Third Vision: Surveyor

[a]I looked up and saw a man with a measuring line in his hand. I asked, “Where are you going?”

He answered me, “To measure Jerusalem to determine its width and length.”

Then the angel who was speaking with me went out, and another angel went out to meet him. He said to him, “Run and tell this young man: Jerusalem will be inhabited without walls because of the number of people and livestock in it.”(A) The declaration of the Lord: “I will be a wall(B) of fire around it, and I will be the glory within it.”

“Get up! Leave the land of the north”(C)—this is the Lord’s declaration—“for I have scattered you like the four winds of heaven”—this is the Lord’s declaration. “Go, Zion! Escape, you who are living with Daughter Babylon.” For the Lord of Hosts says this: “He has sent Me[b] for His glory against the nations who are plundering you, for anyone who touches you touches the pupil[c] of His[d] eye. I will move against them with My[e] power, and they will become plunder for their own servants.(D) Then you will know that the Lord of Hosts has sent Me.[f]

10 “Daughter Zion, shout for joy and be glad, for I am coming to dwell among you”—this is the Lord’s declaration. 11 “Many nations will join themselves to the Lord on that day and become My[g] people.(E) I will dwell among you, and you will know that the Lord of Hosts has sent Me[h] to you. 12 The Lord will take possession of Judah as His portion in the Holy Land, and He will once again choose Jerusalem.(F) 13 Let all people be silent(G) before the Lord, for He is coming from His holy dwelling.”

Footnotes

  1. Zechariah 2:1 Zch 2:5 in Hb
  2. Zechariah 2:8 Or me
  3. Zechariah 2:8 Or apple
  4. Zechariah 2:8 Ancient Jewish tradition reads My
  5. Zechariah 2:9 Or my
  6. Zechariah 2:9 Or me
  7. Zechariah 2:11 LXX, Syr read His
  8. Zechariah 2:11 Or me

The Vision of the Measuring Line

[a]Then I looked up and saw a man with a measuring line in his hand. I asked, “Where are you going?”

He responded, “To measure Jerusalem in order to determine its width and length.”

Look! That angel who was talking to me left, and another angel came forward to meet him. That other angel told him, “Run and tell that young man: ‘Jerusalem will be an inhabited city without walls due to the number of people and livestock within it. I myself will be an encircling rampart of fire,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will be the glory in her midst.’

“‘Come now! Come now! Flee from the land of the north,’ declares the Lord, ‘for I have dispersed you like the four winds of heaven,’ declares the Lord.

“‘Come now, Zion! Escape, you who are living with the residents of Babylon. For this is what the Lord of the Heavenly Armies says: “In pursuit of glory I was sent to the nations who plundered you, because whoever injures you injures the pupil of my eye. And look, I will shake my fist over them, and they will become plunder for their former[b] slaves. And you will know that the Lord of the Heavenly Armies sent me.”’”

The Lord will Live in Zion

10 “Sing and rejoice, daughter of Zion! Take note! I am coming to live in your midst,” declares the Lord. 11 “Many nations will cling to the Lord at that time[c] and will become my people. I will live in your midst, and you will know that the Lord of the Heavenly Armies has sent me to you. 12 The Lord will take possession of Judah as his own property in the Holy Land—and he will choose Jerusalem again. 13 Be silent, every living thing, in the presence of the Lord, because he is emerging[d] from his Holy Place.”

Footnotes

  1. Zechariah 2:1 This v. is 2:5 in MT, and so throughout the chapter
  2. Zechariah 2:9 The Heb. lacks former
  3. Zechariah 2:11 Lit. day
  4. Zechariah 2:13 Lit. awakened