Zechariah 2 · Verse 4

Zechariah 2:4

And said unto him, Run, speak to this young man, saying, Jerusalem shall be inhabited as towns without walls for the multitude of men and cattle therein:
Zechariah 2:4, King James Version

Zechariah 2:4 in other translations

BSBand said to him, “Run and tell that young man: ‘Jerusalem will be a city without walls because of the multitude of men and livestock within it.
WEBand said to him, “Run, speak to this young man, saying, ‘Jerusalem will be inhabited as villages without walls, because of the multitude of men and livestock in it.
ASVand said unto him, Run, speak to this young man, saying, Jerusalem shall be inhabited as villages without walls, by reason of the multitude of men and cattle therein.
YLTand he saith unto him, ‘Run, speak unto this young man, saying: Unwalled villages inhabit doth Jerusalem, From the abundance of man and beast in her midst.
DARBYand said unto him, Run, speak to this young man, saying, Jerusalem shall be inhabited as towns without walls for the multitude of men and cattle therein;
BBESaid to him, Go quickly and say to this young man, Jerusalem will be an unwalled town, because of the great number of men and cattle in her.
WebsterAnd said to him, Run, speak to this young man, saying, Jerusalem shall be inhabited as towns without walls for the multitude of men and cattle in it.

What does Zechariah 2:4 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
4. this young man--So Zechariah is called as being still a youth when prophetically inspired [Grotius]. Or, he is so called in respect to his ministry or service (compare Nu 11:27; Jos 1:1) [Vatablus]. Naturally the "angel that talked with" Zechariah is desired to "speak to" him the further communications to be made from the Divine Being. towns without walls for the multitude ... Cattle--So many shall be its inhabitants that all could not be contained within the walls, but shall spread out in the open country around (Es 9:19); and so secure shall they be as not to need to shelter themselves and their cattle behind walls. So hereafter Judea is to be "the land of unwalled villages" (Eze 38:11). Spiritually, now the Church has extended herself beyond the walls (Ep 2:14, 15) of Mosaic ordinances and has spread from cities to country villages, whose inhabitants gave their Latin name (pagani) to pagans, as being the last in parting with heathenism.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 4 Run, speak to this young man - Nehemiah must have been a young man when he was sakee, or cup-bearer, to Artaxerxes. As towns without walls - It shall be so numerously inhabited as not to be contained within its ancient limits. Josephus, speaking of this time, says, Wars 5:4:2, "The city, overflowing with inhabitants, by degrees extended itself beyond its walls."

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Zechariah 2:1-5

The Son of David, even the Man Christ Jesus, whom the prophet sees with a measuring line in his hand, is the Master-Builder of his church. God notices the extent of his church, and will take care that whatever number of guests are brought to the wedding-supper, there shall be room. This vision means well to Jerusalem. The walls of a city, as they defend it, so they straiten its inhabitants; but Jerusalem shall be…

Read the full comment on Zechariah 2:1-5 →

Zechariah 2:4 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וַיֹּ֣אמֶרvai.Yo.merand he saidH559
אֵלָ֔יו'e.Lavto himH413
רֻ֗ץRutzrunH7323
דַּבֵּ֛רda.BerspeakH1696
אֶל\־'el-toH413
הַנַּ֥עַרha.Na.'arthe young manH5288
הַלָּ֖זha.LazthisH1975
לֵאמֹ֑רle.Mor<to> sayingH559
פְּרָזוֹת֙pe.ra.zOtopen regionsH6519
תֵּשֵׁ֣בte.Shevit will remainH3427
יְרוּשָׁלִַ֔םye.ru.sha.LimJerusalemH3389
מֵרֹ֥בme.Rofrom [the] multitude ofH7230
אָדָ֛ם'a.Damperson[s]H120
וּבְהֵמָ֖הu.ve.he.Mahand livestockH929
בְּתוֹכָֽהּ\׃be.to.Khahin [the] midst of itH8432

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Zechariah 2:4

  • Zechariah 1:17

    Cry yet, saying, Thus saith the Lord of hosts; My cities through prosperity shall yet be spread abroad; and the Lord shall yet comfort Zion, and shall yet choose Jerusalem.

  • Jeremiah 33:22

    As the host of heaven cannot be numbered, neither the sand of the sea measured: so will I multiply the seed of David my servant, and the Levites that minister unto me.

