New English Translation
Zechariah 1:8
8I was attentive that night and saw a man seated on a red horse that stood among some myrtle trees in the ravine. 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 have my words and statutes, which I commanded my servants the prophets, not outlived your fathers? Then they paid attention and confessed, ‘The Lord who rules over all has indeed done what he said he would do to us, because of our sinful ways.’” 7On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, the month Shebat, in Darius’ second year, the word of the Lord came to the prophet Zechariah son of Berechiah son of Iddo, as follows: I was attentive that night and saw a man seated on a red horse that stood among some myrtle trees in the ravine. Behind him were red, sorrel, and white horses. 9Then I asked one nearby, “What are these, sir?” The angelic messenger who replied to me said, “I will show you what these are.” 10Then the man standing among the myrtle trees spoke up and said, “These are the ones whom the Lord has sent to walk about on 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 appeared to Abimelech in a dream at night and said to him, “You are as good as dead because of the woman you have taken, for she is someone else’s wife.”
- 1 Kings 3:5One night in Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream. God said, “Tell me what I should give you.”
- Job 4:13In the troubling thoughts of the dreams in the night when a deep sleep falls on men,
- Daniel 2:19Then in a night vision the mystery was revealed to Daniel. So Daniel praised the God of heaven,
- Daniel 7:2Daniel explained: “I was watching in my vision during the night as the four winds of the sky were stirring up the great sea.
- Zechariah 13:7“Awake, sword, against my shepherd, against the man who is my associate,” says the Lord who rules over all. Strike the shepherd that the flock may be scattered; I will turn my hand against the insignificant ones.
- 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?”
- Psalms 45:3Strap your sword to your thigh, O warrior! Appear in your majestic splendor!
- Isaiah 63:1Who is this who comes from Edom, dressed in bright red, coming from Bozrah? Who is this one wearing royal attire, who marches confidently because of his great strength? “It is I, the one who announces vindication, and who is able to deliver!”
- Zechariah 6:2Harnessed to the first chariot were red horses, to the second black horses,
- Revelation 6:4And another horse, fiery red, came out, and the one who rode it was granted permission to take peace from the earth, so that people would butcher one another, and he was given a huge sword.
- Revelation 19:19Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies assembled to do battle with the one who rode the horse and with his army.
- Isaiah 41:19I will make cedars, acacias, myrtles, and olive trees grow in the wilderness; I will make evergreens, firs, and cypresses grow together in the desert.
- Isaiah 55:13Evergreens will grow in place of thorn bushes, firs will grow in place of nettles; they will be a monument to the Lord, a permanent reminder that will remain.
- Isaiah 57:15For this is what the high and exalted one says, the one who rules forever, whose name is holy: “I dwell in an exalted and holy place, but also with the discouraged and humiliated, in order to cheer up the humiliated and to encourage the discouraged.
- Revelation 2:1“To the angel of the church in Ephesus, write the following: “This is the solemn pronouncement of the one who has a firm grasp on the seven stars in his right hand – the one 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
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