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I lifted up mine eyes again, and looked, and behold a man with a measuring line in his hand.

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.

And, behold, the angel that talked with me went forth, and another angel went out to meet him,

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:

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.

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.

Deliver thyself, O Zion, that dwellest with the daughter of Babylon.

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.

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.

10 Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion: for, lo, I come, and I will dwell in the midst of thee, saith the Lord.

11 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.

12 And the Lord shall inherit Judah his portion in the holy land, and shall choose Jerusalem again.

13 Be silent, O all flesh, before the Lord: for he is raised up out of his holy habitation.

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

Zechariah’s Third Vision

And I looked up[a] and I saw, and look, a man, and in his hand was a measuring rope! And I asked, “Where are you going?” And he answered me, “To measure Jerusalem to see what is its width and what is its length.” And look, the angel who was talking to me was coming forward, and another angel was coming forward to meet him. And he said to him, “Run, say to that young man, ‘Jerusalem shall be inhabited like villages without walls[b] because of the multitude of people and animals in its midst. And I will be for it a wall of fire all around,’ declares[c] Yahweh, ‘and I will be the glory in its midst.’”

“Woe! Woe! Flee from the land of the north,” declares[d] Yahweh, “for I have scattered you like the four winds of the heavens,” declares[e] Yahweh. “Woe, Zion! Escape, you inhabitants of the daughter of Babylon!” For thus said Yahweh of hosts, after glory[f] he sent me against the nations plundering you: Truly, the one touching you is touching the apple[g] of his eye. “Yes, look! I am going to wave my hand against them, and they will become plunder for their servants, and you will know that Yahweh of hosts has sent me. 10 Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion, for look, I am coming and I will dwell in your midst,” declares[h] Yahweh. 11 “Many nations will join themselves to Yahweh on that day, and they will be my people, and I will dwell in your midst. And you will know that Yahweh of hosts has sent me to you. 12 And Yahweh will inherit Judah as his portion in the holy land,[i] and he will again choose Jerusalem. 13 Be silent, all people,[j] before Yahweh, for he is roused from his holy dwelling.”[k]

Footnotes

  1. Zechariah 2:1 Literally “lifted up my eyes”
  2. Zechariah 2:4 Literally “like open regions”
  3. Zechariah 2:5 Literally “a declaration of”
  4. Zechariah 2:6 Literally “a declaration of”
  5. Zechariah 2:6 Literally “a declaration of”
  6. Zechariah 2:8 The phrase “after glory” is difficult to interpret
  7. Zechariah 2:8 Hebrew “pupil,” but the expression “apple of his eye” has become well-established in English
  8. Zechariah 2:10 Literally “a declaration of”
  9. Zechariah 2:12 Literally “upon the land of the holiness”
  10. Zechariah 2:13 Literally “all flesh”
  11. Zechariah 2:13 Literally “the dwelling place of his holiness”

The Lord Will Choose Jerusalem

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

He answered, “I am going to measure Jerusalem to see how wide and how long it is.”

Then the angel who was speaking with me left. Another angel came out to meet him and said to him, “Run, and say to that young man, ‘Jerusalem will be inhabited like an unwalled village because it will have so many people and animals in it. I will be a wall of fire around it, declares Yahweh. I will be the glory within it.’

“Hurry, hurry! Flee from the land of the north, declares Yahweh. I’ve scattered you to the four winds of heaven. Hurry, Zion! Escape, you inhabitants of Babylon! This is what Yahweh Tsebaoth says: Afterwards, the Glory sent me to the nations who looted you. Whoever touches you touches the apple of his eye. I’m going to shake my fist at the nations, and their own slaves will loot them. Then you will know that Yahweh Tsebaoth has sent me. 10 Sing for joy and rejoice, people of Zion. I’m going to come and live among you, declares Yahweh. 11 On that day many nations will join Yahweh and become my people. I will live among you. Then you will know that Yahweh Tsebaoth has sent me to you. 12 Yahweh will claim Judah as his own in the holy land and will again choose Jerusalem.

13 “Everyone be silent in the presence of Yahweh. He is waking up and setting out from his holy dwelling place.”

Footnotes

  1. Zechariah 2:1 Zechariah 2:1–13 in English Bibles is Zechariah 2:5–17 in the Hebrew Bible.

I lifted up my eyes, and saw, and behold, a man with a measuring line in his hand. Then I asked, “Where are you going?”

He said to me, “To measure Jerusalem, to see what is its width and what is its length.”

Behold, the angel who talked with me went out, and another angel went out to meet him, and said to him, “Run, speak to this young man, saying, ‘Jerusalem will be inhabited as villages without walls, because of the multitude of men and livestock in it. For I,’ says Yahweh, ‘will be to her a wall of fire around it, and I will be the glory in the middle of her. Come! Come! Flee from the land of the north,’ says Yahweh; ‘for I have spread you abroad as the four winds of the sky,’ says Yahweh. ‘Come, Zion! Escape, you who dwell with the daughter of Babylon.’ For Yahweh of Armies says: ‘For honor he has sent me to the nations which plundered you; for he who touches you touches the apple of his eye. For, behold, I will shake my hand over them, and they will be a plunder to those who served them; and you will know that Yahweh of Armies has sent me. 10 Sing and rejoice, daughter of Zion; for, behold, I come, and I will dwell within you,’ says Yahweh. 11 Many nations shall join themselves to Yahweh in that day, and shall be my people; and I will dwell among you, and you shall know that Yahweh of Armies has sent me to you. 12 Yahweh will inherit Judah as his portion in the holy land, and will again choose Jerusalem. 13 Be silent, all flesh, before Yahweh; for he has roused himself from his holy habitation!”