New King James Version
Zechariah 1:8
8I 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.
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 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
6Yet surely My words and My statutes, Which I commanded My servants the prophets, Did they not overtake your fathers? “So they returned and said: ‘Just as the Lord of hosts determined to do to us, According to our ways and according to our deeds, So He has dealt with us.’ ” ’ ” 7On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, which is the month Shebat, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zechariah the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet: 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. 9Then I said, “My lord, what are these?” So the angel who talked with me said to me, “I will show you what they are.” 10And the man who stood among the myrtle trees answered and said, “These are the ones whom the Lord has sent to walk to and fro throughout 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, “Indeed 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 shall I give you?”
- Job 4:13In disquieting thoughts from the visions of the night, When deep sleep falls on men,
- Daniel 2:19Then the secret was revealed to Daniel in a night vision. So Daniel blessed the God of heaven.
- Daniel 7:2Daniel spoke, saying, “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 is My Companion,” Says the Lord of hosts. “Strike the Shepherd, And the sheep will be scattered; Then I will turn My hand against the little ones.
- Joshua 5:13And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, a Man stood opposite him with His sword drawn 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 upon Your thigh, O Mighty One, With Your glory and Your majesty.
- Isaiah 63:1Who is this who comes from Edom, With dyed garments from Bozrah, This One who is glorious in His apparel, Traveling in the greatness of His strength?— “I who speak in righteousness, mighty to save.”
- Zechariah 6:2With the first chariot were red horses, with the second chariot black horses,
- Revelation 6:4Another horse, fiery red, went out. And it was granted to the one who sat on it to take peace from the earth, and that people should kill one another; and there was given to him a great sword.
- Revelation 19:19And I saw the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army.
- Isaiah 41:19I will plant in the wilderness the cedar and the acacia tree, The myrtle and the oil tree; I will set in the desert the cypress tree and the pine And the box tree together,
- Isaiah 55:13Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress tree, And instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree; And it shall be to the Lord for a name, For an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.”
- Isaiah 57:15For thus says the High and Lofty One Who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, With him who has a contrite and humble spirit, To revive the spirit of the humble, And to revive the heart of the contrite ones.
- Revelation 2:1“To the angel of the church of Ephesus write, ‘These things says He who holds the seven stars in His right hand, who walks in the midst of 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
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries