Zechariah 14

Look, a day is coming that belongs to the LORD. On that day the goods taken from you will be divided up right in front of you.

1Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee.

Note"The day of the LORD" is a fixed phrase in the Hebrew prophets. It does not mean a date on a calendar but the occasion when God acts decisively and publicly, sometimes to rescue, sometimes to judge, often both at once. Older prophets used it to warn Israel that the day would go against them, not for them.

2I will gather all the nations to make war on Jerusalem. The city will be captured, the houses robbed, and the women raped. Half the city will be marched away as prisoners, but the rest of the people will not be taken out of the city.

2For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.

NoteDividing the plunder inside the captured city, rather than carrying it off, was the normal end of an ancient siege: the attackers stripped the houses in front of the surviving inhabitants. Deporting part of a conquered population while leaving the rest behind was standard imperial practice, used by both Assyria and Babylon.

3Then the LORD will go out and fight against those nations, the way he fights on a day of battle.

3Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.

4On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which is just east of Jerusalem. The Mount of Olives will split down the middle, from east to west, making a very large valley. Half the mountain will move north and half will move south.

4And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.

NoteThe Mount of Olives is the ridge immediately east of Jerusalem, separated from the city by the narrow Kidron Valley and standing somewhat higher than the temple platform. It was the road by which travelers approached Jerusalem from the east, and anyone standing on it looked straight down into the city.

5You will run away through that mountain valley, because the valley will reach all the way to Azal. You will run the way people ran from the earthquake when Uzziah was king of Judah. Then the LORD my God will come, and all the holy ones with you.

5And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the LORD my God shall come, and all the saints with thee.

NoteAzal is otherwise unknown; no one can now say where it was. The earthquake in the days of Uzziah (mid-700s BC) was severe enough to be used as a dating reference generations later, Amos 1:1 dates his own prophecies by it. "All the holy ones" translates a Hebrew word that can mean heavenly beings (angels) or consecrated people; the text does not specify which. The Hebrew of this verse is difficult throughout: the phrase rendered "that mountain valley" reads literally "the valley of my mountains," and by a small change of vowels the opening verb can be read "will be stopped up" instead of "you will flee." The KJV's closing "with thee" reflects a Hebrew reading that most translations correct to "with him."

6On that day there will be no ordinary light, and no cold or frost.

6And it shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear, nor dark:

NoteThis is one of the most damaged sentences in the book, which is why translations diverge so widely. The KJV's "not be clear, nor dark" and the modern "no cold or frost" render two different readings of the same consonants; the traditional Hebrew text and the ancient manuscript tradition disagree here.

7It will be one continuous day, a day only the LORD knows, neither daytime nor nighttime. But when evening comes, there will still be light.

7But it shall be one day which shall be known to the LORD, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light.

8On that day fresh, flowing water will run out of Jerusalem, half of it toward the eastern sea and half toward the western sea. It will flow in summer and in winter alike.

8And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter shall it be.

Note"Living water" is the ordinary Hebrew term for water that flows, a spring or stream, as opposed to still water stored in a cistern. Hebrew describes direction as if facing east, so the "former" or front sea is the Dead Sea to the east and the "hinder" or rear sea is the Mediterranean to the west. Streams in that country normally dry up in summer; year-round flow is the point.

9The LORD will be king over the whole earth. On that day there will be one LORD, and his name will be the only name.

9And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one.

Note"The LORD" printed in small capitals stands for the personal name of Israel's God, which Hebrew writes with four consonants and which readers traditionally do not pronounce. A person's "name" in Hebrew usage stands for their identity and reputation as publicly known and invoked, so "his name will be one" means he alone will be named and called on.

10The whole land from Geba to Rimmon, south of Jerusalem, will be flattened into a plain. But Jerusalem will be raised up and will stay right where it is, stretching from the Benjamin Gate to the place of the First Gate, to the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the king's winepresses.

10All the land shall be turned as a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem: and it shall be lifted up, and inhabited in her place, from Benjamin’s gate unto the place of the first gate, unto the corner gate, and from the tower of Hananeel unto the king’s winepresses.

NoteGeba lay at the northern edge of the territory of Judah and Rimmon at the southern edge; naming both is a way of saying "the entire country." The Benjamin Gate, First Gate, Corner Gate, Tower of Hananel and royal winepresses are landmarks around the circuit of Jerusalem's wall, listed to trace the city's full extent.

