Zechariah
Chapter 2
Second Vision: The Four Horns and the Four Smiths
I looked up and saw four horns.
I asked the angel who was speaking to me what they were, and he replied:
“These horns are the nations that scattered Judah and Jerusalem.”
The Lord then showed me four blacksmiths, and I asked:
“What are they coming to do?”
He answered:
“Here are the horns that scattered Judah so that no one dared lift his head. But these blacksmiths have come to strike down the power of the nations that scattered the people of Judah.”
Raising my eyes again, I saw a man holding a measuring line in his hand. I asked:
“Where are you going?”
He replied:
“I’m going to measure Jerusalem, to find its width and its length.”
As the angel who spoke to me stepped forward, another angel met him
and said:
“Run and tell this to that young man:
‘Jerusalem will remain unwalled
because of its many people
and livestock.’
For this is the word of the Lord:
I, myself, will be around her
like a wall of fire,
and also within her, in glory.”
“Come, come!
Flee from the land of the north,”
says the Lord, to all those
whom he scattered
to the four winds of heaven.
“Come, escape, O Zion,
you who dwell in Babylon.”
For thus the Lord Sabaoth declares,
after his glory sent me
to condemn the nations
that have plundered you:
“Whoever touches you
touches the apple of my eye.
Look, I will raise my hand
against those nations,
and they will be plundered
by their slaves.”
Thus, you will know
that the Lord Sabaoth has sent me.
“Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion,
for I am about to come,
I shall dwell among you,”
says the Lord.
“On that day, many nations
will join the Lord
and become my people,
but my dwelling will be among you.”
The people of Judah
will be for the Lord
as his portion in his holy land.
He will choose Jerusalem once again.
Remain silent in the Lord’s presence,
for he is coming,
having risen from his holy dwelling.
Commentaries
Eight Visions.
The eight visions in this section are organized in a concentric or chiastic structure. The preceding verses (1:1-6) serve as an introduction, confirming the covenant (1:1-6), and conclude with a reference to the covenant established through the priest Joshua (6:12-15). In these visions, the Lord is presented as a warrior fighting against the kingdoms of the earth.
Second: The Horns and the Smiths.
The four horns represent the nations that caused the exile of Judah. The number four refers to the cardinal points from which these peoples attacked the kingdom of Judah. This primarily refers to Babylon, but also to other peoples who took advantage of Judah’s defeat, including the Philistines, Ammonites, Edomites, and Moabites. Men skilled in blacksmithing were highly valued for the production of weapons with which, Zechariah prophesies, these peoples will be defeated.
Third: The Measuring Line.
This is an instrument used to prepare for the reconstruction of the city walls (1-2). The angel says that such a line is not necessary because the new Jerusalem will be an open city (3-4), protected by the glory of the Lord (9). The Lord will dwell in a Jerusalem open to “many peoples” who will also belong to him (15).