Zechariah 6:6

Contemporary English Version

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."

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
The one with the black horses is going to the land of the north, the white horses are going after them, but the dappled horses are going to the land of the south.”

Hebrew Names Version
The one with the black horses goes out toward the north country; and the white went out after them; and the dappled went forth toward the south country."

King James Version (1611)
The blacke horses which are therin, goe forth into the North countrey, and the white goe forth after them, and the grisled goe forth toward the South countrey.

King James Version
The black horses which are therein go forth into the north country; and the white go forth after them; and the grisled go forth toward the south country.

English Standard Version
The chariot with the black horses goes toward the north country, the white ones go after them, and the dappled ones go toward the south country."

New American Standard Bible
with one of which the black horses are going out to the north country; and the white ones are to go out after them, while the spotted ones are to go out to the south country."

New Century Version
The chariot pulled by the black horses will go to the land of the north. The white horses will go to the land of the west, and the spotted horses will go to the land of the south."

Amplified Bible
with the chariot with the black horses going toward the north country; then the one with the white horses follows after them [because there are two northern powers to overcome], and the chariot with the dappled horses goes toward the south country."

Geneva Bible (1587)
That with the blacke horse went forth into the land of the North, and the white went out after them, and they of diuers colours went forth toward the South countrey.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
with one of which the black horses are going forth to the north country; and the white ones go forth after them, while the dappled ones go forth to the south country.

Legacy Standard Bible
with one of which the black horses are going forth to the north country; and the white ones go forth after them, and the dappled ones go forth to the south country.

Berean Standard Bible
The one with the black horses is going toward the land of the north, the one with the white horses toward the west, and the one with the dappled horses toward the south."

Complete Jewish Bible
The one with the black horses is going out toward the land in the north, the white [horses] have gone out after them, and the spotted have gone out toward the land in the south."

Darby Translation
That in which are the black horses goeth forth into the north country; and the white go forth after them; and the grisled go forth towards the south country;

Easy-to-Read Version
The black horses will go north, the red horses will go east, the white horses will go west, and the horses with red spots will go south."

George Lamsa Translation
The chariot in which are black horses goes forth to the north country; and the white go forth after them; and the grizzled go forth to the south country,

Good News Translation
The chariot pulled by the black horses was going north to Babylonia, the white horses were going to the west, and the dappled horses were going to the country in the south.

Lexham English Bible
The one with the black horses is going out to the north country, and the white horses go after them, while the dappled ones go to the south country."

Literal Translation
The black horses in it go into the north country, and the white go after them; and the dappled ones go toward the south country.

American Standard Version
The chariot wherein are the black horses goeth forth toward the north country; and the white went forth after them; and the grizzled went forth toward the south country.

Bible in Basic English
The carriage in which are the black horses goes in the direction of the north country; the white go to the west; and those of mixed colour go in the direction of the south country.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
That wherein are the black horses goeth forth toward the north country; and the white went forth after them; and the grizzled went forth toward the south country;

Bishop's Bible (1568)
That with the blacke horse went foorth into the lande of the north, & the white folowed them, and the speckled horses went foorth toward the south:

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
As for the chariot in which were the black horses, they went out to the land of the north; and the white went out after them; and the piebald went out to the land of the south.

English Revised Version
The chariot wherein are the black horses goeth forth toward the north country; and the white went forth after them; and the grisled went forth toward the south country.

World English Bible
The one with the black horses goes out toward the north country; and the white went out after them; and the dappled went forth toward the south country."

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
In which weren blake horsis, wenten out in to the lond of the north; and the white wenten out aftir hem; and the dyuerse wenten out to the lond of the south.

Update Bible Version
[The chariot] wherein are the black horses goes forth toward the north country; and the white went forth after them; and the grizzled went forth toward the south country.

Webster's Bible Translation
The black horses which [are] therein go forth into the north country; and the white go forth after them; and the grizzled go forth towards the south country.

New English Translation
The chariot with the black horses is going to the north country and the white ones are going after them, but the spotted ones are going to the south country.

New King James Version
The one with the black horses is going to the north country, the white are going after them, and the dappled are going toward the south country."

New Living Translation
The chariot with black horses is going north, the chariot with white horses is going west, and the chariot with dappled-gray horses is going south."

New Life Bible
The war-wagon with the black horses is going toward the north country. The white ones follow them. And the horses with spots go toward the south country.

New Revised Standard
The chariot with the black horses goes toward the north country, the white ones go toward the west country, and the dappled ones go toward the south country."

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
They in whose chariot are the black horses, are going forth into the land of the North, and, the white, have gone forth after them, - and, the spotted, have gone forth into the land of the South;

Douay-Rheims Bible
That in which were the black horses went forth into the land of the north, and the white went forth after them: and the grisled went forth to the land the south.

Revised Standard Version
The chariot with the black horses goes toward the north country, the white ones go toward the west country, and the dappled ones go toward the south country."

Young's Literal Translation
The brown horses that [are] therein, are coming forth unto the land of the north; and the white have come forth unto their hinder part; and the grisled have come forth unto the land of the south;

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
That with the blacke horse wente in to the londe of the north, & the whyte folowed the, and the sprekled horses wente forth towarde the south.

