Zechariah 6:2

The Darby Translation

In the first chariot were red horses; and in the second chariot black horses;

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
The first chariot had chestnut horses, the second chariot black horses,

Hebrew Names Version
In the first chariot were red horses; in the second chariot black horses;

King James Version (1611)
In the first charet were red horses, and in the second charet, blacke horses.

King James Version
In the first chariot were red horses; and in the second chariot black horses;

English Standard Version
The first chariot had red horses, the second black horses,

New American Standard Bible
With the first chariot were red horses, with the second chariot black horses,

New Century Version
Red horses pulled the first chariot. Black horses pulled the second chariot.

Amplified Bible
The first chariot had red horses (war, bloodshed), the second chariot had black horses (famine, death),

Geneva Bible (1587)
In the first charet were red horses, and in the second charet blacke horses,

New American Standard Bible (1995)
With the first chariot were red horses, with the second chariot black horses,

Legacy Standard Bible
With the first chariot were red horses, with the second chariot black horses,

Berean Standard Bible
The first chariot had red horses, the second black horses,

Contemporary English Version
The first chariot was pulled by red horses, and the second by black horses;

Complete Jewish Bible
The first chariot had red horses; the second chariot, black horses;

Easy-to-Read Version
Red horses were pulling the first chariot. Black horses were pulling the second chariot.

George Lamsa Translation
In the first chariot were red horses; in the second chariot black horses;

Good News Translation
The first chariot was pulled by red horses, the second by black horses,

Lexham English Bible
With the first chariot there were red horses, and with the second chariot there were black horses.

Literal Translation
With the first chariot were red horses, and with the second chariot black horses,

American Standard Version
In the first chariot were red horses; and in the second chariot black horses;

Bible in Basic English
In the first war-carriage were red horses; and in the second, black horses;

JPS Old Testament (1917)
In the first chariot were red horses; and in the second chariot black horses;

Bishop's Bible (1568)
In the first charret were red horses, in ye seconde charret were blacke horses,

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
In the first chariot were red horses; and in the second chariot black horses;

English Revised Version
In the first chariot were red horses; and in the second chariot black horses;

World English Bible
In the first chariot were red horses; in the second chariot black horses;

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
In the firste foure horsid carte weren reed horsis, and in the secounde foure horsid carte weren blac horsis;

Update Bible Version
In the first chariot were red horses; and in the second chariot black horses;

Webster's Bible Translation
In the first chariot [were] red horses; and in the second chariot black horses;

New English Translation
Harnessed to the first chariot were red horses, to the second black horses,

New King James Version
With the first chariot were red horses, with the second chariot black horses,

New Living Translation
The first chariot was pulled by red horses, the second by black horses,

New Life Bible
The first war-wagon had red horses. The second war-wagon had black horses.

New Revised Standard
The first chariot had red horses, the second chariot black horses,

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
In the first chariot, were red horses, - and, in the second chariot, black horses;

Douay-Rheims Bible
In the first chariot were red horses, and in the second chariot black horses.

Revised Standard Version
The first chariot had red horses, the second black horses,

Young's Literal Translation
In the first chariot [are] red horses, and in the second chariot brown horses,

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
In the first charet were reade horse, In the secode charet were blacke horse,

THE MESSAGE
The first chariot was drawn by red horses, the second chariot by black horses, the third chariot by white horses, and the fourth chariot by dappled horses. All the horses were powerful.

