English Standard Version
Zechariah 1:20
20Then the Lord showed me four craftsmen.
Zechariah 1:20 in other versions
Context of Zechariah 1:20
18And I lifted my eyes and saw, and behold, four horns! 19And I said to the angel who talked with me, "What are these?" And he said to me, "These are the horns that have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem." Then the Lord showed me four craftsmen. 21And I said, "What are these coming to do?" He said, "These are the horns that scattered Judah, so that no one raised his head. And these have come to terrify them, to cast down the horns of the nations who lifted up their horns against the land of Judah to scatter it."
Read all of Zechariah 1Zechariah 1:20 word by word
וַיַּרְאֵ֣נִי יְהוָ֔ה אַרְבָּעָ֖ה חָרָשִֽׁים׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Zechariah 1:20
- Zechariah 9:12Return to your stronghold, O prisoners of hope; today I declare that I will restore to you double.
- Zechariah 10:3"My anger is hot against the shepherds, and I will punish the leaders; for the Lord of hosts cares for his flock, the house of Judah, and will make them like his majestic steed in battle.
- Zechariah 12:2"Behold, I am about to make Jerusalem a cup of staggering to all the surrounding peoples. The siege of Jerusalem will also be against Judah.
- Deuteronomy 33:25Your bars shall be iron and bronze, and as your days, so shall your strength be.
- Judges 11:16but when they came up from Egypt, Israel went through the wilderness to the Red Sea and came to Kadesh.
- 1 Samuel 12:11And the Lord sent Jerubbaal and Barak and Jephthah and Samuel and delivered you out of the hand of your enemies on every side, and you lived in safety.
- Nehemiah 9:27Therefore you gave them into the hand of their enemies, who made them suffer. And in the time of their suffering they cried out to you and you heard them from heaven, and according to your great mercies you gave them saviors who saved them from the hand of their enemies.
- Isaiah 54:15If anyone stirs up strife, it is not from me; whoever stirs up strife with you shall fall because of you.
- Obadiah 1:21Saviors shall go up to Mount Zion to rule Mount Esau, and the kingdom shall be the Lord's.
- Micah 5:5And he shall be their peace. When the Assyrian comes into our land and treads in our palaces, then we will raise against him seven shepherds and eight princes of men;
Commentaries on Zechariah 1:20
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 20Four carpenters - Four other powers, who should defeat the powers intended by the horns. These are the same as the four chariots mentioned Zechariah 6:1-3, Zechariah 6:6, Zechariah 6:7. The first was Nabopolassar, father of Nebuchadnezzar, who overturned the empire of the Assyrians. The second was Cyrus, who destroyed the empire of the Chaldeans. The third was Alexander the Great, who destroyed the empire of the Persians. And the fourth was Ptolemy, who…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. 20The word translated as blacksmiths could refer to any type of craftsman, such as a mason, carpenter, or smith. If the horns representing the nations were metal (see 1 Kings 22:11), then blacksmiths were suitable for the task of destroying them (see 2 Chronicles 24:12; Isaiah 44:12).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2020. four carpenters--or "artificers." The several instrumentalities employed, or to be employed, in crushing the "Gentile" powers which "scattered" Judah, are hereby referred to. For every one of the four horns there was a cleaving "artificer" to beat it down. For every enemy of God's people, God has provided a counteracting power adequate to destroy it.Read the comment
Topics related to Zechariah 1:20
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
English Standard Version — © 2001 Crossway Bibles
Commentaries