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Thursday, July 24th, 2025
the Week of Proper 11 / Ordinary 16
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Read the Bible

THE MESSAGE

Zechariah 2:2

This verse is not available in the MSG!

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Jerusalem;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Sciences;  

Dictionaries:

- Fausset Bible Dictionary - Zechariah, the Book of;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Line;   Zechariah, Book of;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Messiah;   Zechariah, Book of;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - New Jerusalem;   The Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary - Gareb;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Zechariah, Book of;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
I asked, “Where are you going?”
Hebrew Names Version
Then I asked, "Where are you going?" He said to me, "To measure Yerushalayim, to see what is its breadth and what is its length."
King James Version (1611)
Then said I, Whither goest thou? And hee said vnto me, To measure Ierusalem, to see what is the breadth thereof, and what is the length thereof.
King James Version
Then said I, Whither goest thou? And he said unto me, To measure Jerusalem, to see what is the breadth thereof, and what is the length thereof.
English Standard Version
Then I said, "Where are you going?" And he said to me, "To measure Jerusalem, to see what is its width and what is its length."
New American Standard Bible
So I said, "Where are you going?" And he said to me, "To measure Jerusalem, to see how wide it is and how long it is."
New Century Version
I asked him, "Where are you going?" He said to me, "I am going to measure Jerusalem, to see how wide and how long it is."
Amplified Bible
So I said, "Where are you going?" And he said to me, "To measure Jerusalem, to see how wide it is and how long it is."
Geneva Bible (1587)
Then saide I, Whither goest thou? And he saide vnto me, To measure Ierusalem, that I may see what is the breadth thereof, and what is the length thereof.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
So I said, "Where are you going?" And he said to me, "To measure Jerusalem, to see how wide it is and how long it is."
Legacy Standard Bible
So I said, "Where are you going?" And he said to me, "To measure Jerusalem, to see how wide it is and how long it is."
Berean Standard Bible
"Where are you going?" I asked. "To measure Jerusalem," he replied, "and to determine its width and length."
Contemporary English Version
and I asked, "Where are you going?" "To measure Jerusalem," was the answer. "To find out how wide and long it is."
Complete Jewish Bible
I asked the angel who was speaking to me, "What are these?" He answered, "These are the horns that scattered Y'hudah, Isra'el and Yerushalayim."
Darby Translation
And I said, Whither goest thou? And he said unto me, To measure Jerusalem, to see what is the breadth thereof, and what is the length thereof.
Easy-to-Read Version
I asked him, "Where are you going?" He said to me, "I am going to measure Jerusalem, to see how wide and how long it is."
George Lamsa Translation
And I said to him, Where are you going? And he said to me, To measure Jerusalem, to see what is its breadth and what is its length.
Good News Translation
"Where are you going?" I asked. "To measure Jerusalem," he answered, "to see how long and how wide it is."
Lexham English Bible
And I asked, "Where are you going?" And he answered me, "To measure Jerusalem to see what is its width and what is its length."
Literal Translation
And I said, Where are you going? And he said to me, To measure Jerusalem, to see what is its breadth and what is its length.
American Standard Version
Then said I, Whither goest thou? And he said unto me, To measure Jerusalem, to see what is the breadth thereof, and what is the length thereof.
Bible in Basic English
And I said to him, Where are you going? And he said to me, To take the measure of Jerusalem, to see how wide and how long it is.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
And I said unto the angel that spoke with me: 'What are these?' And he said unto me: 'These are the horns which have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.'
Bishop's Bible (1568)
Then saide I: whyther goest thou? And he said vnto me: To measure Hierusalem, that I may see how long and how broade it is.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And I said to him, Whither goest thou? And he said to me, To measure Jerusalem, to see what is the breadth of it, and what is the length of it.
English Revised Version
Then said I, Whither goest thou? And he said unto me, To measure Jerusalem, to see what is the breadth thereof, and what is the length thereof.
World English Bible
Then I asked, "Where are you going?" He said to me, "To measure Jerusalem, to see what is its breadth and what is its length."
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And Y seide, Whidir goist thou? And he seide to me, That Y mete Jerusalem, and Judee; hou myche is the breede therof, and hou myche is the lengthe therof.
Update Bible Version
Then I said, Where are you going? And he said to me, To measure Jerusalem, to see what is the width thereof, and what is the length thereof.
Webster's Bible Translation
Then said I, Whither goest thou? And he said to me, To measure Jerusalem, to see what [is] its breadth, and what [is] its length.
New English Translation
I asked, "Where are you going?" He replied, "To measure Jerusalem in order to determine its width and its length."
New King James Version
So I said, "Where are you going?" And he said to me, "To measure Jerusalem, to see what is its width and what is its length."
New Living Translation
"Where are you going?" I asked. He replied, "I am going to measure Jerusalem, to see how wide and how long it is."
New Life Bible
So I said, "Where are you going?" And he said to me, "To see how long and how wide Jerusalem is."
New Revised Standard
Then I asked, "Where are you going?" He answered me, "To measure Jerusalem, to see what is its width and what is its length."
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And I said, Whither art thou going? And he said unto me, To measure Jerusalem, to see what should be the breadth thereof, and what the length thereof.
Douay-Rheims Bible
And I said: Whither goest thou? and he said to me: To measure Jerusalem, and to see how great is the breadth thereof, and how great the length thereof.
Revised Standard Version
Then I said, "Where are you going?" And he said to me, "To measure Jerusalem, to see what is its breadth and what is its length."
Young's Literal Translation
And I say, `Whither are thou going?' And he saith unto me, `To measure Jerusalem, to see how much [is] its breadth, and how much its length.'
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Then saide I: whether goest thou? And he sayde vnto me: To measure Ierusalem, that I maye se how longe and how brode it is.

