Zechariah 1:18
King James Version (1769)
Other translations
| Verse | KJV | BSB | ASV |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18 | Then lifted I up mine eyes, and saw, and behold four horns. | Then I looked up and saw four horns. | And I lifted up mine eyes, and saw, and, behold, four horns. |
In context
AI-assisted, sourcedThis is the second of Zechariah's night visions. Right after God promises to comfort Zion and rebuild Jerusalem, Zechariah sees four horns. The angel explains that they are the powers that scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem, and the vision goes on to show four carpenters who come to throw them down. Zechariah 1:17Zechariah 1:18Zechariah 1:19Zechariah 1:20Zechariah 1:21Zechariah overview
SpeakingZechariah the prophet, son of Berechiah and grandson of Iddo, tells what he saw. Zechariah 1:1Zechariah 1:7Zechariah overview
ToThe people of Judah who had come back from exile in Babylon, along with their leaders. Zechariah overviewZechariah 1:3
Also involvedThe horns stand for the nations, "the horns of the Gentiles," that scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem. The vision shows that God will bring them down. Zechariah 1:19Zechariah 1:21
Zechariah looks up and sees four horns. When he asks what they are, the angel says they are the horns that scattered God's people. The LORD then shows him four carpenters who come "to cast out the horns of the Gentiles." Zechariah 1:18Zechariah 1:19Zechariah 1:20Zechariah 1:21
Zechariah spoke among the returned exiles in Jerusalem. The vision itself is about Judah and Jerusalem and the nations that scattered them. Zechariah overviewZechariah 1:19Zechariah 1:21
The eventsThe visions came on the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, Sebat, in the second year of Darius, about 520 BC. This was after seventy years of God's indignation against Jerusalem. Zechariah 1:7Zechariah 1:12Zechariah overview
WrittenTraditional: Zechariah wrote it, with dated messages from 520 to 518 BC. Scholarly: most scholars agree that chapters 1-8, which include this vision, come from Zechariah in 520-518 BC. Many assign chapters 9-14 to a later writer or writers, while others hold that Zechariah wrote the whole book. Zechariah overview
HereThe vision backs up God's word in the verses just before it. God is "very sore displeased with the heathen" who "helped forward the affliction" of his people. He will deal with those powers so that Jerusalem can be rebuilt. Zechariah 1:15Zechariah 1:16Zechariah 1:21
In the whole of ScriptureBabylon came against Judah, and it happened "through the anger of the LORD" until he cast them out from his presence. Now God says the nations "helped forward the affliction" beyond his own displeasure, and he has returned to Jerusalem with mercy. In this vision he sends the carpenters to cast those horns down. 2 Kings 24:12 Kings 24:20Zechariah 1:15Zechariah 1:16Zechariah 1:21
For readersThe people rebuilding the temple had seen the work stopped by opposition. This vision told them that the powers that had scattered them were under God's hand, and that he had sent what was needed to break those powers. Zechariah overviewZechariah 1:21
Christians read this differently
The passage names the horns only as "the horns of the Gentiles" that scattered Judah. It does not say which nations they are. Some readers link the four horns to four successive empires, like the four beasts of Daniel 7:3. Others take "four" to mean hostile nations on every side, as the "four winds of the heaven" in Zechariah 2:6 mean every direction. Zechariah 1:19Zechariah 1:21Daniel 7:3Zechariah 2:6
- hornsקֶ֫רֶן
The word means a horn, and it is also used figuratively for strength. Verse 21 uses it that way, speaking of nations that "lifted up their horn" over the land of Judah to scatter it. Strong's H7161AZechariah 1:21
- sawרָאָה
This verb can mean "to see, have vision." That fits here, because this is a night vision explained by an angel, not an everyday sight. Strong's H7200GZechariah 1:8Zechariah 1:9
Takeaway
The four horns are the powers that scattered God's people. The vision shows that God sees them and has sent those who will throw them down. His people can build on his promise that he "shall yet choose Jerusalem." Zechariah 1:17Zechariah 1:19Zechariah 1:21
Drafted by AI from the Scripture and data shown under “Show sources,” then checked automatically and by a second AI pass. Updated 2026-10-28.
The world around the text
About 520-518 BC. King of Persia: Darius I (522-486 BC). Where Zechariah prophesied. A small, poor community was rebuilding the temple among the ruins of the city Babylon had burned.
