Then I asked, “Where are you going?” He said to me, “To measure Jerusalem, to see what is its width and what is its length.”
Parallel translations
- KJV 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.
- BSB “Where are you going?” I asked. “To measure Jerusalem,” he replied, “and to determine its width and length.”
- NKJV 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.”
- NASB 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.”
- NLT “Where are you going?” I asked. He replied, “I am going to measure Jerusalem, to see how wide and how long it is.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Zechariah learns the man is going to measure Jerusalem's dimensions. God is taking stock of the city He will restore.
Overview
The measuring shows God's careful, purposeful attention to Jerusalem's rebuilding and future expansion. Far from abandoned, the city is the object of God's planning. The detail prepares for the surprising revelation that follows: the restored Jerusalem will overflow its walls because of God's blessing.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Rev 21:15–17He who spoke with me had for a measure a golden reed to measure the city, its gates, and its walls.
- Ezek 45:6You shall appoint the possession of the city five thousand wide, and twenty-five thousand long, side by side with the offering of the holy portion: it shall be for the whole house of Israel.
- Jer 31:39The measuring line shall go out further straight onward to the hill Gareb, and shall turn about to Goah.
- Zech 5:10Then I said to the angel who talked with me, “Where are these carrying the ephah basket?”
- Ezek 48:15–17The five thousand that are left in the width, in front of the twenty-five thousand, shall be for common use, for the city, for dwelling and for suburbs; and the city shall be in the middle of it.
- Rev 11:1A reed like a rod was given to me. Someone said, “Rise, and measure God’s temple, and the altar, and those who worship in it.
- John 16:5But now I am going to him who sent me, and none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’
- Ezek 40:3He brought me there; and, behold, there was a man, whose appearance was like the appearance of brass, with a line of flax in his hand, and a measuring reed; and he stood in the gate.
- Ezek 48:30–35These are the exits of the city: On the north side four thousand and five hundred reeds by measure;
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Christ at the center
The Branch who is both priest and king, the shepherd struck and the flock scattered, the king coming humble on a donkey, the one they pierced, the fountain opened for sin — Zechariah is dense with Christ.
How Zechariah 2:2 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.