English Standard Version
Zechariah 1:8
8"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.
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.
- 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.
- New Living Translation (NLT)In a vision during the night, I saw a man sitting on a red horse that was standing among some myrtle trees in a small valley. Behind him were riders on red, brown, and white horses.
Context of Zechariah 1:8
6But my words and my statutes, which I commanded my servants the prophets, did they not overtake your fathers? So they repented and said, 'As the Lord of hosts purposed to deal with us for our ways and deeds, so has he dealt with us.'" 7On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, which is the month of Shebat, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to the prophet Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, son of Iddo, saying, "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. 9Then I said, 'What are these, my lord?' The angel who talked with me said to me, 'I will show you what they are.' 10So the man who was standing among the myrtle trees answered, 'These are they whom 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
Words taken from the KJV.
- I sawרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seerH7200
- by nightלַ֫יְלָהlayil lêyl layelâh · nightH3915
- and behold a manאִישׁ'îysh · manH376
- ridingרָכַבrâkab · to rideH7392
- upon a redאָדֹם'âdôm · redH122
- horseסוּסsûs sûs · horseH5483
- and he stoodעָמַד‛âmad · to stand: standH5975
- among the myrtle treesהֲדַסhădas · myrtleH1918
- in the bottomמְצֻלָהmetsûllâh · ravineH4699
- and behindאַחַר'achar · afterH310
- speckledשָׂרֹקώârûq · sorrelH8320
- and whiteלָבָןlâbân lâbên · whiteH3836
Cross-references for Zechariah 1:8
- Genesis 20:3But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night and said to him, "Behold, you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is a man's wife."
- 1 Kings 3:5At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night, and God said, "Ask what I shall give you."
- Job 4:13Amid thoughts from visions of the night, when deep sleep falls on men,
- Daniel 2:19Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision of the night. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven.
- Daniel 7:2Daniel declared, "I saw in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the great sea.
- Zechariah 13:7"Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, against the man who stands next to me," declares the Lord of hosts. "Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered; I will turn my hand against the little ones.
- Joshua 5:13When Joshua was by Jericho, he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing before him with his drawn sword in his hand. And Joshua went to him and said to him, "Are you for us, or for our adversaries?"
- Psalms 45:3Gird your sword on your thigh, O mighty one, in your splendor and majesty!
- Isaiah 63:1Who is this who comes from Edom, in crimsoned garments from Bozrah, he who is splendid in his apparel, marching in the greatness of his strength? "It is I, speaking in righteousness, mighty to save."
- Zechariah 6:2The first chariot had red horses, the second black horses,
- Revelation 6:4And out came another horse, bright red. Its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people should slay one another, and he was given a great sword.
- Revelation 19:19And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies gathered to make war against him who was sitting on the horse and against his army.
- Isaiah 41:19I will put in the wilderness the cedar, the acacia, the myrtle, and the olive. I will set in the desert the cypress, the plane and the pine together,
- Isaiah 55:13Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress; instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle; and it shall make a name for the Lord, an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off."
- Isaiah 57:15For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: "I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite.
- Revelation 2:1"To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: 'The words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who 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
English Standard Version — © 2001 Crossway Bibles
Commentaries