Zechariah 10
1599 Geneva Bible
10 1 The vanity of Idolatry. 3 The Lord promiseth to visit and comfort the house of Israel.
1 Ask you of the [a]Lord rain in the time of the latter rain: so shall the Lord make white clouds, and give you showers of rain, and to everyone grass in the field.
2 Surely the [b]idols have spoken vanity, and the soothsayers have seen a lie, and the dreamers have told a vain thing: they comfort in vain: therefore [c]they went away as sheep: they were troubled, because there was no shepherd.
3 My wrath was kindled against the shepherds, and I did visit the [d]goats: but the Lord of hosts will visit his flock the house of Judah, and will make them as [e]his beautiful horse in the battle.
4 Out [f]of him shall the corner come forth: out of him the nail, out of him ye bow of battle, and out of him every [g]appointer of tribute also.
5 And they shall be as the mighty men, which tread down their enemies in the mire of the streets in the battle, and they shall fight, because the Lord is with them, and the riders on horses shall be confounded.
6 And I will strengthen the house of Judah, and I will preserve the [h]house of Joseph, and I will bring them again, for I pity them: and they shall be as though I had not cast them off: for I am the Lord their God, and will hear them.
7 And they of Ephraim shall be as a giant: and their heart shall rejoice as through wine: yea, their children shall see it, and be glad: and their heart shall rejoice in the Lord.
8 I will [i]hiss for them: and gather them: for I have redeemed them: and they shall increase, as they have increased.
9 And I will [j]sow them among the people, and they shall remember me in far countries: and they shall live with their children and [k]turn again.
10 I will bring them again also out of the land of Egypt, and gather them out of Assyria: and I will bring them into the land of Gilead, and Lebanon, and place shall not be found for them.
11 And he [l]shall go into the sea with affliction, and shall smite the waves in the sea, and all the depths of the river shall dry up: and the pride of Assyria shall be cast down, and the scepter of Egypt shall depart away.
12 And I will strengthen them in the Lord, and they shall walk in his Name, saith the Lord.
Footnotes
- Zechariah 10:1 The Prophet reproveth the Jews, because by their own infidelity they put back God’s graces promised, and so famine came by God’s just judgment: therefore to avoid this plague, he willeth them to turn to God, and to pray in faith to him, and so he will give them abundance.
- Zechariah 10:2 He calleth to remembrance God’s punishments in times past, because they trusted not in him, but in their idols and sorcerers who ever deceived them.
- Zechariah 10:2 That is, the Jews went into captivity.
- Zechariah 10:3 Meaning, the cruel governors which did oppress the poor sheep, Ezek. 34:16, 17.
- Zechariah 10:3 He will be merciful to his Church and cherish them as a king or prince doth his best horse which shall be for his own use in war.
- Zechariah 10:4 Out of Judah shall the chief governor proceed, who shall be as a corner to uphold the building, and as a nail to fasten it together.
- Zechariah 10:4 Over their enemies.
- Zechariah 10:6 That is, the ten tribes, which should be gathered under Christ to the rest of the Church.
- Zechariah 10:8 Whereby he declareth the power of God, who needeth no great preparation when he will deliver his: for with a beck or hiss he can call them from all places suddenly.
- Zechariah 10:9 Though they shall yet be scattered and seem to be lost, yet it shall be profitable unto them: for there they shall come to the knowledge of my Name, which was accomplished under the Gospel, among whom it was first preached.
- Zechariah 10:9 Not that they should return into their country, but be gathered and joined in one faith by the doctrine of the Gospel.
- Zechariah 10:11 He alludeth to the deliverance of the people out of Egypt, whereas the Angel smote the floods and rivers.
Zechariah 10
New English Translation
The Restoration of the True People
10 Ask the Lord for rain in the season of the late spring rains[a]—the Lord who causes thunderstorms—and he will give everyone showers of rain and green growth in the field. 2 For the household gods[b] have spoken wickedness, the soothsayers have seen a lie, and the dreamers have disclosed emptiness and give comfort in vain. Therefore the people set out like sheep and become scattered because they have no shepherd.[c] 3 “I am enraged at the shepherds and will punish the lead goats.
“For the Lord of Heaven’s Armies has brought blessing to his flock, the house of Judah, and will transform them into his majestic warhorse. 4 From him will come the cornerstone,[d] the wall peg,[e] the battle bow, and every ruler.[f] 5 And they will be like warriors trampling the mud of the streets in battle. They will fight, for the Lord will be with them, and will defeat the enemy cavalry.[g]
6 “I (says the Lord) will strengthen the kingdom[h] of Judah and deliver the people of Joseph[i] and will bring them back[j] because of my compassion for them. They will be as though I had never rejected them, for I am the Lord their God, and therefore I will hear them. 7 The Ephraimites will be like warriors and will rejoice as if they had drunk wine. Their children will see it and rejoice; they will celebrate in the things of the Lord. 8 I will signal for them and gather them, for I have already redeemed them; then they will become as numerous as they were before. 9 Though I scatter[k] them among the nations, they will remember in far-off places—they and their children will survive and return. 10 I will bring them back from Egypt and gather them from Assyria.[l] I will bring them to the lands of Gilead and Lebanon, and there will not be enough room for them. 11 The Lord[m] will cross the sea of storms and will calm its turbulence. The depths of the Nile will dry up, the pride of Assyria will be humbled, and the domination[n] of Egypt will be no more. 12 Thus I will strengthen them by my power,[o] and they will walk about[p] in my name,” says the Lord.
