One night, however, God came to Abimelech in a dream and told him, “You are as good as dead because of the woman you have taken, for she is a married woman.”
- 1 Kings 3:5One night at Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream, and God said, “Ask, and I will give it to you!”
- Job 4:13In disquieting visions in the night, when deep sleep falls on men,
- Daniel 2:19During the night, the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision, and he blessed the God of heaven
- Daniel 7:2Daniel declared: “In my vision in the night I looked, and suddenly the four winds of heaven were churning up the great sea.
- Zechariah 13:7Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd, against the man who is My Companion, declares the LORD of Hosts. Strike the Shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered, and I will turn My hand against the little ones.
- Joshua 5:13Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in His hand. Joshua approached Him and asked, “Are You for us or for our enemies?”
- Psalms 45:3Strap your sword at your side, O mighty warrior; appear in your majesty and splendor.
- Isaiah 63:1Who is this coming from Edom, from Bozrah with crimson-stained garments? Who is this robed in splendor, marching in the greatness of His strength? “It is I, proclaiming vindication, mighty to save.”
- Zechariah 6:2The first chariot had red horses, the second black horses,
- Revelation 6:4Then another horse went forth. It was bright red, and its rider was granted permission to take away peace from the earth and to make men slay one another. And he was given a great sword.
- Revelation 19:19Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies assembled to wage war against the One seated on the horse, and against His army.
- Isaiah 41:19I will plant cedars in the wilderness, acacias, myrtles, and olive trees. I will set cypresses in the desert, elms and boxwood together,
- Isaiah 55:13Instead of the thornbush, the cypress will grow, and instead of the brier, the myrtle will spring up; this will make a name for the LORD, an everlasting sign, never to be destroyed.”
- Isaiah 57:15For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in a high and holy place, and with the oppressed and humble in spirit, to restore the spirit of the lowly and revive the heart of the contrite.
- Revelation 2:1“To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: These are the words of Him who holds the seven stars in His right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands.
Commentaries on Zechariah 1:8
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 8I saw by night - The time was emblematical of the affliction under which the Jews groaned. A man - An angel in the form of a man: supposed to have been the Lord Jesus; who seems to have appeared often in this way, as a prelude to his incarnation; see Joshua 5:13; Ezekiel 1:26; Daniel 7:13; Daniel 10:6. The same, probably, that appeared to Joshua with a drawn sword, as the captain of the Lord's host. Joshua 5:13-15. A red horse - An emblem of war and…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 8I saw in the night - that is, that following on “the twenty-fourth day.” The darkness of the night perhaps was chosen, as agreeing with the dimness of the restored condition. Night too is, Dionysius), “through the silence of the senses and of the fancy, more suited for receiving divine revelations.” A man riding upon a red horse - The man is an angel of God, appearing in form of man, as Daniel says, “The man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 7-17Verses 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…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 8The vision during the night follows a standard pattern: an introductory statement, a description of the vision, the prophet’s request for an interpretation, and an angelic explanation. The myrtle trees were likely in the wooded Kidron Valley outside Jerusalem. The Lord had symbolically returned to the edge of the city. He had not yet entered Jerusalem because the temple was still being rebuilt. The colors of the red, brown, and white horses are not…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 88. by night--The Jews begin their day with sunset; therefore the night which preceded the twenty-fourth day of the month is meant (Zec 1:7). a man--Jehovah, the second person of the Trinity, manifested in man's form, an earnest of the incarnation; called the "angel of Jehovah" (Zec 1:11, 12), "Jehovah the angel of the covenant" (Mal 3:1; compare Ge 16:7 with Zec 1:13; Ge 22:11 with Zec 1:12; Ex 3:2 with Zec 1:4). Being at once divine and human, He must be…Read the comment
Topics related to Zechariah 1:8
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Zechariah 1
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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