Albert Barnes Commentary Zechariah 1:11

"And they answered the angel of Jehovah that stood among the myrtle-trees, and said, We have walked to and fro through the earth, and, behold, all the earth sitteth still, and is at rest." — Zechariah 1:11 (ASV)

Sits still and is at rest—At rest, as the word seems to express, from its accustomed state of tumult and war. Wars, although soon to break out again, were, for the time being, suspended in the second year of Darius.

The rest, which the world was then experiencing, suggests the contrast with the still-continuing unrest allotted to the people of God. Such rest had been promised to Israel on its return from captivity but had not yet been fulfilled.

Through the hostility of the Samaritans, the building of the temple had been hindered and was just recommenced. The wall of Jerusalem was still broken down (Nehemiah 1:3); its fire-burned gates were not restored; the city itself was a waste (Nehemiah 2:3); and its houses were unbuilt (Nehemiah 7:4). This provides the occasion for the intercession “of the Angel of the Lord.”