Zechariah 2:1
King James Version (1769)
Other translations
| Verse | KJV | BSB | ASV |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | I lifted up mine eyes again, and looked, and behold a man with a measuring line in his hand. | Then I lifted up my eyes and saw a man with a measuring line in his hand. | And I lifted up mine eyes, and saw, and, behold, a man with a measuring line in his hand. |
In context
AI-assisted, sourcedZechariah sees another vision: a man with a measuring line, going to measure Jerusalem's length and breadth. An angel then announces that the city will spread out like towns without walls because of its many people and cattle. The LORD himself will be a wall of fire around it and the glory in its midst. Zechariah 2:1Zechariah 2:2Zechariah 2:4Zechariah 2:5
SpeakingThe prophet Zechariah tells what he saw. He is the son of Berechiah, and Ezra names him with Haggai as a prophet in Jerusalem during the temple rebuilding. Zechariah 2:1Zechariah overview
ToThe people of Judah who had come back from exile in Babylon, with their leaders Zerubbabel and Joshua. Zechariah overview
Also involvedThe vision concerns Jerusalem and its future people. The text calls the measurer only 'a man' and does not say who he is. Zechariah 2:1Zechariah 2:2Zechariah 2:4
This opens a vision in which Jerusalem is measured, much as the LORD had promised that 'a line shall be stretched forth upon Jerusalem' when he returned to it with mercies. The measuring ties to that promise that his house would be built in the city. Yet the angel's message goes further: the city will be too full for walls, and God will be its protection. Zechariah 2:1Zechariah 2:2Zechariah 1:16Zechariah 2:4Zechariah 2:5
The vision concerns Jerusalem, where the prophet lived among the returned exiles. The book was written from Jerusalem to Jerusalem and Judah. Zechariah 2:2Zechariah overview
The eventsThe vision is one of the night visions in 1:7-6:8. The book's dated messages fall between about 520 and 518 BC, while the temple was being rebuilt under Darius king of Persia. Zechariah overview
WrittenTraditional: Zechariah wrote it, with dated messages from about 520 to 518 BC. Scholarly: most agree chapters 1-8, including this verse, come from Zechariah in 520-518 BC. Zechariah overview
HereThe returned exiles had seen work on the temple stop under opposition. The measuring line assures them that God means to rebuild and fill Jerusalem, backing up his promise that his house would be built there. Zechariah overviewZechariah 2:2Zechariah 2:4Zechariah 1:16
In the whole of ScriptureMeasuring appears in other visions of God's dwelling too. Ezekiel saw a man with a line and a measuring reed at the temple, and John saw a golden reed used to measure the holy city. This chapter ends with God promising to dwell in Zion's midst and that many nations shall be joined to the LORD. Ezekiel 40:3Ezekiel 40:5Revelation 21:15Zechariah 2:10Zechariah 2:11
For readersThe vision teaches that God's people are safe because of his presence, not because of the walls they build. 'I, saith the LORD, will be unto her a wall of fire round about.' Zechariah 2:5Zechariah overview
- line (cord)חֶ֫בֶל
The word means a cord or rope, and specifically a measuring-cord. It can also mean a measured portion or region. That fits a vision about marking out Jerusalem's extent. Strong's H2256MZechariah 2:2
- measuring (measure)מִדָּה
It means measurement, size, or a measured extent. The point is the city's breadth and length, which v. 4 says will outgrow any walls. Strong's H4060AZechariah 2:2Zechariah 2:4
Takeaway
The man with the measuring line shows that God is planning Jerusalem's restoration. The city will grow beyond its walls, because the LORD himself will guard it and dwell in it. Zechariah 2:1Zechariah 2:4Zechariah 2:5Zechariah 1:16
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 | עֵינַ֛י | '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 | וָאֵ֖רֶא | 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! | וְהִנֵּה־ | ve-hi-neh- | H2009 | beholdהִנֵּה (hin.neh) behold, lo, see, if |
| a man | אִ֑ישׁ | 'Ish | H0376G | manאִישׁ (ish) : man 1) man 1a) man, male (in contrast to woman, female) 1b) husband 1c) human being, person (in contrast to God) 1d) servant 1e) mankind 1f) champion 1g) great man 2) whosoever 3) each (adjective) |
| and [was] in hand his | וּבְיָד֖וֹ | u-ve-ya-DO | H3027G | handיָד (yad) : hand/arm[anatomy] 1) hand 1a) hand (of man) 1b) strength, power (fig.) 1c) side (of land), part, portion (metaph.) (fig.) 1d) (various special, technical senses) 1d1) sign, monument 1d2) part, fractional part, share 1d3) time, repetition 1d4) axle-trees, axle 1d5) stays, support (for laver) 1d6) tenons (in tabernacle) 1d7) a phallus, a hand (meaning unsure) 1d8) wrists |
| a cord of | חֶ֥בֶל | CHE-vel | H2256M | cordחֶ֫בֶל (che.vel) 1) a cord, rope, territory, band, company 1a) a rope, cord 1b) a measuring-cord or line 1c) a measured portion, lot, part, region 1d) a band or company § destruction |
| measurement | מִדָּֽה׃ | mi-DAH | H4060A | measureמִדָּה (mid.dah) 1) measure, measurement, stature, size, garment 1a) measure, act of measurement 1b) measurement, size 1c) measured portion, extent 1d) garment |
Words and meanings from STEPBible data (Tyndale House, Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). The capitalized syllable is the stressed one.