1:18 (2:1) 1 Once again I looked and this time I saw four horns. 1:19 So I asked the angelic messenger 2 who spoke with me, “What are these?” He replied, “These are the horns 3 that have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.” 4 1:20 Next the Lord showed me four blacksmiths. 5 1:21 I asked, “What are these going to do?” He answered, “These horns are the ones that have scattered Judah so that there is no one to be seen. 6 But the blacksmiths have come to terrify Judah’s enemies 7 and cut off the horns of the nations that have thrust themselves against the land of Judah in order to scatter its people.” 8
1 sn This marks the beginning of ch. 2 in the Hebrew text. Beginning with 1:18, the verse numbers through 2:13 in the English Bible differ from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 1:18 ET = 2:1 HT, 1:19 ET = 2:2 HT, 1:20 ET = 2:3 HT, 1:21 ET = 2:4 HT, 2:1 ET = 2:5 HT, etc., through 2:13 ET = 2:17 HT. From 3:1 the verse numbers in the English Bible and the Hebrew Bible are again the same.
2 tn See the note on the expression “angelic messenger” in v. 9.
3 sn An animal’s horn is a common OT metaphor for military power (Pss 18:2; 75:10; Jer 48:25; Mic 4:13). The fact that there are four horns here (as well as four blacksmiths, v. 20) shows a correspondence to the four horses of v. 8 which go to four parts of the world, i.e., the whole world.
4 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
5 tn Heb “craftsmen” (so NASB, NIV; KJV “carpenters”), a generic term which can mean “metalworker, smith, armorer” (HALOT 358 s.v. חָרָשׁ). “Blacksmiths” was chosen for the present translation because of its relative familiarity among contemporary English readers.
6 tn Heb “so that no man lifts up his head.”
7 tn Heb “terrify them”; the referent (Judah’s enemies) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
8 tn Heb “to scatter it.” The word “people” has been supplied in the translation for clarity.