Zechariah 1:19-21

1:19 So I asked the angelic messenger ¹  who spoke with me, “What are these?” He replied, “These are the horns ²  that have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.” ³  1:20 Next the Lord showed me four blacksmiths. ⁴  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. ⁵  But the blacksmiths have come to terrify Judah’s enemies ⁶  and cut off the horns of the nations that have thrust themselves against the land of Judah in order to scatter its people.” ⁷ 

¹ tn See the note on the expression “angelic messenger” in v. 9.

² 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.

³ map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

⁴ 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.

⁷ tn Heb “so that no man lifts up his head.”

⁸ tn Heb “terrify them”; the referent (Judah’s enemies) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁹ tn Heb “to scatter it.” The word “people” has been supplied in the translation for clarity.