King James Version
Zechariah 2
13 verses with commentary
The Vision of the Measuring Line
I lifted up mine eyes again, and looked, and behold a man with a measuring line in his hand.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>I lifted up mine eyes again, and looked, and behold a man with a measuring line in his hand.</strong> Zechariah's third vision introduces <em>ish</em> (אִישׁ, a man) holding <em>chevel middah</em> (חֶבֶל מִדָּה, a measuring line/rope). This figure intends to measure Jerusalem (v. 2), assessing its dimensions for rebuilding. The measuring rope symbolizes planning, construction, and restorat...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**24. Seventy weeks--**namely, of years; literally, "Seventy sevens"; seventy heptads or hebdomads; four hundred ninety years; expressed in a form of "concealed definiteness" [Hengstenberg], a usual way with the prophets. The Babylonian captivity is a turning point in the history of the kingdom of God. It terminated the free Old Testament theocracy. Up to that time Israel, though oppressed at time...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 2
The idolatry of the people. (Hos. 2:1-5) God's judgments against them. (Hos. 2:6-13) His promises of reconciliation. (Hos. 2:14-23)
**Verses 1-5** This chapter continues the figurative address to Israel, in reference to Hosea's wife and children. Let us own and love as brethren, all whom the Lord seems to put among his children, and encourage them in that they have received mercy. ...
Read full commentary →Then said I, Whither goest thou? And he said unto me, To measure Jerusalem, to see what is the breadth thereof, and what is the length thereof.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Then said I, Whither goest thou? And he said unto me, To measure Jerusalem, to see what is the breadth thereof, and what is the length thereof.</strong> Zechariah's inquiry reveals the man's purpose: measuring Jerusalem's <em>rochbah</em> (רָחְבָּהּ, breadth/width) and <em>orkhah</em> (אָרְכָּהּ, length). This architectural assessment determines building parameters—how large will restored ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**25. from the going forth of the commandment--**namely the command from God, whence originated the command of the Persian king (Ezr 6:14). Auberlen remarks, there is but one Apocalypse in each Testament. Its purpose in each is to sum up all the preceding prophecies, previous to the "troublous times" of the Gentiles, in which there was to be no revelation. Daniel sums up all the previous Messianic...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 2
The idolatry of the people. (Hos. 2:1-5) God's judgments against them. (Hos. 2:6-13) His promises of reconciliation. (Hos. 2:14-23)
**Verses 1-5** This chapter continues the figurative address to Israel, in reference to Hosea's wife and children. Let us own and love as brethren, all whom the Lord seems to put among his children, and encourage them in that they have received mercy. ...
Read full commentary →And, behold, the angel that talked with me went forth, and another angel went out to meet him,
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And, behold, the angel that talked with me went forth, and another angel went out to meet him.</strong> The narrative introduces multiple angelic figures coordinating to deliver God's message. <em>Hamal'akh asher dover bi</em> (הַמַּלְאָךְ אֲשֶׁר דֹּבֵר בִּי, the angel who talked with me) is Zechariah's interpreting angel who guides him through the visions. <em>Mal'akh acher</em> (מַלְאָךְ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**26. after threescore and two weeks--**rather, the threescore and two weeks. In this verse, and in Da 9:27, Messiah is made the prominent subject, while the fate of the city and sanctuary are secondary, being mentioned only in the second halves of the verses. Messiah appears in a twofold aspect, salvation to believers, judgment on unbelievers (Lu 2:34; compare Mal 3:1-6; 4:1-3). He repeatedly, in...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 2
The idolatry of the people. (Hos. 2:1-5) God's judgments against them. (Hos. 2:6-13) His promises of reconciliation. (Hos. 2:14-23)
**Verses 1-5** This chapter continues the figurative address to Israel, in reference to Hosea's wife and children. Let us own and love as brethren, all whom the Lord seems to put among his children, and encourage them in that they have received mercy. ...
Read full commentary →And said unto him, Run, speak to this young man, saying, Jerusalem shall be inhabited as towns without walls for the multitude of men and cattle therein:
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And said unto him, Run, speak to this young man, saying, Jerusalem shall be inhabited as towns without walls for the multitude of men and cattle therein.</strong> The urgent command <em>ruts</em> (רוּץ, run!) indicates immediate, pressing communication. The message must reach <em>hana'ar halaz</em> (הַנַּעַר הַלָּז, this young man—likely the man with measuring line) before he limits Jerusa...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**27. he shall confirm the covenant--**Christ. The confirmation of the covenant is assigned to Him also elsewhere. Is 42:6, "I will give thee for a covenant of the people" (that is, He in whom the covenant between Israel and God is personally expressed); compare Lu 22:20, "The new testament in My blood"; Mal 3:1, "the angel of the covenant"; Jr 31:31-34, describes the Messianic covenant in full. C...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 2
The idolatry of the people. (Hos. 2:1-5) God's judgments against them. (Hos. 2:6-13) His promises of reconciliation. (Hos. 2:14-23)
**Verses 1-5** This chapter continues the figurative address to Israel, in reference to Hosea's wife and children. Let us own and love as brethren, all whom the Lord seems to put among his children, and encourage them in that they have received mercy. ...
