The Meaning of Zechariah 2:4 Explained

Zechariah 2:4

KJV: And said unto him, Run, speak to this young man, saying, Jerusalem shall be inhabited as towns without walls for the multitude of men and cattle therein:

YLT: and he saith unto him, 'Run, speak unto this young man, saying: Unwalled villages inhabit doth Jerusalem, From the abundance of man and beast in her midst.

Darby: and said unto him, Run, speak to this young man, saying, Jerusalem shall be inhabited as towns without walls for the multitude of men and cattle therein;

ASV: and said unto him, Run, speak to this young man, saying, Jerusalem shall be inhabited as villages without walls, by reason of the multitude of men and cattle therein.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And said  unto him, Run,  speak  to this  young man,  saying,  Jerusalem  shall be inhabited  [as] towns without walls  for the multitude  of men  and cattle  therein: 

What does Zechariah 2:4 Mean?

Context Summary

Zechariah 2:1-13 - The Redemption Of Jerusalem
The work of Temple-building had ceased for fifteen years and the new resolve to arise and build might meet with a similar fate. But the four horns met with four carpenters. For Babylon the carpenter was Cyrus; for Persia, Alexander the Great; for Greece, the Roman; for Rome, the Gaul. No weapon that is formed to thwart God's purposes can prosper. The young man with the measuring line embodied the new spirit animating the returned exiles. But God was intending to give more prosperity and increase than could be contained in walls. [source]

Chapter Summary: Zechariah 2

1  God, in the care of Jerusalem, sends to measure it
6  The redemption of Zion
10  The promise of God's presence

What do the individual words in Zechariah 2:4 mean?

And who said to him Run speak to young man this saying [as] unwalled towns shall be inhabited Jerusalem because of the multitude of men and livestock in it
וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אֵלָ֔ו‪‬‪‬ רֻ֗ץ דַּבֵּ֛ר אֶל־ הַנַּ֥עַר הַלָּ֖ז לֵאמֹ֑ר פְּרָזוֹת֙ תֵּשֵׁ֣ב יְרוּשָׁלִַ֔ם מֵרֹ֥ב אָדָ֛ם וּבְהֵמָ֖ה בְּתוֹכָֽהּ

וַיֹּ֣אמֶר  And  who  said 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
אֵלָ֔ו‪‬‪‬  to  him 
Parse: Preposition, third person masculine singular
Root: אֶל  
Sense: to, toward, unto (of motion).
רֻ֗ץ  Run 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperative, masculine singular
Root: רוּץ 
Sense: to run.
דַּבֵּ֛ר  speak 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Imperative, masculine singular
Root: דָּבַר 
Sense: to speak, declare, converse, command, promise, warn, threaten, sing.
הַנַּ֥עַר  young  man 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: נַעַר  
Sense: a boy, lad, servant, youth, retainer.
הַלָּ֖ז  this 
Parse: Pronoun, masculine singular
Root: הַלָּז 
Sense: this, this one (without subst), yonder.
לֵאמֹ֑ר  saying 
Parse: Preposition-l, Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
פְּרָזוֹת֙  [as]  unwalled  towns 
Parse: Noun, feminine plural
Root: פְּרֹוזִים 
Sense: open region, hamlet, unwalled village, open country.
תֵּשֵׁ֣ב  shall  be  inhabited 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person feminine singular
Root: יָשַׁב 
Sense: to dwell, remain, sit, abide.
יְרוּשָׁלִַ֔ם  Jerusalem 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: יְרוּשָׁלַםִ  
Sense: the chief city of Palestine and capital of the united kingdom and the nation of Judah after the split.
מֵרֹ֥ב  because  of  the  multitude 
Parse: Preposition-m, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: רֹב  
Sense: multitude, abundance, greatness.
אָדָ֛ם  of  men 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: אָדָם 
Sense: man, mankind.
וּבְהֵמָ֖ה  and  livestock 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, feminine singular
Root: בְּהֵמָה  
Sense: beast, cattle, animal.
בְּתוֹכָֽהּ  in  it 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine singular construct, third person feminine singular
Root: תָּוֶךְ  
Sense: midst, middle.