Zechariah 6:8

The Holy Bible, Berean Study Bible

Contextual Overview

¹And again I lifted up my eyes and saw four chariots coming out from between two mountains-mountains of bronze. ²The first chariot had red horses, the second black horses, ³the third white horses, and the fourth dappled horses-all of them strong. ⁴So I inquired of the angel who was speaking with me, "What are these, my lord?" ⁵And the angel told me, "These are the four spirits of heaven, going out from their station before the Lord of all the earth. ⁶The 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." ⁷As the strong horses went out, they were eager to go and patrol the earth; and the LORD said, "Go, patrol the earth." So they patrolled the earth. ⁸Then the LORD summoned me and said, "Behold, those going to the land of the north have given rest to My Spirit in the land of the north."

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

quieted: Zechariah 1:15, Judges 8:3, Judges 15:7, Ecclesiastes 10:4, Isaiah 1:24, Isaiah 18:3, Isaiah 18:4, Isaiah 42:13-15, Isaiah 48:14, Isaiah 51:22, Isaiah 51:23, Jeremiah 51:48, Jeremiah 51:49, Ezekiel 5:13, Ezekiel 16:42, Ezekiel 16:63, Revelation 18:21, Revelation 18:22

Reciprocal: Joshua 7:26 - So the Lord 2 Samuel 21:14 - God Esther 7:10 - Then was the king's Ezekiel 9:11 - I have Ezekiel 21:17 - and I

Cross-References

Genesis 6:12
And God looked upon the earth and saw that it was corrupt; for all living creatures on the earth had corrupted their ways.

Genesis 6:17
And behold, I will bring floodwaters upon the earth, to destroy every creature under the heavens that has the breath of life. Everything on the earth will perish.

Genesis 19:19
Your servant has indeed found favor in your sight, and you have shown me great kindness by sparing my life. But I cannot run to the mountains; the disaster will overtake me, and I will die.

Psalms 84:11
For the LORD God is a sun and a shield; the LORD gives grace and glory; He withholds no good thing from those who walk with integrity.

Psalms 145:20
The LORD preserves all who love Him, but all the wicked He will destroy.

Proverbs 3:4
Then you will find favor and high regard in the sight of God and man.

Proverbs 8:35
For whoever finds me finds life and obtains the favor of the LORD;

Proverbs 12:2
The good man obtains favor from the LORD, but the LORD condemns a man who devises evil.

Jeremiah 31:2
This is what the LORD says: "The people who survived the sword found favor in the wilderness when Israel went to find rest."

Luke 1:30
So the angel told her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Then cried he upon me, and spake unto me, saying,.... That is, the Lord of the whole earth spoke to the prophet with a loud voice, and uttered the following words:

Behold, these that go toward the north country; meaning the Medes and Persians, which went towards Babylon:

have quieted my spirit in the north country; by executing the judgments of God upon the Chaldeans, and by helping, favouring, and delivering the people of the Jews; which were very agreeable to the will of God, and well pleasing in his sight, signified by the quieting or refreshing his Spirit.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Then God, or the Angel of the Lord - who speaks of what belonged to God alone, “called me” (probably “loudly” Judges 4:10, Judges 4:13; 2 Samuel 20:4-5), so as to command his attention to this which most immediately concerned his people.

These have quieted My spirit in the north country - Or rather, “have made My anger to rest” on, that is, have carried it thither and deposited it there, made it to rest upon them, as its abode, as John saith of the unbelieving, “The wrath of God abideth on him” John 3:36. Babylon had been the final antagonist and subduer of the people of God. It had at the outset destroyed the temple of God, and carried off its vessels to adorn idol-temples. Its empire closed on that night when it triumphed over God , using the vessels dedicated to Him, to the glorifying of their idols. “In that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldaeans slain.” This final execution of God’s anger upon that their destroyer was the earnest of the rest to them; and in this the visions pause.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Zechariah 6:8. Have quieted my spirit in the north country. — They have fulfilled my judgments on Assyria and Chaldea. Nabopolassar and Cyrus first, against the Assyrians and Chaldeans; and Alexander next, against the Persians. On this vision Abp. Newcome remarks:-

The black horses seem to denote the Persian empire; which, by subduing the Chaldeans, and being about to inflict a second heavy chastisement on Babylon, quieted God's spirit with respect to Chaldea; a country always spoken of as lying to the north of the Jews.

The white horses seem to be the Macedonian empire; which, like the Persian, overcame Chaldea.

The spotted bay horses seem to be the Roman empire. This description suits it because it was governed by kings, consuls, dictators, and emperors. It penetrated southward to Egypt and Africa. The Roman empire is mentioned twice, Zechariah 6:6-7, under each epithet given it, Zechariah 6:3.