Read full commentary →For I, saith the LORD, will be unto her a wall of fire round about, and will be the glory in the midst of her.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>For I, saith the LORD, will be unto her a wall of fire round about, and will be the glory in the midst of her.</strong> God Himself promises to be <em>chomat esh saviv</em> (חוֹמַת אֵשׁ סָבִיב, a wall of fire round about). Fire symbolizes both protection and judgment—enemies cannot penetrate it without being consumed. Unlike stone walls that can be breached, God's fiery presence provides i...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 2
The idolatry of the people. (Hos. 2:1-5) God's judgments against them. (Hos. 2:6-13) His promises of reconciliation. (Hos. 2:14-23)
**Verses 1-5** This chapter continues the figurative address to Israel, in reference to Hosea's wife and children. Let us own and love as brethren, all whom the Lord seems to put among his children, and encourage them in that they have received mercy. ...
Read full commentary →The Call to Flee Babylon
Ho, ho, come forth, and flee from the land of the north, saith the LORD: for I have spread you abroad as the four winds of the heaven, saith the LORD.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Ho, ho, come forth, and flee from the land of the north, saith the LORD: for I have spread you abroad as the four winds of the heaven, saith the LORD.</strong> The double interjection <em>hoy hoy</em> (הוֹי הוֹי) functions as an urgent call or alarm—attention! Emergency! God calls exiles still in <em>eretz tsafon</em> (אֶרֶץ צָפוֹן, the land of the north—Babylon/Mesopotamia) to <em>nusu</e...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
CHAPTER 10 Da 10:1-21. Daniel Comforted by an Angelic Vision.
The tenth through twelfth chapters more fully describe the vision in the eighth chapter by a second vision on the same subject, just as the vision in the seventh chapter explains more fully that in the second. The tenth chapter is the prologue; the eleventh, the prophecy itself; and the twelfth, the epilogue. The tenth chapter unfolds...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 6-13** God threatens what he would do with this treacherous, idolatrous people. They did not turn, therefore all this came upon them; and it is written for admonition to us. If lesser difficulties be got over, God will raise greater. The most resolute in sinful pursuits, are commonly most crossed in them. The way of God and duty is often hedged about with thorns, but we have reason to thi...
Read full commentary →Deliver thyself, O Zion, that dwellest with the daughter of Babylon.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Deliver thyself, O Zion, that dwellest with the daughter of Babylon.</strong> The urgent imperative <em>himmalet</em> (הִמָּלֵט, deliver yourself/escape/save yourself) intensifies the call to flee. <em>Tziyon</em> (צִיּוֹן, Zion) addresses Jews by their covenant identity—you are Zion's people, not Babylon's residents. The phrase <em>yoshevet bat-Bavel</em> (יוֹשֶׁבֶת בַּת־בָּבֶל, dwelling ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**2. mourning--**that is, afflicting myself by fasting from "pleasant bread, flesh and wine" (Da 10:3), as a sign of sorrow, not for its own sake. Compare Mt 9:14, "fast," answering to "mourn" (Da 10:15). Compare 1Co 8:8; 1Ti 4:3, which prove that "fasting" is not an indispensable Christian obligation; but merely an outward expression of sorrow, and separation from ordinary worldly enjoyments, in ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 6-13** God threatens what he would do with this treacherous, idolatrous people. They did not turn, therefore all this came upon them; and it is written for admonition to us. If lesser difficulties be got over, God will raise greater. The most resolute in sinful pursuits, are commonly most crossed in them. The way of God and duty is often hedged about with thorns, but we have reason to thi...
Read full commentary →For thus saith the LORD of hosts; After the glory hath he sent me unto the nations which spoiled you: for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye.
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KJV Study Commentary
God's protective promise: 'For thus saith the LORD of hosts; After the glory hath he sent me unto the nations which spoiled you: for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye.' The Hebrew 'nogea bakem' (he who touches you) 'nogea be-babat eyno' (touches the pupil/apple of his eye). The pupil is the eye's most sensitive, protected part—touching it provokes instant, involuntary protective r...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**3. no pleasant bread--**"unleavened bread, even the bread of affliction" (De 16:3).
**anoint--**The Persians largely used unguents.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 6-13** God threatens what he would do with this treacherous, idolatrous people. They did not turn, therefore all this came upon them; and it is written for admonition to us. If lesser difficulties be got over, God will raise greater. The most resolute in sinful pursuits, are commonly most crossed in them. The way of God and duty is often hedged about with thorns, but we have reason to thi...
