to flit · conjunction + verb, qal imperative, 2nd person masculine plural
land
מֵאֶ֥רֶץme.'E.retz
H776
the earth (at large · preposition + noun, common feminine singular construct
north
צָפ֖וֹןtza.Fon
H6828
properly · noun, common feminine singular absolute
saith
נְאֻםne.'um-
H5002
an oracle · noun, common masculine singular construct
LORD
יְהוָ֑הYah.weh
H3068
Jehovah · proper noun, a title
abroad
פֵּרַ֥שְׂתִּיpe.Ras.ti
H6566
to break apart · verb, piel perfect, 1st person common singular
four
כְּאַרְבַּ֞עke.'ar.Ba'
H702
four · preposition + noun, common both genders singular construct
winds
רוּח֧וֹתru.Chot
H7307
wind · noun, common feminine plural construct
heaven
הַשָּׁמַ֛יִםha.sha.Ma.yim
H8064
the sky (as aloft · definite article + noun, common masculine plural absolute
saith
נְאֻםne.'um-
H5002
an oracle · noun, common masculine singular construct
LORD
יְהוָֽהYah.weh
H3068
Jehovah · proper noun, a title
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Isaiah 48:20 Go ye forth of Babylon, flee ye from the Chaldeans, with a voice of singing declare ye, tell this, utter it even to the end of the earth; sa…
Ezekiel 17:21 And all his fugitives with all his bands shall fall by the sword, and they that remain shall be scattered toward all winds: and ye shall kno…
Genesis 19:17 And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad, that he said, Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in…
Deuteronomy 28:64 And the LORD shall scatter thee among all people, from the one end of the earth even unto the other; and there thou shalt serve other gods,…
Isaiah 52:11-12 Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence, touch no unclean thing; go ye out of the midst of her; be ye clean, that bear the vessels of th…
Ezekiel 11:16 Therefore say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Although I have cast them far off among the heathen, and although I have scattered them among the co…
Revelation 18:4 And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of…
Isaiah 55:1 Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Zechariah 2:6-9
One would have thought that Cyrus's proclamation, which gave liberty to the captive Jews to return to their own land, would suffice to bring them all back, and that, as when Pharaoh gave them leave to quit Egypt and their house of bondage there, they would not leave a hoof behind; but it seems it had not that effect. There were about 40,000 whose spirits God stirred up to go, and they went; but many, perhaps the greater part, staid behind. The land of their captivity was to most of them the land of their nativity; they had taken root there, had gained a settlement, and many of them a very comfortable one; some perhaps had got estates and preferments there, and they did not think they could b…
flee from the land of the north--that is, from Babylon: a type of the various Gentile lands, from which the Jews are to be recalled hereafter; hence "the four winds of heaven" are specified, implying that they are to return from all quarters (Deu 28:64; Jer 16:15; Eze 17:21). The reason why they should flee from Babylon is: (1) because of the blessings promised to God's people in their own land; (2) because of the evils about to fall on their foe (Zac 2:7-9). Babylon was soon to fall before Darius, and its inhabitants to endure fearful calamities (Isa 48:20; Jer 50:8; Jer 51:6, Jer 51:45). Many of the Jews in Zechariah's time had not yet returned to Judea. Their tardiness was owing to (1) un…
Flee from the land of the north - From Chaldee, Persia, and Babylon, where several of the Jews still remained. See Zac 2:7.
