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Contemporary English Version

Zechariah 6:3

the third chariot was pulled by white horses, and the fourth by spotted gray horses.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Vision;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Horse, the;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Horses;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Vision;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Color, Symbolic Meaning of;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Bay;   Colour;   Grizzled;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Bay;   Chariots;   Dappled;   Zechariah, Book of;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Colours;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Alexander the Great ;   Bay;   Grisled;   Horse;   Zechariah, Prophecy of;   Wilson's Dictionary of Bible Types - Risled;   Horse;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Chariot;   Color;   Four;   Horse, White;   Zechariah, Book of;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Color;   Merkabah;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
the third chariot white horses, and the fourth chariot dappled horses—all strong horses.
Hebrew Names Version
in the third chariot white horses; and in the fourth chariot dappled horses, all of them powerful.
King James Version (1611)
And in the third charet white horses, and in the fourth charet grisled and bay horses.
King James Version
And in the third chariot white horses; and in the fourth chariot grisled and bay horses.
English Standard Version
the third white horses, and the fourth chariot dappled horses—all of them strong.
New American Standard Bible
with the third chariot white horses, and with the fourth chariot strong spotted horses.
New Century Version
White horses pulled the third chariot, and strong, spotted horses pulled the fourth chariot.
Amplified Bible
the third chariot had white horses (victory), and the fourth chariot had strong dappled horses (death through judgment).
Geneva Bible (1587)
And in the thirde charet white horses, and in the fourth charet, horses of diuers colours, and reddish.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
with the third chariot white horses, and with the fourth chariot strong dappled horses.
Legacy Standard Bible
with the third chariot white horses, and with the fourth chariot dappled horses—all of them mighty.
Berean Standard Bible
the third white horses, and the fourth dappled horses-all of them strong.
Complete Jewish Bible
the third chariot, white horses; and the fourth chariot, spotted gray horses.
Darby Translation
and in the third chariot white horses; and in the fourth chariot grisled, strong horses.
Easy-to-Read Version
White horses were pulling the third chariot, and horses with red spots were pulling the fourth chariot.
George Lamsa Translation
In the third chariot white horses; and in the fourth chariot grizzled horses.
Good News Translation
the third by white horses, and the fourth by dappled horses.
Lexham English Bible
And with the third chariot there were white horses, and with the fourth chariot there were strong dappled horses.
Literal Translation
and with the third chariot white horses, and with the fourth dappled and strong colored horses.
American Standard Version
and in the third chariot white horses; and in the fourth chariot grizzled strong horses.
Bible in Basic English
And in the third, white horses; and in the fourth, horses of mixed colour.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
and in the third chariot white horses; and in the fourth chariot grizzled bay horses.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
In the third charret were white horses, in the fourth charret were horses of diuers colours, and strong.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
and in the third chariot white horses; and in the fourth chariot piebald and ash-coloured horses.
English Revised Version
and in the third chariot white horses; and in the fourth chariot grisled bay horses.
World English Bible
in the third chariot white horses; and in the fourth chariot dappled horses, all of them powerful.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
and in the thridde foure horsid carte weren white horsis, and in the fourthe foure horsid carte weren dyuerse horsis, and stronge.
Update Bible Version
and in the third chariot white horses; and in the fourth chariot grizzled strong horses.
Webster's Bible Translation
And in the third chariot white horses; and in the fourth chariot grizzled and bay horses.
New English Translation
to the third white horses, and to the fourth spotted horses, all of them strong.
New King James Version
with the third chariot white horses, and with the fourth chariot dappled horses--strong steeds.
New Living Translation
the third by white horses, and the fourth by powerful dappled-gray horses.
New Life Bible
The third war-wagon had white horses, and the fourth war-wagon had strong horses with spots.
New Revised Standard
the third chariot white horses, and the fourth chariot dappled gray horses.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
and, in the third chariot, white horses, - and, in the fourth chariot, horses spotted, deep red.
Douay-Rheims Bible
And in the third chariot white horses, and in the fourth chariot grisled horses, and strong ones.
Revised Standard Version
the third white horses, and the fourth chariot dappled gray horses.
Young's Literal Translation
and in the third chariot white horses, and in the fourth chariot strong grisled horses.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
In ye thirde charet were whyte horse, In ye fourth charet were horses of dyuerse colours, & stronge.

