Zechariah
Chapter 2
Second: The Horns and the Smiths
I looked up and saw four horns. I asked the angel who spoke to me what they were, and he answered:
“These horns are the nations that scattered Judah and Jerusalem.”
Then the Lord 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 destroy the power of the nations that dispersed the people of Judah.”
Third: The Measuring Line
Raising my eyes again, I saw a man holding a measuring line. I asked: “Where are you going?”
He answered: “I’m going to measure Jerusalem, to determine its width and length.”
As the angel who was speaking to me moved 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 Lord’s word: I, myself, will be around her like a wall of fire, and 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 says, 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 their slaves will plunder them.” 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 will 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 again.
Stay quiet 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).