Who ruled
- King of PersiaDarius I522-486 BC
Zechariah dates his messages by the years of Darius. Darius confirmed Cyrus's decree and ordered the temple work to go on at royal expense. Zechariah 1:1Zechariah 7:1Ezra 6:1-12Haggai 1:1Behistun Inscription
- Governor of JudahZerubbabelc. 520 BC
A descendant of David who led the rebuilding. "The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also finish it." Zechariah 4:6-10Haggai 1:1Ezra 3:8
- High priestJoshua the high priestc. 520 BC
Called Jeshua in Ezra. He stands in Zechariah's vision clothed in filthy garments, which are taken away, and later receives crowns as a sign. Zechariah 3:1-10Zechariah 6:11Haggai 1:1Ezra 3:2
- Persian governor "on this side the river"Tattenaic. 520 BC
The governor of the province west of the Euphrates. He asked who had allowed the building, wrote to Darius, and was told to let the work go on. Ezra 5:3-6Ezra 6:6-13
What was happening, 539 BC to 332 BC
- 539 BCWarBabylon falls to Cyrus
Cyrus king of Persia took Babylon, ending the empire that had destroyed Jerusalem. Daniel 5:30-31Nabonidus Chronicle (ABC 7)Cyrus Cylinder
- 538 BCGod's peopleThe first return
Cyrus let the exiles go home to build the LORD's house. About fifty thousand returned with Zerubbabel and Jeshua. Ezra 1:1-4Ezra 2:1-2Ezra 2:64-65
- c. 536 BCGod's peopleThe foundation is laid, then the work stops
The returned exiles laid the temple's foundation with shouting and weeping. Opposition from their neighbors stopped the work until the second year of Darius. Ezra 3:10-13Ezra 4:4-5Ezra 4:24
- 525 BCWarPersia conquers Egypt
Cyrus's son Cambyses invaded and took Egypt, bringing the whole region from the Nile to the Indus under one king. Herodotus, Histories 3.1-16
- 522-521 BCWarDarius crushes the revolts
When Darius took the throne, provinces across the empire rebelled, Babylon twice. By 520 he had put them all down. Compare the riders' report in Zechariah's first vision: "all the earth sitteth still, and is at rest." Behistun InscriptionHerodotus, Histories 3.150-159Zechariah 1:11
- 520 BCGod's peopleHaggai and Zechariah stir the people to build
In Darius's second year the two prophets urged the people to take up the temple work again, and Zerubbabel and Jeshua began to build. Ezra 5:1-2Haggai 1:1-15Zechariah 1:1
- c. 520-519 BCRulersDarius confirms Cyrus's decree
Tattenai questioned the building. A search found Cyrus's decree at Achmetha, and Darius ordered the work to continue and be paid for from royal taxes. Ezra 5:3-6:12
- 515 BCBuildingThe second temple is finished
The temple was finished on the third day of Adar in Darius's sixth year and dedicated with joy. Ezra 6:14-18Zechariah 4:9
- 490-479 BCWarPersia's wars with Greece
Persia invaded Greece twice and was turned back at Marathon (490), Salamis (480) and Plataea (479). Greece, which Zechariah names in 9:13, was becoming Persia's great rival. Herodotus, Histories 6.102-117Herodotus, Histories 8.40-96Herodotus, Histories 9.1-89Zechariah 9:13
- 445 BCBuildingNehemiah rebuilds Jerusalem's walls
Under the Persian king Artaxerxes, Nehemiah came from Shushan and rebuilt the walls in fifty-two days. Nehemiah 2:1-8Nehemiah 6:15
- 332 BCWarAlexander takes Tyre and Gaza
Alexander the Great besieged island Tyre for seven months and then Gaza for two, on his way to Egypt. Zechariah 9 speaks of Tyre's "strong hold" and of Gaza, Ashkelon, Ekron and Ashdod. Arrian, Anabasis of Alexander 2.15-27Zechariah 9:3-7
The full picture: places, culture and daily life. Scripture first, then ancient records (the Behistun Inscription, the Cyrus Cylinder, the Babylonian Chronicles) and ancient writers (Herodotus, Arrian, Josephus). Drafted by Claude and not yet reviewed by a person.
Original Hebrew words
| English | Hebrew | Say it | Strong's | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| and I lifted up | וָאֶשָּׂ֥א | va-'e-SA' | H5375M | to lift: raiseנָשָׂא (na.sa) : raise/take_up 1) to lift, bear up, carry, take 1a) (Qal) 1a1) to lift, lift up 1a2) to bear, carry, support, sustain, endure 1a3) to take, take away, carry off, forgive 1b) (Niphal) 1b1) to be lifted up, be exalted 1b2) to lift oneself up, rise up 1b3) to be borne, be carried 1b4) to be taken away, be carried off, be swept away 1c) (Piel) 1c1) to lift up, exalt, support, aid, assist 1c2) to desire, long (fig.) 1c3) to carry, bear continuously 1c4) to take, take away 1d) (Hithpael) to lift oneself up, exalt oneself 1e) (Hiphil) 1e1) to cause one to bear (iniquity) … |
| eyes my | עֵינַ֖י | 'ei-NAI | H5869A | eyeעַ֫יִן (a.yin) : eye 1) eye 1a) eye 1a1) of physical eye 1a2) as showing mental qualities 1a3) of mental and spiritual faculties (fig.) |
| and I saw | וָאֵ֑רֶא | va-'E-re' | H7200G | to see: seeרָאָה (ra.ah) : see/show 1) to see, look at, inspect, perceive, consider 1a) (Qal) 1a1) to see 1a2) to see, perceive 1a3) to see, have vision 1a4) to look at, see, regard, look after, see after, learn about, observe, watch, look upon, look out, find out 1a5) to see, observe, consider, look at, give attention to, discern, distinguish 1a6) to look at, gaze at 1a7) to provide, choose 1b) (Niphal) 1b1) to appear, present oneself 1b2) to be seen 1b3) to be visible 1c) (Pual) to be seen 1d) (Hiphil) 1d1) to cause to see, show 1d2) to cause to look intently at, behold, cause to gaze at 1e) (Hophal) … |
| and there! | וְהִנֵּ֖ה | ve-hi-NEH | H2009 | beholdהִנֵּה (hin.neh) behold, lo, see, if |
| four | אַרְבַּ֥ע | 'ar-BA' | H0702 | fourאַרְבַּע (ar.ba) four |
| horns | קְרָנֽוֹת׃ | ke-ra-NOT | H7161A | hornקֶ֫רֶן (qe.ren) 1) horn 1a) horn 1b) of strength (fig) 1c) flask (container for oil) 1d) horn (as musical instrument) 1e) horn (of horn-like projections on the altar) 1f) of rays of light 1g) hill Aramaic equivalent: qe.ren (קֶ֫רֶן "horn" H7162) |
Words and meanings from STEPBible data (Tyndale House, Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). The capitalized syllable is the stressed one.