Contextual Overview

¹ And I lifted up mine eyes again, and saw, and behold, there came four chariots out from between two mountains; and the mountains were mountains of brass. ² In the first chariot were red horses; and in the second chariot black horses; ³ and in the third chariot white horses; and in the fourth chariot grisled, strong horses. ⁴ And I spoke and said unto the angel that talked with me, What are these, my lord? ⁵ And the angel answered and said unto me, These are the four spirits of the heavens, which go forth from standing before the Lord of all the earth. ⁶ 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; ⁷ and the strong go forth, and seek to go that they may walk to and fro through the earth. And he said, Go, walk to and fro through the earth. And they walked to and fro through the earth. ⁸ And he cried unto me, and spoke unto me, saying, See, these that go forth towards the north country have quieted my spirit in the north country.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

red: Zechariah 1:8, Revelation 6:2-5, Revelation 12:3, Revelation 17:3

black: Zechariah 6:6, Revelation 6:5, Revelation 6:6

Reciprocal: Nahum 2:3 - made Revelation 6:4 - horse

Cross-References

Genesis 3:6
And the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a pleasure for the eyes, and the tree was to be desired to give intelligence; and she took of its fruit, and ate, and gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.

Genesis 4:26
And to Seth, to him also was born a son; and he called his name Enosh. Then people began to call on the name of Jehovah.

Genesis 6:1
And it came to pass when mankind began to multiply on the earth, and daughters were born to them,

Genesis 6:2
that the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair, and took themselves wives of all that they chose.

Genesis 6:3
And Jehovah said, My Spirit shall not always plead with Man; for he indeed is flesh; but his days shall be a hundred and twenty years.

Genesis 6:4
In those days were the giants on the earth, and also afterwards, when the sons of God had come in to the daughters of men, and they had borne [children] to them; these were the heroes, who of old were men of renown.

Genesis 6:6
And Jehovah repented that he had made Man on the earth, and it grieved him in his heart.

Genesis 6:7
And Jehovah said, I will destroy Man, whom I have created, from the earth—from man to cattle, to creeping things, and to fowl of the heavens; for I repent that I have made them.

Genesis 6:8
But Noah found favour in the eyes of Jehovah.

Genesis 6:12
And God looked upon the earth, and behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted its way on the earth.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

In the first chariot [were] red horses,.... If these are to be understood of the apostles of Christ, and ministers of the Gospel, they may be compared to "horses", for bearing the name of Christ, and drawing the chariot of the Gospel; for their strength to labour in the word and doctrine; for their courage in the cause of Christ; and for their swiftness in doing his work; and to "red" ones, for their flaming zeal for the honour of the Redeemer, and their bloody sufferings for his sake: and if of angels, they may be compared to "horses", because strong and swift to do the will of God; and to "red" ones, because they are the executioners of his wrath and vengeance on wicked men: but if by "the chariots" are meant the monarchies, then by these "red horses" must be designed the Babylonians and Chaldeans, so called because their soldiers were clothed in red, and their chariots were like flaming torches; and they were sanguinary, cruel, and bloody in their tempers, and in their actions to the Jews; and were signified by Nebuchadnezzar's head of gold in his image; see Nahum 2:3:

and in the second chariot black horses; which, applied to the apostles and ministers of the Gospel, may denote their mean and abject appearance outwardly, and their knowledge in the mysteries of grace, which are dark and obscure to others; and, if understood of angels, is applicable to them, when messengers of ill tidings, or executioners of judgment: but if the monarchies are meant, which seems best, the Medes and Persians are intended; and their "black" colour is expressive of the sorrowful estate of the Jews under them, especially in the time of Haman, as Jarchi and Kimchi observe: black horses were reckoned strong, well made, and fit for labour; and the Ethiopians and Moors chose to have their horses they used in war all of this colour, to strike the greater horror and terror into their enemies; and to see black horses in a dream was accounted a bad omen s. The Medes and Persians were a strong and warlike people, and were very terrible to their enemies, under Cyrus; and very troublesome and distressing to the Jews, under Cambyses and Ahasuerus.

s Vid. Bochart. Hierozoic. par. 1. l. 2. c. 7. col. 106, 107.

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 6:2. In the first chariot were red horses] The empire of the Chaldeans, which overthrew the empire of the Assyrians.

The second chariot black horses — The empire of the Persians founded by Cyrus, which destroyed the empire of the Chaldeans.