Contextual Overview

1 Finally, I looked up and saw four chariots coming from between two bronze mountains. 2 The first chariot was pulled by red horses, and the second by black horses; 3 the third chariot was pulled by white horses, and the fourth by spotted gray horses. 4 "Sir," I asked the angel. "What do these stand for?" 5 Then he explained, "These are the four winds of heaven, and now they are going out, after presenting themselves to the Lord of all the earth. 6 The chariot with black horses goes toward the north, the chariot with white horses goes toward the west, and the one with spotted horses goes toward the south." 7 The horses came out eager to patrol the earth, and the angel told them, "Start patrolling the earth." When they had gone on their way, 8 he shouted to me, "Those that have gone to the country in the north will do what the Lord 's Spirit wants them to do there."

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

white: Revelation 6:2, Revelation 19:11, Revelation 20:11

grisled: Zechariah 6:6, Zechariah 6:7, Zechariah 1:8, Daniel 2:33, Daniel 2:40, Daniel 2:41, Revelation 6:8

bay: or, strong

Reciprocal: Exodus 19:15 - come not Daniel 2:39 - another third

Cross-References

Genesis 6:1
More and more people were born, until finally they spread all over the earth. Some of their daughters were so beautiful that supernatural beings came down and married the ones they wanted.
Genesis 6:13
So he told Noah: Cruelty and violence have spread everywhere. Now I'm going to destroy the whole earth and all its people.
Genesis 6:14
Get some good lumber and build a boat. Put rooms in it and cover it with tar inside and out.
Genesis 6:15
Make it four hundred fifty feet long, seventy-five feet wide, and forty-five feet high.
Genesis 6:16
Build a roof on the boat and leave a space of about eighteen inches between the roof and the sides. Make the boat three stories high and put a door on one side.
Genesis 6:18
But I solemnly promise that you, your wife, your sons, and your daughters-in-law will be kept safe in the boat.
Numbers 11:17
While I am talking with you there, I will give them some of your authority, so they can share responsibility for my people. You will no longer have to care for them by yourself.
Nehemiah 9:30
For years, you were patient, and your Spirit warned them with messages spoken by your prophets. Still they refused to listen, and you handed them over to their enemies.
Psalms 78:39
God remembered that they were made of flesh and were like a wind that blows once and then dies down.
Isaiah 5:4
What more could I have done for my vineyard? I hoped for sweet grapes, but bitter grapes were all that grew.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And in the third chariot white horses,.... Which, as referring to Gospel preachers, may denote the purity of their lives and doctrines, and their conquests and victories over the souls of men by the ministry of the word; and, as applicable to angels, may express the purity of their nature and actions, the joyful messages they bring to the heirs of salvation, and their victories over the evil angels; but, as respecting the monarchies, point at the Grecians, and the conquests of Alexander, and his mildness and gentleness to the Jews: white horses were used in triumphs, in token of victory t; see Revelation 6:2 and they have been reckoned the swiftest in running; and by the "oneirocritics", to see them in a dream or vision is a good omen u; and so it was accounted with the Jews w; all which suits very well with Alexander, who was famous for his victories over many nations: and who, with great velocity, overran them, and as soon conquered them, and was kind and beneficent to the Jewish nation:

