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Moreover, on that day living waters will flow out from Jerusalem,[a] half of them to the eastern sea[b] and half of them to the western sea;[c] it will happen both in summer and in winter.

The Lord will then be king over all the earth. In that day the Lord will be seen as one with a single name.[d] 10 All the land will change[e] and become like the rift valley[f] from Geba to Rimmon,[g] south of Jerusalem. Jerusalem will be raised up and will stay in its own place from the Benjamin Gate to the site of the First Gate[h] and on to the Corner Gate,[i] and from the Tower of Hananel to the royal winepresses.[j] 11 And people will settle there, and there will no longer be the threat of divine extermination—Jerusalem will dwell in security.

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Footnotes

  1. Zechariah 14:8 sn Living waters will flow out from Jerusalem. Ezekiel sees this same phenomenon in conjunction with the inauguration of the messianic age (Ezek 47; cf. Rev 22:1-5; also John 7:38).
  2. Zechariah 14:8 sn The eastern sea is a reference to the Dead Sea (cf. NCV, TEV, CEV, NLT).
  3. Zechariah 14:8 sn The western sea is a reference to the Mediterranean Sea (cf. NCV, TEV, CEV, NLT).
  4. Zechariah 14:9 sn The expression the Lord will be seen as one with a single name is an unmistakable reference to the so-called Shema, the crystallized statement of faith in the Lord as the covenant God of Israel (cf. Deut 6:4-5). Zechariah, however, universalizes the extent of the Lord’s dominion—he will be “king over all the earth.”
  5. Zechariah 14:10 tn The text reads יִסּוֹב (yissov) from the root סָבַב (savav). Usually this verb means “to turn, to go around,” which does not seem to make sense in this context. Based on Ugaritic use of the term with the preposition כ (kaf), it is suggested that here it means to change into (HALOT 739 s.v.). But the term may also mean “to surround” perhaps referring to the land around Jerusalem. Either way the picture is of an exalted Jerusalem high above the rest of the country, as the hill country is already high above the rift valley.
  6. Zechariah 14:10 tn The term עֲרָבָה (ʿaravah) refers to the rift valley, running from the Sea of Galilee via the Jordan Valley and the Dead Sea to the Gulf of Aqaba. Some translations use the Hebrew name “Arabah” (ASV, NIV) while others say “like a plain” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NCV, NRSV, NLT). While the plural form of the term refers to the gently sloping basin (plains) of the valley in the region just north of the Dead Sea, the singular elsewhere refers to sections of the rift valley or emphasizes the arid and inhospitable nature of the region (which does not fit here in light of the streams in v. 8). But the point may be simply to paint a picture of Jerusalem towering over everything else, so that Geba and Rimmon, which are themselves above the rift valley will be so far below Jerusalem.
  7. Zechariah 14:10 sn The expression from Geba to Rimmon may be a way of indicating the extent of all Judah from north (2 Kgs 23:8) to south (Josh 15:21-32). Since Geba (Heb. גֶּבַע) means “hill” and Rimmon resembles the word for height (Heb. רָמָה, ramah), this could also be a play on words suggesting that all the high country will be made low, like the rift valley, in comparison to Jerusalem.
  8. Zechariah 14:10 tn Or “old gate” (NLT); or “former gate” (NRSV).
  9. Zechariah 14:10 sn From the Benjamin Gate…on to the Corner Gate marks the northern wall of the city of Jerusalem from east to west.
  10. Zechariah 14:10 sn From the Tower of Hananel to the royal winepresses indicates the extent of Jerusalem from north to south.

(A)On that day (B)living waters shall flow out from Jerusalem, half of them to (C)the eastern sea[a] and half of them to (D)the western sea.[b] (E)It shall continue in summer as in winter.

And (F)the Lord will be king over all the earth. (G)On that day the Lord will be (H)one and (I)his name one.

10 (J)The whole land shall be turned into a plain from (K)Geba to (L)Rimmon south of Jerusalem. But (M)Jerusalem shall remain aloft (N)on its site from (O)the Gate of Benjamin to the place of the former gate, to (P)the Corner Gate, and from (Q)the Tower of Hananel to the king's winepresses. 11 And it shall be inhabited, for (R)there shall never again be a decree of utter destruction.[c] (S)Jerusalem shall dwell in security.

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Footnotes

  1. Zechariah 14:8 That is, the Dead Sea
  2. Zechariah 14:8 That is, the Mediterranean Sea
  3. Zechariah 14:11 The Hebrew term rendered decree of utter destruction refers to things devoted (or set apart) to the Lord (or by the Lord) for destruction