Zechariah 1:21
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“What are these coming to do?” I asked. And He replied, “These are the horns that scattered Judah so that no one could raise his head; but the craftsmen have come to terrify them and throw down these horns of the nations that have lifted up their horns against the land of Judah to scatter it.”
Commentaries
Excerpts gathered from published commentaries to ground the reading.
In this chapter, after the introduction (Zac 1:1), we have, I. An awakening call to a sinful people to repent of their sins and return to God (Zac 1:2-6). II. Great encouragement given to hope for mercy. 1. By the vision of the horses (Zac 1:7-11). 2. By the prayer of the angel for Jerusalem, and the answer to that prayer (Zac 1:12-17). 3. By the vision of the four carpenters that were employed to cut off the four horns with which Judah and Jerusalem were scattered (Zac 1:18-21).
Open source ↗1:21 humbled Judah: They literally lifted up their horns against Judah. • The Lord would cut off those horns, throw them down to the ground, and bring an end to their authority. The Judeans did not need to fear the surrounding nations.
Open source ↗Cross-references
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“All the horns of the wicked I will cut off, but the horns of the righteous will be exalted.”
So I asked the angel who was speaking with me, “What are these?” And he told me, “These are the horns that have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.”
The LORD has done what He planned; He has accomplished His decree, which He ordained in days of old; He has overthrown you without pity. He has let the enemy gloat over you and exalted the horn of your foes.
And the man dressed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, raised his right hand and his left hand toward heaven, and I heard him swear by Him who lives forever, saying, “It will be for a time, and times, and half a time. When the power of the holy people has finally been shattered, all these things will be completed.”