John Gill on Zechariah 2:6
Ho, ho,.... This word expresses a call and proclamation; and is doubled, as Kimchi observes, to confirm it; and so the Targum paraphrases it,
"proclaim to the dispersed:''
come forth, and flee from the land of the north, saith the Lord; that is, from Babylon, which lay north of Judea; see Jeremiah 1:13 Jeremiah 3:12 where many of the Jews continued, and did not return with the rest when they came up out of the captivity; and are therefore called to come forth from thence in haste; and figuratively designs, either the people of God that are among the men of the world, and are called to separate from them, and have no fellowship with there; or such as will be in mystical Babylon, a little be…
The Church Fathers
(Verse 6 and following) O, O flee from the land of the North, says the Lord, for I have scattered you like the four winds of heaven, says the Lord. O Zion, arise, you who dwell in the daughter of Babylon. LXX: O flee from the land of the north, says the Lord, for I will gather you from the four winds of heaven, says the Lord. In Zion you shall be saved, you who dwell in the daughter of Babylon. The regions of the world, which the Greeks call climates, are understood to be located near Jerusalem and the temple. Therefore, the Assyrians and Babylonians, who devastated the people of God, dwell in the land of the North. Finally, in Jeremiah (Chapter I), the pot that is filled with meat (which is understood to be the city of Jerusalem) is set on fire from the face of the North. Therefore, since the angel had commanded the angel who met the prophetic angel in Zechariah to speak to the boy (for in comparison to the angelic dignity, all human nature is called boyhood, because we do not progress from angels to us, but from us to angels), and to say to him: Jerusalem shall be inhabited without walls, and the rest. Now the same word of the Lord comes to those who live in the North: that they should gather from the four winds, to whom they had been scattered throughout the whole world, and return to Zion, those who dwelt in Babylon. Or certainly in this way: O you who have been scattered in the four parts of the heavens, flee from the land of the North, and, O Zion, who now dwells in Babylon, flee and return to your former home. And that when it is said in the vocative case 'O' for the third time, it is an exhortation to flee, so that they may know that they have been warned not once, but repeatedly, to flee. It is said in another way: Aquilo is the most violent wind, which hardens the hearts of its inhabitants and from which all the evils that dwell on the earth are kindled, and towards which, according to the same prophet Zachariah, the black horses go out to stand in their own region (Zach. I and VI). He also, who in Isaiah boasted, saying: I will ascend into heaven, I will set my throne above the stars of heaven, I will sit upon the mountain of the covenant, in the heights of the north (Isai. XIV, 13), boasts of having a kingdom in the coldest place on earth. We read in another place: Behold, smoke comes from the north (Ibid., 31): and it is said of those who have…
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Winds — Blowing from the four quarters of heaven (Jer. 49:36; Ezek. 37:9; Dan. 8:8; Zech. 2:6). The east wind was parching (Ezek. 17:10; 19:12), and is sometimes mentioned as simply denoting a strong wind…
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
Zechariah 2:6
6. Ho, ho, come forth, and flee from the land of the north, saith the LORD: for I have spread you abroad as the four winds of the heaven, saith the LORD.
6. Heus! Heus! et fugite e terra Aquilonis, dicit Iehova; quia in quatuor ventos coelorum dispersi vos, dicit Iehova.
That the design of the Prophet may be more clear, we must especially bear in mind the history of the case. When it was allowed the Jews, by the edict of Cyrus and of Darius, to return to their own land, that kindness was suspected by many, as though the two kings had a wish suddenly to oppress them when they had pained their object in their return. Some who dwelt comfortably among the Chaldeans and in other…
The prophecy commences thus in Zac 2:6-9 : Zac 2:6. "Ho, ho, flee out of the land of the north, is the saying of Jehovah; for I spread you out as the four winds of heaven, is the saying of Jehovah. Zac 2:7. Ho, Zion, save thyself, thou that dwellest with the daughter Babel. Zac 2:8. For thus saith Jehovah of hosts, After glory hath he sent me to the nations that have plundered you; for whoever toucheth you, toucheth the apple of His eye. Zac 2:9. For, behold, I swing my hand over them, and they become a spoil to those who served them; and ye will see that Jehovah of hosts hath sent me." The summons to flee out of Babylon, in Zac 2:6 and Zac 2:7, is addressed to the Israelites, who are all in…
God’s call for the exiles’ return from Babylon anticipated his people’s restoration to the land of Israel (2:6-9) and the restoration of his presence to his people in Jerusalem (2:10-13).
2:6 Come away! The emphatic command carries the force of a promise that the Lord would lead his people out of exile and into a restored Jerusalem (cp. Isa 55:1). • the land of the north: It was necessary to travel north in order to move to the east, so Babylonia was thought of as lying in the north. • four winds: The Hebrew exiles would return to Judah and Jerusalem from all directions (see Ezek 12:14; 37:9).
Rashi on Zechariah 2:5
a measuring line A measuring line to measure Jerusalem, how much its length and its breadth shall be.
