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Zechariah 2:6-13, King James Version
Italic words were supplied in the English translation for clarity.
Zechariah 2:6-13
Leave Babylon; Rejoice at the LORD's Dwelling
Leave the north; Zion will not be a plundered prize forever
Ho, ho, come forth, and flee from the land of the north. The LORD had spread them as the four winds. Zion that dwells with the daughter of Babylon is told to deliver herself. The north is the conventional road of Mesopotamian empire. Many Judeans still lived in that world. The summons is about real dependence on a plundering order, not a standing order that every later diaspora must emigrate.
Harm to this people is pictured as touching the apple of the LORD's eye, the pupil, a vulnerable and precious part. Nations that spoiled them will themselves be spoiled. Daughter of Zion is told to sing because the LORD will dwell in the midst of her. Then the horizon widens: many nations shall be joined to the LORD in that day, and shall be my people. Judah's inheritance and international belonging stand in one oracle.
Particular election and welcomed nations are not rivals here
The speaker shifts in verses 8-11 are abrupt: sent me, after the glory, and they shall know. Interpreters debate whether prophet, angel, or a more complex messenger is in view. Doctrine should not be hung on the hardest grammar. What is clear is the movement: out of Babylon, against plunder, into Zion's joy, with nations attached to the LORD, Judah still chosen, and all flesh silent before he is raised up from his holy habitation.
Many nations becoming his people does not replace, erase, or stigmatize Jewish people. The eye image does not make criticism of any modern government an attack on God. Be silent, O all flesh, is awe before divine action, not a gag order against the harmed.
How this should shape us
Help people leave exploitative dependence when they can do so safely, and make room for outsiders to belong without using them as trophies. Do not treat one country, one move, or one ethnicity as the only faithful address.
Teach it back
Explain Zechariah 2:6-13 in your own words. Include its place in Zechariah's return-to-holiness movement, one material uncertainty, and one use the context rules out.
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Go deeper
The explanation above is meant to stand on its own. Open these notes only if you want language, history, disagreements, or source locations.
Where careful interpreters disagreeThe strongest options and their difficulties
Where do careful interpreters disagree?
Best judgment: Speaker identity, the force of 'after glory,' the timing of departure, and the political or eschatological horizon remain disputed; inclusion of nations and Judah's continuing inheritance are both explicit.
How certain? probableResearch trail and exact locationsThe source record behind this section
Supports: Exact reader-facing Scripture wording, paragraph markers, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage.
Zechariah 2:6-13, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording, morphology, speaker changes, repeated formulas, names, and the base text behind translation discussion.
Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Zech.xml, 2:6-13
Supports: Verse-level translation, syntax, textual, literary, historical, and canonical-reception notes.
NET Bible Zechariah PDF, printed pp. 1790, translation and notes on 2:6-13
Supports: Whole-book movement, Persian and later horizons, literary boundaries, composition, and material alternatives.
Mason, 'Zechariah,' Oxford Bible Commentary, printed pp. 612-613, discussion of 2:6-13
Supports: Inner-biblical allusion, vision traditions, Persian and Babylon imagery, leadership, burden headings, and shepherd units.
Boda, Exploring Zechariah, Volume 2, printed pp. 39-58, chapter 3 on Zechariah 2:10-17
Supports: The movement from nation judgment toward nations joining, seeking, surviving, and worshiping, plus ethical and coercion limits.
O'Kennedy, 'Perspectives on mission in the book of Zechariah' (2013), sections 'References to nations and peoples in Zechariah' and 'Zechariah 2:11 (15)'
Sources for This Section
These records identify the source, the claim it supports, and the exact location used. A source remains evidence to evaluate; it does not replace the biblical text.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact reader-facing Scripture wording, paragraph markers, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage.
Exact location: Zechariah 2:6-13, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Zechariah
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording, morphology, speaker changes, repeated formulas, names, and the base text behind translation discussion.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Zech.xml, 2:6-13
Open source ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible: Zechariah with translators' notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2006
Supports: Verse-level translation, syntax, textual, literary, historical, and canonical-reception notes.
Exact location: NET Bible Zechariah PDF, printed pp. 1790, translation and notes on 2:6-13
Open source ↗modern critical commentary
Zechariah
Rex Mason
Oxford University Press, in The Oxford Bible Commentary, 2001
Supports: Whole-book movement, Persian and later horizons, literary boundaries, composition, and material alternatives.
Exact location: Mason, 'Zechariah,' Oxford Bible Commentary, printed pp. 612-613, discussion of 2:6-13
Open source ↗open access scholarly monograph
Exploring Zechariah, Volume 2: The Development and Role of Biblical Traditions in Zechariah
Mark J. Boda
SBL Press, Ancient Near East Monographs 17, 2017
Supports: Inner-biblical allusion, vision traditions, Persian and Babylon imagery, leadership, burden headings, and shepherd units.
Exact location: Boda, Exploring Zechariah, Volume 2, printed pp. 39-58, chapter 3 on Zechariah 2:10-17
Open source ↗peer reviewed open access article
Perspectives on mission in the book of Zechariah
D. F. O'Kennedy
Verbum et Ecclesia 34.2, 2013
Supports: The movement from nation judgment toward nations joining, seeking, surviving, and worshiping, plus ethical and coercion limits.
Exact location: O'Kennedy, 'Perspectives on mission in the book of Zechariah' (2013), sections 'References to nations and peoples in Zechariah' and 'Zechariah 2:11 (15)'
Open source ↗