Read full commentary →For, behold, I will shake mine hand upon them, and they shall be a spoil to their servants: and ye shall know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>For, behold, I will shake mine hand upon them, and they shall be a spoil to their servants</strong>—Divine reversal where Israel's oppressors become plunder to those they enslaved. The Hebrew <em>nōphēph</em> (נוֹפֵף, 'to shake/wave the hand') depicts God's sovereign gesture commanding judgment, like a commander signaling attack. This continues the promise from verses 7-8 where God declare...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**4. first month--**Nisan, the month most suited for considering Israel's calamity, being that in which the feast of unleavened bread reminded them of their Egyptian bondage. Daniel mourned not merely for the seven days appointed (Ex 12:18), from the evening of the fourteenth to the twenty-first of Nisan, but thrice seven days, to mark extraordinary sorrow. His mourning ended on the twenty-first d...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 6-13** God threatens what he would do with this treacherous, idolatrous people. They did not turn, therefore all this came upon them; and it is written for admonition to us. If lesser difficulties be got over, God will raise greater. The most resolute in sinful pursuits, are commonly most crossed in them. The way of God and duty is often hedged about with thorns, but we have reason to thi...
Read full commentary →Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion: for, lo, I come, and I will dwell in the midst of thee, saith the LORD.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion: for, lo, I come, and I will dwell in the midst of thee, saith the LORD</strong>—From judgment (v. 9) to jubilation. The imperatives <em>ronnī</em> (רָנִּי, 'sing out') and <em>simchī</em> (שִׂמְחִי, 'rejoice') call for exuberant worship in response to Yahweh's promised presence. <em>Bat-Tziyyon</em> (בַּת־צִיּוֹן, 'Daughter of Zion') personifies Jerusa...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**5. lifted up mine eyes--**from the ground on which they had been fixed in his mourning.
**certain man--**literally, "one man." An angel of the highest order; for in Da 8:16 he commands Gabriel to make Daniel to understand the vision, and in Da 12:6 one of the two angels inquires of him how long it would be till the end predicted.
**linen--**the raiment of priests, being the symbol of sanctit...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 6-13** God threatens what he would do with this treacherous, idolatrous people. They did not turn, therefore all this came upon them; and it is written for admonition to us. If lesser difficulties be got over, God will raise greater. The most resolute in sinful pursuits, are commonly most crossed in them. The way of God and duty is often hedged about with thorns, but we have reason to thi...
Read full commentary →And many nations shall be joined to the LORD in that day, and shall be my people: and I will dwell in the midst of thee, and thou shalt know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me unto thee.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And many nations shall be joined to the LORD in that day, and shall be my people</strong>—Stunning universalism: Gentile inclusion in the covenant. The Hebrew <em>nilwū</em> (נִלְווּ, 'shall be joined/attached') depicts nations grafting themselves onto Israel's covenant relationship. This echoes Isaiah's vision of nations streaming to Zion (Isaiah 2:2-3) and anticipates Paul's olive tree m...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**6. beryl--**literally, "Tarshish," in Spain. The beryl, identical with the chrysolite or topaz, was imported into the East from Tarshish, and therefore is called "the Tarshish stone."
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 6-13** God threatens what he would do with this treacherous, idolatrous people. They did not turn, therefore all this came upon them; and it is written for admonition to us. If lesser difficulties be got over, God will raise greater. The most resolute in sinful pursuits, are commonly most crossed in them. The way of God and duty is often hedged about with thorns, but we have reason to thi...
Read full commentary →And the LORD shall inherit Judah his portion in the holy land, and shall choose Jerusalem again.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And the LORD shall inherit Judah his portion in the holy land</strong>—God possesses His people rather than being possessed by them. The verb <em>nāchal</em> (נָחַל, 'inherit/possess as inheritance') typically describes Israel inheriting Canaan, but here the roles reverse: Yahweh inherits Judah as His <em>cheleq</em> (חֵלֶק, 'portion/allotment'). This recalls Deuteronomy 32:9, 'For the LOR...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**7. they fled--**terrified by the presence of the presence of the angel.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 6-13** God threatens what he would do with this treacherous, idolatrous people. They did not turn, therefore all this came upon them; and it is written for admonition to us. If lesser difficulties be got over, God will raise greater. The most resolute in sinful pursuits, are commonly most crossed in them. The way of God and duty is often hedged about with thorns, but we have reason to thi...
Read full commentary →Be silent, O all flesh, before the LORD: for he is raised up out of his holy habitation. his: Heb. the habitation of his holiness
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Be silent, O all flesh, before the LORD: for he is raised up out of his holy habitation</strong>—The chapter climaxes with a call to cosmic reverence. <em>Has</em> (הַס, 'hush/be silent') is an interjection demanding immediate silence, found in only seven Old Testament passages, each marking awesome divine intervention (Habakkuk 2:20; Zephaniah 1:7). <em>Kol-bāsār</em> (כָּל־בָּשָׂר, 'all ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**8. comeliness--**literally, "vigor," that is, lively expression and color.
**into corruption--**"deadliness," that is, death-like paleness (Da 5:6; 7:28).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 6-13** God threatens what he would do with this treacherous, idolatrous people. They did not turn, therefore all this came upon them; and it is written for admonition to us. If lesser difficulties be got over, God will raise greater. The most resolute in sinful pursuits, are commonly most crossed in them. The way of God and duty is often hedged about with thorns, but we have reason to thi...
Read full commentary →