Passage

Zechariah 1.8

Book: Zechariah · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV

6. But my words and my statutes, which I commanded my servants the prophets, did they not overtake your fathers? and they turned and said, Like as Jehovah of hosts thought to do unto us, according to our ways, and according to our doings, so hath he dealt with us. 7. Upon the four and twentieth day of the eleventh month, which is the month Shebat, in the second year of Darius, came the word of Jehovah unto Zechariah the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo, the prophet, saying,

8. I saw in the night, and, behold, a man riding upon a red horse, and he stood among the myrtle-trees that were in the bottom; and behind him there were horses, red, sorrel, and white.

Then said I, O my lord, what are these? And the angel that talked with me said unto me, I will show thee what these are. 10. And the man that stood among the myrtle-trees answered and said, These are they whom Jehovah hath sent to walk to and fro through the earth. (Zechariah 1:6-10, ASV)

WEB

6. But my words and my decrees, which I commanded my servants the prophets, didn’t they overtake your fathers? “Then they repented and said, ‘Just as Yahweh of Armies determined to do to us, according to our ways, and according to our practices, so he has dealt with us.’” 7. On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, which is the month Shebat, in the second year of Darius, Yahweh’s word came to Zechariah the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo, the prophet, saying,

8. “I had a vision in the night, and behold, a man riding on a red horse, and he stood among the myrtle trees that were in a ravine; and behind him there were red, brown, and white horses.

Then I asked, ‘My lord, what are these?’” The angel who talked with me said to me, “I will show you what these are.” 10. The man who stood among the myrtle trees answered, “They are the ones Yahweh has sent to go back and forth through the earth.” (Zechariah 1:6-10, WEB)

KJV

6. But my words and my statutes, which I commanded my servants the prophets, did they not take hold of your fathers? and they returned and said, Like as the LORD of hosts thought to do unto us, according to our ways, and according to our doings, so hath he dealt with us. ^{take: or, overtake} 7. Upon the four and twentieth day of the eleventh month, which is the month Sebat, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the LORD unto Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet, saying,

8. I saw by night, and behold a man riding upon a red horse, and he stood among the myrtle trees that were in the bottom; and behind him were there red horses, speckled, and white. ^{speckled: or, bay}

Then said I, O my lord, what are these? And the angel that talked with me said unto me, I will shew thee what these be. 10. And the man that stood among the myrtle trees answered and said, These are they whom the LORD hath sent to walk to and fro through the earth. (Zechariah 1:6-10, KJV)

YLT

6. Only, My words, and My statutes, That I commanded My servants the prophets, Have they not overtaken your fathers, And they turn back and say: As Jehovah of Hosts designed to do to us, According to our ways, and according to our doings, So He hath done to us?' 7. On the twenty and fourth day of the eleventh month, (it [is] the month of Sebat,) in the second year of Darius, hath a word of Jehovah been unto Zechariah, son of Berechiah, son of Iddo, the prophet, saying:

8. I have seen by night, and lo, one riding on a red horse, and he is standing between the myrtles that [are] in the shade, and behind him [are] horses, red, bay, and white.

And I say, 'What [are] these, my lord?' And the messenger who is speaking with me saith unto me, 'I, I do shew thee what these [are].' 10. And the one who is standing between the myrtles doth answer and say, 'These [are] they whom Jehovah hath sent to walk up and down in the land.' (Zechariah 1:6-10, YLT)

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Setting

Speaker: Zechariah, son of Berechiah, son of Iddo (1:1), a prophet of priestly descent
Audience: the returned Judean community in Jerusalem, under Zerubbabel the governor and Joshua the high priest
Location: Jerusalem, in the Persian province of Yehud
Time period: the night visions are dated to the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month of the second year of Darius I, early 519 BC

Theological reading

"I saw in the night, and, behold, a man riding upon a red horse, and he stood among the myrtle-trees that were in the bottom; and behind him there were horses, red, sorrel, and white."

The first of the eight night visions. The imagery is drawn from imperial administration: the Persian empire maintained mounted couriers who reported on the state of the provinces, and the vision borrows the picture to say that the God of Israel, not Darius, is the one who actually receives the report of the earth (v. 11).

Three details anchor the scene. The setting is night, in a hollow or ravine, which matches the community's low condition rather than contradicting it. The myrtle is a modest shrub rather than a cedar. And the rider stands among the myrtles, which places him in the middle of the small and unimpressive thing rather than above it.

The colors of the horses are not interpreted in the text and no interpretation should be pressed onto them; the vision explains what it wants explained, in vv. 10-11, and leaves the rest as furniture. Compare the four chariots of the eighth vision (6:1-8), where the colors likewise carry the sense of comprehensive patrol rather than a decodable scheme.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word; see Lexicon Roadmap.

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Quoted in

Lexicon:

H7068 - qinah

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.