Isaiah 54:16

Hebrew Bible

14 You will be reestablished when I vindicate you. You will not experience oppression; indeed, you will not be afraid. You will not be terrified, for nothing frightening will come near you. 15 If anyone dares to challenge you, it will not be my doing! Whoever tries to challenge you will be defeated. 16 Look, I create the craftsman, who fans the coals into a fire and forges a weapon. I create the destroyer so he might devastate. 17 No weapon forged to be used against you will succeed; you will refute everyone who tries to accuse you. This is what the Lord will do for his servants—I will vindicate them,” says the Lord.

Zechariah 1:21

Hebrew Bible

19 So I asked the angelic messenger who spoke with me, “What are these?” He replied, “These are the horns that have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.” 20 Next the Lord showed me four blacksmiths. 21 I asked, “What are these going to do?” He answered, “These horns are the ones that have scattered Judah so that there is no one to be seen. But the blacksmiths have come to terrify Judah’s enemies and cut off the horns of the nations that have thrust themselves against the land of Judah in order to scatter its people.

 Notes and References

"... Isaiah 13–14, like Jer 40–48 and Ezekiel 38–39, describe the outworking of Yahweh’s judgment on the nations (esp. Babylon). Zechariah 1–2 reapplies this imagery in his own day to assure his generation that the promised reversal will soon be at hand. Isaiah 40–55 (especially Isaiah 54) provides the promises of restoration which the book of Zechariah activates for its own generation—a message of comfort proclaimed through a messenger (Isaiah 40; compare Zechariah 1:13), announced to those experiencing “exile,” and to those in Zion who say “Yahweh has forgotten me” (49:13; compare Zechariah 1:12). They are promised a rebuilt temple (44:26–28; compare Zechariah 1:16) and the comfort which comes through restoration (51:3), freedom from oppressors (51:12; compare Zechariah 2:1–4) and Yahweh’s return to his people (52:8–9; compare Zechariah 2:5–17). There are particularly close correspondences (almost verse-by-verse) between Isaiah 54 and Zechariah 1:15–17, particularly: the expansion of Jerusalem: Isaiah 54:1–3; compare Zechariah 1:17; 2:8. wrath”: Isaiah 54:8–9 = Zechariah 1:15 (compare 1:2); the end of the time of wrath: Isaiah 54:7–8; compare Zechariah 1:15; Yahweh’s return “in mercy”: Isaiah 54:7 = Zechariah 1:16; the rebuilding of the city: Isaiah 54:11; compare Zechariah 1:16; Yahweh as sovereign over the “craftsmen”: Isaiah 54:16; compare Zechariah 1:18-21 [or 2:3-4]. This sustained allusion in Zechariah 1–2 to the return and rebuilding depicted in Isaiah 40–55 suggests that this program of restoration forms Zechariah’s conceptual framework for the future of Zion ..."

Stead, Michael R. The Intertextuality of Zechariah 1-8 (pp. 130-131) T&T Clark, 2009

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