and in the fourth chariot grisled and bay horses: signifying either the diversity of gifts in the ministers of the Gospel; or the different employment and services of angels; or rather the Romans are meant, who were collected out of various nations, and consisted of different people, and had dvarious forms of government, and emperors of different dispositions to the Jews; and particularly as two colours are assigned to these, it may respect the division of their kingdom into Pagan and Papal, as is predicted in Daniel 2:41. Kimchi thinks the "bay horses" design the kingdom of the Ishmaelites, or Turks, a strong and powerful people; as some think the word used signifies x; rather the Goths and Vandals; see Zechariah 6:7. The word for "grisled" is by the Targum rendered "spotted" or "speckled"; and comes from one which signifies "hail"; and so denotes such coloured horses as are spotted with white spots, like hailstones y, upon another colour, as black or red; and is by the Septuagint, and others, rendered "various" z, of divers colours: and the other word for "bay" is rendered by them "starling coloured"; the colour of the starling, which is a black bird, with white spots; and so were a fit emblem of the Goths, Huns, c. who were of various nations, and had various laws, customs, and usages though some think by these two are meant the successors of Alexander, the Lagidae and the Seleucidae, put together, because of their intermarriages with one another, as well as succeeding Alexander: the former by the "grisled", who went and settled in the south country in Egypt, Zechariah 6:6 whose first king was Ptolemy Lagus, from whence is the name, and who is the king of the south in Daniel 11:5 and the latter by the "bay" or "ash coloured", as the Targum; the kings of Syria hiding deep their counsels, as under ashes, particularly Antiochus, as Grotius observes; and sometimes making war on one nation, and sometimes on another; and both of them in their turns falling upon the Jews suddenly, and with great violence, like hailstones, and making sad devastations among them, reducing them to ashes; but then this sense shuts out the Romans, the fourth monarchy, from having any place in this vision, which cannot be admitted; since these four chariots answer to the four sorts of metal in Nebuchadnezzar's image, and to the four beasts in Daniel's vision. So the Jewish writers a say, the red horses are the kingdom of Babylon, which shed much blood in Israel; this is the head of gold: the black horses, the kingdom of the Persians and Medes, like to a bear, who made black the faces of Israel, by the decrees of Haman: the white horses, the kingdom of Grecia, who made white the faces of Israel by reproaches: the horses grisled and bay the fourth kingdom, which decreed various decrees, different from one another: and these four chariots went out from between two mountains, from between the kingdoms of Judah and Israel, which dwell between two countries, that beyond Jordan, and the land of Israel; and they went out between them, and carried them captive; and these kingdoms are called mountains of brass, because strong as brass, and hearkened not to the words of the prophets.

t Aurel. Victor de Viris Ilustrib. c. 26. in Furio Camillo, Plutarchus in Camillo. u Bochart, ut supra, (Hierozoic par. 1. l. 2. c. 7.) col. 105, 106. w T. Bab. Sanhedrin, fol. 93. 1. x אמוצים "fortes", V. L. Pagninus, Montanus, Drusius "robusti", Piscator, Tarnovius, Gussetius, Stockius, p. 74. "validi", Burkius; so Kimchi; and the Jews in Pesikta apud Yalkut in loc. y בדדים "grandinate", Montanus, Cocceius, Burkius; "grandiue gut. tati", Junius Tremellius, Piscator, Tarnovius, De Dieu, Pembellus. z ποικιλοι, Sept. "varii", Pagninus. a In Pesikta Rabbati apud Yalkut in loc.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The symbol is different from that in the first vision. There Zechariah 1:8, they were horses only, with their riders, to go to and fro to enquire; here they are war-chariots with their horses, to execute God’s judgments, each in their turn. In the first vision also, there is not the characteristic fourfold division, which reminds of the four world-empires of Daniel Daniel 2:0; after which, in both prophets, is the mention of the kingdom of Christ. Even if the grisled horses be the same as the speckled of the first vision, the black horses are wanting there, as well as the succession, in which they go forth. The only resemblance is, that there are horses of divers colors, two of which, red and white, are the same. The symbol of the fourth empire, grizzled, strong, remarkably corresponds with the strength and mingled character of the fourth empire in Daniel.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Zechariah 6:3. The third chariot white horses — The empire of the Greeks, founded by Alexander the Great, which destroyed the empire of the Persians.

The fourth chariot grisled and bay horses. — That is party-coloured horses; or with horses, some grisled and some bay. The empire of the Romans or of the Greeks. The Greeks divided after the death of Alexander; one part pointing out the Lagidae, who attacked and subdued Egypt; and the other, the Seleucidae, who subdued Syria under Seleucus.


 
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