New Living Translation
Zechariah 1:20
20Then the Lord showed me four blacksmiths.
Zechariah 1:20 in other versions
Context of Zechariah 1:20
18Then I looked up and saw four animal horns. 19“What are these?” I asked the angel who was talking with me. He replied, “These horns represent the nations that scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.” Then the Lord showed me four blacksmiths. 21“What are these men coming to do?” I asked. The angel replied, “These four horns—these nations—scattered and humbled Judah. Now these blacksmiths have come to terrify those nations and throw them down and destroy them.”
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 9:12Come back to the place of safety, all you prisoners who still have hope! I promise this very day that I will repay two blessings for each of your troubles.
- Zechariah 10:3“My anger burns against your shepherds, and I will punish these leaders. For the Lord of Heaven’s Armies has arrived to look after Judah, his flock. He will make them strong and glorious, like a proud warhorse in battle.
- Zechariah 12:2I will make Jerusalem like an intoxicating drink that makes the nearby nations stagger when they send their armies to besiege Jerusalem and Judah.
- Deuteronomy 33:25May the bolts of your gates be of iron and bronze; may you be secure all your days.”
- Judges 11:16When the people of Israel arrived at Kadesh on their journey from Egypt after crossing the Red Sea,
- 1 Samuel 12:11Then the Lord sent Gideon, Bedan, Jephthah, and Samuel to save you, and you lived in safety.
- Nehemiah 9:27So you handed them over to their enemies, who made them suffer. But in their time of trouble they cried to you, and you heard them from heaven. In your great mercy, you sent them liberators who rescued them from their enemies.
- Isaiah 54:15If any nation comes to fight you, it is not because I sent them. Whoever attacks you will go down in defeat.
- Obadiah 1:21Those who have been rescued will go up to Mount Zion in Jerusalem to rule over the mountains of Edom. And the Lord himself will be king!”
- Micah 5:5And he will be the source of peace. When the Assyrians invade our land and break through our defenses, we will appoint seven rulers to watch over us, eight princes to lead us.
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
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