Contextual Overview

1 I looked up and was surprised to see a man holding a tape measure in his hand. I said, "What are you up to?" "I'm on my way," he said, "to survey Jerusalem, to measure its width and length." Just then the Messenger-Angel on his way out met another angel coming in and said, "Run! Tell the Surveyor, ‘Jerusalem will burst its walls— bursting with people, bursting with animals. And I'll be right there with her'— God 's Decree—‘a wall of fire around unwalled Jerusalem and a radiant presence within.'"

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Whither: Zechariah 5:10, John 16:5

unto: Jeremiah 31:39, Ezekiel 45:6, Ezekiel 48:15-17, Ezekiel 48:30-35, Revelation 11:1, Revelation 21:15-17

Reciprocal: Job 38:5 - who hath stretched Ezekiel 40:3 - with Amos 7:7 - a wall Zechariah 1:16 - and Zechariah 1:19 - What

Cross-References

Genesis 1:31
God looked over everything he had made; it was so good, so very good! It was evening, it was morning— Day Six.
Genesis 2:8
Then God planted a garden in Eden, in the east. He put the Man he had just made in it. God made all kinds of trees grow from the ground, trees beautiful to look at and good to eat. The Tree-of-Life was in the middle of the garden, also the Tree-of-Knowledge-of-Good-and-Evil.
Exodus 23:12
"Work for six days and rest the seventh so your ox and donkey may rest and your servant and migrant workers may have time to get their needed rest.
Isaiah 58:13
"If you watch your step on the Sabbath and don't use my holy day for personal advantage, If you treat the Sabbath as a day of joy, God 's holy day as a celebration, If you honor it by refusing ‘business as usual,' making money, running here and there— Then you'll be free to enjoy God ! Oh, I'll make you ride high and soar above it all. I'll make you feast on the inheritance of your ancestor Jacob." Yes! God says so!
John 5:17
But Jesus defended himself. "My Father is working straight through, even on the Sabbath. So am I."
Hebrews 4:4
When the Promises Are Mixed with Faith For as long, then, as that promise of resting in him pulls us on to God's goal for us, we need to be careful that we're not disqualified. We received the same promises as those people in the wilderness, but the promises didn't do them a bit of good because they didn't receive the promises with faith. If we believe, though, we'll experience that state of resting. But not if we don't have faith. Remember that God said, Exasperated, I vowed, "They'll never get where they're going, never be able to sit down and rest." God made that vow, even though he'd finished his part before the foundation of the world. Somewhere it's written, "God rested the seventh day, having completed his work," but in this other text he says, "They'll never be able to sit down and rest." So this promise has not yet been fulfilled. Those earlier ones never did get to the place of rest because they were disobedient. God keeps renewing the promise and setting the date as today, just as he did in David's psalm, centuries later than the original invitation: Today, please listen, don't turn a deaf ear... And so this is still a live promise. It wasn't canceled at the time of Joshua; otherwise, God wouldn't keep renewing the appointment for "today." The promise of "arrival" and "rest" is still there for God's people. God himself is at rest. And at the end of the journey we'll surely rest with God. So let's keep at it and eventually arrive at the place of rest, not drop out through some sort of disobedience. God means what he says. What he says goes. His powerful Word is sharp as a surgeon's scalpel, cutting through everything, whether doubt or defense, laying us open to listen and obey. Nothing and no one is impervious to God's Word. We can't get away from it—no matter what. Now that we know what we have—Jesus, this great High Priest with ready access to God—let's not let it slip through our fingers. We don't have a priest who is out of touch with our reality. He's been through weakness and testing, experienced it all—all but the sin. So let's walk right up to him and get what he is so ready to give. Take the mercy, accept the help.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Then said I, Whither goest thou?.... As it showed great freedom and boldness in the prophet to put such a question to the man with the measuring reed, it was great condescension in him to return him an answer, as follows:

and he said unto me, To measure Jerusalem; not literally understood, which was not yet thoroughly built; but the Gospel church, often so called; see Hebrews 12:22 and this measuring of it denotes the conformity of it to the rule of God's word; a profession of the true doctrines of it, and an observance of the ordinances of it, as delivered in it; and an agreement of the walk, life, and conversation of its members with it:

to see what [is] the breadth thereof, and what [is] the length thereof; the length of the New Jerusalem is as large as the breadth; its length, breadth, and height, are equal, Revelation 21:16.


 
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