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

the north: Jeremiah 1:14, Jeremiah 1:15, Jeremiah 4:6, Jeremiah 6:1, Jeremiah 25:9, Jeremiah 46:10, Jeremiah 51:48, Ezekiel 1:4

go forth after: Daniel 7:5, Daniel 7:6, Daniel 11:3, Daniel 11:4

toward: Daniel 11:5, Daniel 11:6, Daniel 11:9, Daniel 11:40

Reciprocal: Daniel 2:39 - another third Zechariah 1:8 - speckled Zechariah 6:2 - black Zechariah 6:3 - grisled Revelation 6:5 - a black

Cross-References

Genesis 6:8
But the Lord was pleased with Noah,

Genesis 6:10
He had three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

Genesis 6:17
I'm going to send a flood that will destroy everything that breathes! Nothing will be left alive.

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.

Exodus 32:14
So even though the Lord had threatened to destroy the people, he changed his mind and let them live.

Numbers 23:19
God is no mere human! He doesn't tell lies or change his mind. God always keeps his promises.

Deuteronomy 5:29
I wish they would always worship me with fear and trembling and be this willing to obey me! Then they and their children would always enjoy a successful life.

Deuteronomy 32:29
If you did, you could see where you are headed.

Deuteronomy 32:36
When only a few of the Lord 's people remain, when their strength is gone, and some of them are slaves, the Lord will feel sorry for them and give them justice.

1 Samuel 15:11
"Saul has stopped obeying me, and I'm sorry that I made him king." Samuel was angry, and he cried out in prayer to the Lord all night.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

The black horses which [are] therein,.... Which were in the second chariot: no further mention is made of the red horses in the first chariot, because the kingdom of the Chaldeans was now extinct: these design the Medes and Persians:

go forth into the north country: into the country of Babylon or Chaldea, which lay north of Judea; see Jeremiah 1:13 and other places; these went to Babylon, took that, and seized on the empire, and delivered the Jews, who were captives there:

and the white go forth after them; the Grecians under Alexander, who went after the Medes and Persians into the same country, and fought Darius the Persian, and conquered him:

and the grisled go forth toward the south country; the Romans under Julius Caesar, Augustus, and others before them, who went into Egypt, which lay south of Judea, Daniel 11:5 and conquered that, and other nations, and set up the fourth kingdom or monarchy.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The black horses which are therein go forth - Literally, “That chariot wherein the black horses are, these go forth.” Jerome: “Most suitably is the first chariot, wherein the red homes were, passed over, and what the second, third, fourth did is described. For when the prophet related this, the Babylonian empire had passed, and the power of the Medes possessed all Asia.” Red, as the color of blood, represented Babylon as sanguinary; as it is said in the Revelation, “There went out another horse, red, and power was given to him that sat thereon, to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another, and there was given him a sharp sword” Revelation 6:4. “The black” were to go forth to the north country, the ancient title of Babylon. For Babylon, though taken, was far from being broken. They had probably been betrayed through the weakness of their king’s. Their resistance, in the first carefully prepared (Herodotus, iii. 150) revolt against Darius, was more courageous than that against Cyrus: and more desperate .

Since probably more Jews remained in it, than returned to their own country, what was to befall it had a special interest for them. They had already been warned in the third vision Zechariah 2:7 to escape from it. The color black doubtless symbolizes the heavy lot, inflicted by the Medo-Persians; as in the Revelation it is said, “the sun became black as sackcloth of hair” Revelation 6:12; and to the beast in Daniel’s vision which corresponded with it, it was said, “Arise, devour much flesh” Daniel 7:5; and in the Revelation, “he that sat on the black horse” Revelation 6:5-6 was the angel charged with the infliction of famine. Of the Medes, Isaiah had said, “I will stir up the Medes against them (Babylon), which shall not regard silver; and gold, they shall not delight in it. Their bows also shall dash the young men to pieces; and they shall have no pity on the fruit of the womb; their eye shall not spare children” Isaiah 13:17-18.

The white went forth after them - For the Greek empire occupied the same portion of the earth as the Persian. White is a symbol of joy, gladness Ecclesiastes 9:8, victory Revelation 6:2, perhaps also, from its relation to light, of acute intelligence. It may relate too to the benevolence of Alexander to the Jewish nation. “Alexander used such clemency to the conquered, that it seemed as though he might be called rather the founder than the destroyer of the nations whom he subdued.”

And the grizzled - The Romans in their mingled character, so prominent in the fourth empire of Daniel, “go forth” Daniel 2:41-43 to the south country, that is, Egypt; as Daniel speaks of “the ships of Chittim” Daniel 11:30 and the intervention of the Romans first in regard to the expulsion of Antiochus Epiphanes from Egypt; in Egypt also, the last enduring kingdom of any successor of Alexander, that of the Ptolemies, expired. “30 years afterward, the Son of God was to bring light to the earth. The prophet so interweaves the prediction, that from the series of the four kingdoms it is brought to the Birth of the Eternal King” .

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Zechariah 6:6. The black horses — This refers to the second chariot; of the first the angel makes no mention, because the empire designed by it had ceased to exist. This had red horses, to show the cruelty of the Chaldeans towards the Jews, and the carnage they committed in the land of Judea.

The black — Cyrus, at the head of the Persians and Medes, bringing devastation and death among the Chaldeans, called the north in many parts of Scripture.

The white — Alexander, who was splendid in his victories, and mild towards all that he conquered.

The grisled — The Lagidae or Ptolemies, who founded an empire in Egypt; of these some were good, some bad, some despotic, some moderate, some cruel, and some mild; represented by the party-coloured horses.