In that day, saith the Lord, I will smite every horse with astonishment, stupefying - Zechariah revives the words concentrated by Moses, to express the stupefaction at their ills, which God would accumulate upon His people, if they perseveringly rebelled against Him. Each expresses the intensity of the visitation. “The horse and his rider” Deut. 27:28 had, through Moses’ song at the Red Sea, become the emblem of worldly power, overthrown. That song opens; “I will sing unto the Lord; for He hath triumphed gloriously: the horse and his rider hath He cast into the sea” Exodus 15:1. The scared cavalry throws into confusion the ranks, of which it was the boast and strength.
And on the house of Judah I will open My eyes - In pity and love and guidance, as the Psalmist says, “I will counsel, with Mine eye upon thee” Psalms 32:8, in contrast with “the blindness” with which God would smite the powers arrayed against them.