Zechariah 2:6

2:6 “You there! ¹  Flee from the northland!” says the Lord, “for like the four winds of heaven ²  I have scattered you,” says the Lord.

Zechariah 6:5

6:5 The messenger replied, “These are the four spirits ³  of heaven that have been presenting themselves before the Lord of all the earth.

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¹ sn These are the scattered Jews of eschatological times (as the expression four winds of heaven makes clear) and not those of Zechariah’s time who have, for the most part, already returned by 520 b.c. This theme continues and is reinforced in vv. 10-13.

² tn Or “of the sky.” The same Hebrew term, שָׁמַיִם (shamayim), may be translated “heaven(s)” or “sky” depending on the context.

³ tn The Hebrew term translated “spirit” here may also be translated “wind” or “breath” depending on the context (cf. ASV, NRSV, CEV “the four winds of heaven”; NAB similar).