Christian Standard Bible
Zechariah 1:18
18Then I looked up and saw four horns.
Zechariah 1:18 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Then lifted I up mine eyes, and saw, and behold four horns.
- New International Version (NIV)Then I looked up, and there before me were four horns.
- English Standard Version (ESV)And I lifted my eyes and saw, and behold, four horns!
- New King James Version (NKJV)Then I raised my eyes and looked, and there were four horns.
Context of Zechariah 1:18
16Therefore, this is what the Lord says: In mercy, I have returned to Jerusalem; my house will be rebuilt within it — this is the declaration of the Lord of Armies — and a measuring line will be stretched out over Jerusalem. 17“Proclaim further: This is what the Lord of Armies says: My cities will again overflow with prosperity; the Lord will once more comfort Zion and again choose Jerusalem.” Then I looked up and saw four horns. 19So I asked the angel who was speaking with me, “What are these?” And he said to me, “These are the horns that scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.” 20Then the Lord showed me four craftsmen.
Read all of Zechariah 1Zechariah 1:18 word by word
וָאֶשָּׂ֥א אֶת־עֵינַ֖י וָאֵ֑רֶא וְהִנֵּ֖ה אַרְבַּ֥ע קְרָנֽוֹת׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Zechariah 1:18
- Zechariah 2:1I looked up and saw a man with a measuring line in his hand.
- Zechariah 5:1I looked up again and saw a flying scroll.
- Joshua 5:13When 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?”
- Daniel 8:3I looked up, and there was a ram standing beside the canal. He had two horns. The two horns were long, but one was longer than the other, and the longer one came up last.
- 2 Kings 15:29In the days of King Pekah of Israel, King Tiglath-pileser of Assyria came and captured Ijon, Abel-beth-maacah, Janoah, Kedesh, Hazor, Gilead, and Galilee — all the land of Naphtali — and deported the people to Assyria.
- 2 Kings 17:1In the twelfth year of Judah’s King Ahaz, Hoshea son of Elah became king over Israel in Samaria, and he reigned nine years.
- 2 Kings 18:9In the fourth year of King Hezekiah, which was the seventh year of Israel’s King Hoshea son of Elah, Assyria’s King Shalmaneser marched against Samaria and besieged it.
- 2 Kings 24:1During Jehoiakim’s reign, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon attacked. Jehoiakim became his vassal for three years, and then he turned and rebelled against him.
- Daniel 2:37Your Majesty, you are king of kings. The God of the heavens has given you sovereignty, power, strength, and glory.
- Daniel 7:3Four huge beasts came up from the sea, each different from the other.
- Daniel 11:28The king of the North will return to his land with great wealth, but his heart will be set against the holy covenant; he will take action, then return to his own land.
Commentaries on Zechariah 1:18
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 18And behold four horns - Denoting four powers by which the Jews had been oppressed; the Assyrians, Persians, Chaldeans, and Egyptians. Or these enemies may be termed four, in reference to the four cardinal points of the heavens, whence they came: - North. The Assyrians and Babylonians. East. The Moabites and Ammonites. South. The Egyptians. West. The Philistines. See Martin.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 18And I lifted up mine eyes - oCyril on Zechariah 2:1: “Not those of the body (for such visions are invisible to the eyes of the flesh), but rather the inner eyes of the heart and mind.” It seems as though, at the close of each vision, Zechariah sank in meditation on what had been shown him; from which he was again roused by the exhibition of another vision. I saw four horns - The mention of the horns naturally suggests the thought of the creatures which…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 18-21Verses 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…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 18-19Then I looked up suggests the prophet was interrupted by another vision while still focused on the previous one (also in Zechariah 2:1; 5:1; 6:1). Horns symbolized power and authority in the biblical world and might represent an individual ruler (see Daniel 7:8; 8:8), a family line of kings, or nations.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 18-2118. four horns--To a pastoral people like the Jews the horns of the strongest in the herd naturally suggested a symbol of power and pride of conscious strength: hence the ruling powers of the world (Re 17:3, 12). The number four in Zechariah's time referred to the four cardinal points of the horizon. Wherever God's people turned, there were foes to encounter (Ne 4:7); the Assyrian, Chaldean, and Samaritan on the north; Egypt and Arabia on the south…Read the comment
Topics related to Zechariah 1:18
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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