Zechariah 1:18

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

16Therefore thus saith the LORD: I am returned to Jerusalem with mercies; my house shall be built in it, saith the LORD of hosts, and a line shall be stretched forth over Jerusalem. 17Cry yet again, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts: My cities through prosperity shall yet be spread abroad; and the LORD shall yet comfort Zion, and shall yet choose Jerusalem. And I lifted up mine eyes, and saw, and behold four horns. 19And I said unto the angel that talked with me, What be these? And he answered me, These are the horns which have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem. 20And the LORD shewed me four smiths.

Zechariah 1:18 word by word

וָאֶשָּׂ֥א אֶת־עֵינַ֖י וָאֵ֑רֶא וְהִנֵּ֖ה אַרְבַּ֥ע קְרָנֽוֹת׃Read the interlinear

Cross-references for Zechariah 1:18

• Zechariah 2:1And I lifted up mine eyes, and saw, and behold a man with a measuring line in his hand.
• Zechariah 5:1Then again I lifted up mine eyes, and saw, and behold, a flying roll.
• Joshua 5:13And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries?
• Daniel 8:3Then I lifted up mine eyes, and saw, and, behold, there stood before the river a ram which had two horns: and the two horns were high; but one was higher than the other, and the higher came up last.
• 2 Kings 15:29In the days of Pekah king of Israel came Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, and took Ijon, and Abel-beth-maacah, and Janoah, and Kedesh, and Hazor, and Gilead, and Galilee, all the land of Naphtali; and he carried them captive to Assyria.
• 2 Kings 17:1In the twelfth year of Ahaz king of Judah began Hoshea the son of Elah to reign in Samaria over Israel, and reigned nine years.
• 2 Kings 18:9And it came to pass in the fourth year of king Hezekiah, which was the seventh year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, that Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up against Samaria, and besieged it.
• 2 Kings 24:1In his days Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his servant three years: then he turned and rebelled against him.
• Daniel 2:37Thou, O king, art king of kings, unto whom the God of heaven hath given the kingdom, the power, and the strength, and the glory;
• Daniel 7:3And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another.
• Daniel 11:28Then shall he return into his land with great substance; and his heart shall be against the holy covenant; and he shall do his pleasure, and 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

• Horn
• Israel, Prophecies Concerning
• Vision

In the dictionaries

• Angel
• Horn
• Bible, the
• Deliver
• Joel (2)
• Joshua (3)
• Rid; Riddance
• Zechariah, Book of

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