New English Translation
Zechariah 1:18
18(2:1) Once again I looked and this time I 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
16“‘Therefore,’ says the Lord, ‘I have become compassionate toward Jerusalem and will rebuild my temple in it,’ says the Lord who rules over all. ‘Once more a surveyor’s measuring line will be stretched out over Jerusalem.’ 17Speak up again with the message of the Lord who rules over all: ‘My cities will once more overflow with prosperity, and once more the Lord will comfort Zion and validate his choice of Jerusalem.’” (2:1) Once again I looked and this time I saw four horns. 19So I asked the angelic messenger who spoke with me, “What are these?” He replied, “These are the horns that have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.” 20Next the Lord showed me four blacksmiths.
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 2:1(2:5) I looked again, and there was a man with a measuring line in his hand.
- Zechariah 5:1Then I turned to look, and there was a flying scroll!
- Joshua 5:13When Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him holding a drawn sword. Joshua approached him and asked him, “Are you on our side or allied with our enemies?”
- Daniel 8:3I looked up and saw a ram with two horns standing at the canal. Its two horns were both long, but one was longer than the other. The longer one was coming up after the shorter one.
- 2 Kings 15:29During Pekah’s reign over Israel, King Tiglath-pileser of Assyria came and captured Ijon, Abel Beth Maacah, Janoah, Kedesh, Hazor, Gilead, and Galilee, including all the territory of Naphtali. He deported the people to Assyria.
- 2 Kings 17:1In the twelfth year of King Ahaz’s reign over Judah, Hoshea son of Elah became king over Israel. He reigned in Samaria for nine years.
- 2 Kings 18:9In the fourth year of King Hezekiah’s reign (it was the seventh year of the reign of Israel’s King Hoshea, son of Elah), King Shalmaneser of Assyria marched up against Samaria and besieged it.
- 2 Kings 24:1During Jehoiakim’s reign, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon attacked. Jehoiakim was his subject for three years, but then he rebelled against him.
- Daniel 2:37“You, O king, are the king of kings. The God of heaven has granted you sovereignty, power, strength, and honor.
- Daniel 7:3Then four large beasts came up from the sea; they were different from one another.
- Daniel 11:28Then the king of the north will return to his own land with much property. His mind will be set against the holy covenant. He will take action, and 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
New English Translation — © 1996-2016 Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C.
Commentaries