Zechariah 1:11

And they answered need not necessarily imply that any question had been asked. Like the New Testament ἀπεκρίθησαν, it often implies merely “began to speak.”

The angel of the Lord. — That is, the man riding upon a bay horse. (See Note on Zechariah 1:8.) Just two months before this, Haggai had prophesied (Haggai 2:20) that God would shake the heavens and the earth, and overthrow the throne of kingdoms, &c. The horsemen had been sent forth to act, as it were, as scouts, and to bring back an account of the state of the world, that at the intercession of the angel of the Lord comforting words might be announced to Zechariah, and by him to the people. They reported the world to be still, and at rest: i.e., dwelling in self-confident security. The overthrow of the kingdoms foretold by Haggai had not yet begun, and so, although the building of the Temple was, by the decree of Darius (Ezra 5:6), being carried on, Judah was still insecure as long as the heathen nations flourished.