Footnotes
- Zechariah 10:1 tn Heb “the latter rain.” This expression refers to the last concentration of heavy rainfall in the spring of the year in Palestine, about March or April. Metaphorically and eschatologically (as here) the “latter rain” speaks of God’s outpouring of blessing in the end times (cf. Hos 6:3; Joel 2:21-25).
- Zechariah 10:2 tn The Hebrew word תְּרָפִים (terafim, “teraphim”) refers to small images used as means of divination and in other occult practices (cf. Gen 31:19, 34-35; 1 Sam 19:13, 16; Hos 3:4). A number of English versions transliterate the Hebrew term (cf. ASV, NAB, NASB, NRSV) or simply use the generic term “idols” (so KJV, NIV, TEV).
- Zechariah 10:2 sn Shepherd is a common OT metaphor for the king (see esp. Jer 2:8; 3:15; 10:21; 23:1-2; 50:6; Ezek 34).
- Zechariah 10:4 sn On the NT use of the image of the cornerstone, see Luke 20:17; Eph 2:20; 1 Pet 2:6.
- Zechariah 10:4 sn The metaphor of the wall peg (יָתֵד, yated), together with the others in this list, describes the remarkable change that will take place at the inauguration of God’s eschatological kingdom. Israel, formerly sheep-like, will be turned into a mighty warhorse. The peg refers to a wall hook (although frequently translated “tent peg,” but cf. ASV “nail”; TWOT 1:419) from which tools and weapons were suspended, but figuratively also to the promise of God upon which all of Israel’s hopes were hung (cf. Isa 22:15-25; Ezra 9:8).
- Zechariah 10:4 tn This is not the usual word to describe a king of Israel or Judah (such as מֶלֶךְ, melekh, or נָשִׂיא, nasiʾ), but נוֹגֵשׂ, noges, “dictator” (cf. KJV “oppressor”). The author is asserting by this choice of wording that in the messianic age God’s rule will be by force.
- Zechariah 10:5 tn Heb “and the riders on horses will be put to shame,” figurative for the defeat of mounted troops. The word “enemy” in the translation is supplied from context.
- Zechariah 10:6 tn Heb “the house.”
- Zechariah 10:6 tn Or “the kingdom of Israel”; Heb “the house of Joseph.”sn Joseph is mentioned here instead of the usual Israel (but see 2 Sam 19:20; Pss 78:67; 80:1; 81:5; Ezek 37:16; Amos 5:6, 15; 6:6) because of the exodus motif that follows in vv. 8-11.
- Zechariah 10:6 tc The anomalous MT reading וְחוֹשְׁבוֹתִים (vekhoshevotim) should probably be וַהֲשִׁי בוֹתִם (vahashi votim), the Hiphil perfect consecutive of שׁוּב (shuv), “return” (cf. Jer 12:15).
- Zechariah 10:9 tn Or “sow” (so KJV, ASV). The imagery is taken from the sowing of seed by hand.
- Zechariah 10:10 sn I will bring them back from Egypt…from Assyria. The gathering of God’s people to their land in eschatological times will be like a reenactment of the exodus, but this time they will come from all over the world (cf. Isa 40:3-5; 43:1-7, 14-21; 48:20-22; 51:9-11).
- Zechariah 10:11 tn Heb “he,” in which case the referent is the Lord. This reading is followed by KJV, ASV, NAB (which renders it as first person), and NASB. The LXX reads “they,” referring to the Israelites themselves, a reading followed by many modern English versions (e.g., NIV, NRSV, TEV, NLT).
- Zechariah 10:11 tn Heb “scepter,” referring by metonymy to the dominating rule of Egypt (cf. NLT).
- Zechariah 10:12 tc Heb “I will strengthen them in the Lord.” Because of the perceived problem of the Lord saying he will strengthen the people “in the Lord,” both BHK and BHS suggest emending גִּבַּרְתִּים (gibbartim, “I will strengthen them”) to גְּבֻרָתָם (gevuratam, “their strength”). This is unnecessary, however, for the Lord frequently refers to himself in that manner (see Zech 2:11).
- Zechariah 10:12 tc The LXX and Syriac presuppose יִתְהַלָּלוּ (yithallalu, “they will glory”) for יִתְהַלְּכוּ (yithallekhu, “they will walk about”). Since walking about is a common idiom in Zechariah (cf. 1:10, 11; 6:7 [3x]) to speak of dominion, and dominion is a major theme of the present passage, there is no reason to reject the MT reading, which is followed by most modern English versions.
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