  • Micah 7:11

    In the day that thy walls are to be built, in that day shall the decree be far removed.

  • Ezekiel 38:11

    And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates,

  • Jeremiah 31:27

    Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man, and with the seed of beast.

  • Zechariah 8:4-5

    Thus saith the Lord of hosts; There shall yet old men and old women dwell in the streets of Jerusalem, and every man with his staff in his hand for very age. And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in the streets thereof.

  • Ezekiel 36:10-11

    And I will multiply men upon you, all the house of Israel, even all of it: and the cities shall be inhabited, and the wastes shall be builded: And I will multiply upon you man and beast; and they shall increase and bring fruit: and I will settle you after your old estates, and will do better unto you than at your beginnings: and ye shall know that I am the Lord.

  • Isaiah 49:20

    The children which thou shalt have, after thou hast lost the other, shall say again in thine ears, The place is too strait for me: give place to me that I may dwell.

  • Zechariah 12:6

    In that day will I make the governors of Judah like an hearth of fire among the wood, and like a torch of fire in a sheaf; and they shall devour all the people round about, on the right hand and on the left: and Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place, even in Jerusalem.

  • Zechariah 14:10-11

    All the land shall be turned as a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem: and it shall be lifted up, and inhabited in her place, from Benjamin’s gate unto the place of the first gate, unto the corner gate, and from the tower of Hananeel unto the king’s winepresses. And men shall dwell in it, and there shall be no more utter destruction; but Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited.

  • Isaiah 44:26

    That confirmeth the word of his servant, and performeth the counsel of his messengers; that saith to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be inhabited; and to the cities of Judah, Ye shall be built, and I will raise up the decayed places thereof:

  • Jeremiah 33:10-13

    Thus saith the Lord; Again there shall be heard in this place, which ye say shall be desolate without man and without beast, even in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, that are desolate, without man, and without inhabitant, and without beast, The voice of joy, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the voice of them that shall say, Praise the Lord of hosts: for the Lord is good; for his mercy endureth for ever: and of them that shall bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the Lord. For I will cause to return the captivity of the land, as at the first, saith the Lord. Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Again in this place, which is desolate without man and without beast, and in all the cities thereof, shall be an habitation of shepherds causing their flocks to lie down. In the cities of the mountains, in the cities of the vale, and in the cities of the south, and in the land of Benjamin, and in the places about Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, shall the flocks pass again under the hands of him that telleth them, saith the Lord.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
young.
Jer 1:6; Da 1:17; 1Ti 4:12
Jerusalem.We learn from Josephus, that Jerusalem actually overflowed with inhabitants, and gradually extended itself beyond its walls, and that Herod Agrippa fortified the new part, called Bezetha.
1:17; 8:4,5; 12:6; 14:10,11; Isa 33:20; 44:26; Jer 30:18,19; 31:24,27
Jer 31:38-40; 33:10-13; Eze 36:10,11; Mic 7:11

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Zechariah 2:3

    And, behold, the angel that talked with me went forth, and another angel went out to meet him,

  • Zechariah 2:4

    And said unto him, Run, speak to this young man, saying, Jerusalem shall be inhabited as towns without walls for the multitude of men and cattle therein:

  • Zechariah 2:5

    For I, saith the Lord, will be unto her a wall of fire round about, and will be the glory in the midst of her.

Read all of Zechariah 2

Zechariah 2:4 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Y díjole: Corre, habla á este mozo, diciendo: Sin muros será habitada Jerusalem á causa de la multitud de los hombres, y de las bestias en medio de ella.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Et je dis: Que viennent faire ceux-ci? Et il parla, disant: Ce sont là les cornes qui ont dispersé Juda, de manière que personne ne levait la tête; mais ceux-ci sont venus pour les effrayer, pour jeter loin les cornes des nations qui ont levé la corne contre le pays de Juda pour le disperser.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Und er sprach zu ihm: Laufe, rede zu diesem Jüngling und sprich: Als offene Stadt wird Jerusalem bewohnt werden wegen der Menge Menschen und Vieh in seiner Mitte.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		et dixit ad eum: Curre, loquere ad puerum istum, dicens: Absque muro habitabitur Jerusalem, præ multitudine hominum et jumentorum in medio ejus.