Zacarias 1:21

Almeida Revista e Corrigida

Ento, eu disse: Que vm estes fazer? E ele falou, dizendo: Estes so os poderes que dispersaram Jud, de maneira que ningum pde levantar a sua cabea; estes, pois, vieram para os amedrontarem, para derribarem os poderes das naes que levantaram o seu poder contra a terra de Jud, para a espalharem.

Parallel Translations

A Biblia Sagrada
Ento eu disse: Que vm estes fazer? E ele falou, dizendo: Estes so os chifres que dispersaram a Jud, de maneira que ningum pde levantar a sua cabea; estes, pois, vieram para os amedrontarem, para derrubarem os chifres dos gentios que levantaram o seu poder contra a terra de Jud, para a espalharem.

Almeida Revista e Atualizada
Ento, perguntei: que vm fazer estes? Ele respondeu: Aqueles so os chifres que dispersaram a Jud, de maneira que ningum pode levantar a cabea; estes ferreiros, pois, vieram para os amedrontar, para derribar os chifres das naes que levantaram o seu poder contra a terra de Jud, para a espalhar.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

These are the: Zechariah 1:19, Daniel 12:7

fray: That is, to terrify, or affright, from the French effrayer.

which: Psalms 75:4, Psalms 75:5, Lamentations 2:17

Reciprocal: Psalms 75:10 - All the horns Zechariah 9:13 - bent Zechariah 10:4 - of him came forth

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Then said I, What come these to do?.... That is, these four carpenters; for, being artificers or workmen, as the Targum renders the word, the prophet concluded there was some work for them to do:

And he spake, saying; meaning the angel that talked with him, and interpreted the visions to him:

These [are] the horns which have scattered Judah; not that the carpenters were the horns, for these two are distinct from, and opposite to, one another. The words should rather be rendered, "these horns which have scattered Judah", as before said, Zechariah 1:19:

so that no man did lift up his head; or, as the Targum paraphrases it, "did not suffer" (a man) "to go with an erect stature"; but, through oppression, sorrow, and misery, was obliged to stoop, and bow, and hang down his head:

but these are come to fray them; these carpenters are come to frighten the horns, to put terror into those kings and kingdoms;

to cast out the horns of the Gentiles; to destroy their kingdoms, and take away their power from them:

which lifted up [their] horns over the land of Judah to scatter it: who make use of their power, and do harm to the people of Israel, and triumph and insult over them; see Psalms 75:4 all which may be applied to the ministers of the Gospel, who are workmen; and whose business it is to fight or terrify the horns, wicked men, even men in power, the enemies of Christ's church and people; by their preaching, which has made a Felix to tremble; by their prayers, which they have been more afraid of than an army of men, as Mary queen of Scots said of the prayers of John Knox; and by their good lives and conversations, which made Herod stand in fear of John the Baptist; nay, even they have been a terror to the devil himself, and have been the means of casting him, and his principalities and powers, out of the Gentile world, and out of both the bodies and souls of men; and of casting down the strong holds of sin, and of breaking in pieces the kingdom and interest of Satan, and of building up the churches of Christ; the work of these spiritual carpenters is to cut down men, comparable to strong, sturdy, and lofty trees, for the pride and haughtiness of their hearts, the stiffness and stubbornness of their wills, and for their show of goodliness and beauty: this is done by the ministry of the word, the cutting doctrines of it, accompanied with the Spirit and power of God; as it is said, "I have hewed them by the prophets, I have slain them by, the words of my mouth", Hosea 6:5 whereas, when before, they grew up and stood on their own bottom, their morality, civility, and works of righteousness; now they are cut down, and die to all these things, as to any hope of salvation by them; and then, as the carpenter smooths and planes a timber he has hewed, and fitly frames it together, and joints it in, and lays it on a good foundation; so do Gospel ministers, as instruments in the hands of God, after hewing and cutting work through the ministration of the law, the killing letter, and which works wrath; speak comfortably to such souls, by directing them to the blood and righteousness of Christ for pardon of sin and justification of life; and ministerially lay them in the spiritual building, the church; or advise and exhort them to submit to the ordinances of Christ, and join themselves to Gospel churches; and, above all things, instruct them to build on Christ, the sure foundation in Zion; and ministerially lay him as the alone foundation to build upon for life and salvation, and not upon any works of righteousness done by them; and put them upon walking according to the line and rule of the divine word, in matters of worship, discipline, and conversation: and as there were in the first times of the Gospel many such builders, and have been more or less since; so there will be many more in the latter day, who will be very successfully employed in building, repairing, and beautifying the church of God; see Isaiah 58:12. Some by the four carpenters understand Zerubbabel, Joshua, Ezra, and Nehemiah; and so, by the four horns, those that opposed them in building the city and temple, as Rehum, Shimshai, Sanballat, and Tobiah; but these seem too inferior governors to be signified by horns; nor did they do what is here ascribed to them; rather their nations, Samaritans, Arabians, Ammonites, and Philistines, are meant.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Zechariah 1:21. These are come to fray them — To break, pound, and reduce them to powder. Fray, from the French, frayer, to rub. חרשים charashim signifies either carpenters or smiths; probably the latter are here intended, who came with hammers, files, and such like, to destroy these horns, which no doubt seemed to be of iron.

From a sensible correspondent I have received the following note: -

"The word we translate carpenters, חרשים charashim, is a root which, according to Mr. Parkhurst, denotes silent thought or attention; and in kal and hiphil, to contrive, devise secretly, or in silence; hence applied as a noun to an artificer of any kind, and to any work which disposes to silent attention. Thus, to potters' ware, Leviticus 6:28; Job 2:8; and in many other places. So also to ploughing, Deuteronomy 22:10; Proverbs 20:4, which requires constant attention to make 'the right-lined furrow.' Let it be remembered that in ancient times such works were more esteemed than the useless ones we have learned to admire. So again, in Genesis 24:21, and elsewhere, it implies to be silent, as in deep thought or great attention.

"Now it is evident that the purport of this vision is the same with the gracious declarations which precede it, viz., to express the return of the protecting mercies of God to his people, delivering them from their enemies. I should therefore be inclined to render חרשים charashim here, watchers or inspectors, in the sense which our translators have rendered the Chaldee עיר ir, a watcher, in the fourth chapter of Daniel, Daniel 4:13; understanding thereby 'spirits of the heavens, which go forth from standing before the Lord of all the earth,' Zechariah 6:5, and are described in the first vision as 'sent to walk to and fro through the earth.' This gives to the whole narrative a sublime and important sense, affording us some glimpse of the Divine government by the ministration of angels, such as Jacob was favoured with in his vision at Beth-el, and which our Saviour himself informed Nathanael constituted part of the glory of his mediatorial kingdom." - M. A. B.