11People will live in it, and it will never again be completely destroyed. Jerusalem will be a safe place to live.

11And men shall dwell in it, and there shall be no more utter destruction; but Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited.

Note"Utter destruction" translates a technical Hebrew term (herem) for something placed under an irreversible ban and handed over to destruction, the sentence carried out on captured cities. The promise is that Jerusalem will never again be put under that sentence.

12This is the disease the LORD will strike all the peoples with who made war on Jerusalem: their flesh will rot while they are still standing on their feet, their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths.

12And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.

13On that day the LORD will send a great panic among them. Each one will grab the hand of the man next to him, and they will turn on one another and fight.

13And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the LORD shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour.

NotePanic sent by God to make an enemy army destroy itself is a recurring motif in Israel's battle accounts. The middle clause is grammatically ambiguous: seizing a neighbor's hand can mean grabbing him to attack him, or grasping for help, and the Hebrew leaves both open.

14Judah too will fight at Jerusalem. The riches of all the surrounding nations will be collected together: gold, silver, and clothing in huge amounts.

14And Judah also shall fight at Jerusalem; and the wealth of all the heathen round about shall be gathered together, gold, and silver, and apparel, in great abundance.

NoteThe Hebrew preposition allows either "fight at Jerusalem" (alongside the city) or "fight against Jerusalem," and interpreters have read it both ways. Where the KJV says "heathen," the Hebrew word simply means "the nations", foreign peoples generally, without the modern implication of being irreligious or uncivilised.

15The same kind of disease will strike the horses, mules, camels, donkeys, and every other animal in those camps.

15And so shall be the plague of the horse, of the mule, of the camel, and of the ass, and of all the beasts that shall be in these tents, as this plague.

Note"Tents" here means the enemy's military camp; ancient armies on campaign lived under canvas alongside their pack and cavalry animals, so a plague in the camp took the animals with the men.

16Then everyone left alive from the nations that came against Jerusalem will go up year after year to worship the King, the LORD of Armies, and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles.

16And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles.

NoteThe Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot) was the seven-day autumn festival at the end of the harvest, when people lived in temporary shelters made of branches. It was the largest of the three annual pilgrimage festivals, it fell just before the season when the rains had to begin, and prayers for rain were associated with it (which is why withholding rain is the penalty in the next verses. "Go up" is the standard idiom for traveling to Jerusalem, which sits high in the hill country. "LORD of hosts" means the LORD commanding armies) earthly or heavenly.

17And if any of the families of the earth will not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of Armies, then no rain will fall on them.

17And it shall be, that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain.

NoteIn Judah the whole agricultural year depended on rain arriving in the weeks just after this festival; there was no irrigation system to fall back on. Withheld rain meant a failed year, not an inconvenience.

18If the people of Egypt will not go up and come, then no rain will fall on them either. This is the disease the LORD will strike the nations with that do not go up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles.

18And if the family of Egypt go not up, and come not, that have no rain; there shall be the plague, wherewith the LORD will smite the heathen that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles.

NoteThe difficulty is that Egypt does not depend on rainfall at all (its crops were watered by the annual flooding of the Nile), so a rain penalty would not touch it. The Hebrew of this verse is broken, and translators divide over whether it says Egypt gets no rain, or asks what happens to a country that has no rain in the first place; a separate plague is named for Egypt either way.

19This will be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of every nation that does not go up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles.

19This shall be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all nations that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles.

20On that day the words HOLY TO THE LORD will be written on the bells worn by the horses. The cooking pots in the LORD's house will be as holy as the bowls used at the altar.

20In that day shall there be upon the bells of the horses, HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD; and the pots in the LORD’s house shall be like the bowls before the altar.

NoteThe bells were small metal jingles attached to horse harness, everyday, unremarkable gear. "Holy to the LORD" was the inscription engraved on the gold plate worn on the high priest's turban, the single most sacred object of dress in the sanctuary. The bowls before the altar were the basins used to catch and throw sacrificial blood, ranking among the holiest vessels; ordinary cooking pots were at the bottom of that scale.

21In fact, every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah will be holy to the LORD of Armies. Everyone who brings a sacrifice will come and take some of these pots and boil the meat in them. And on that day there will no longer be a Canaanite in the house of the LORD of Armies.

21Yea, every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah shall be holiness unto the LORD of hosts: and all they that sacrifice shall come and take of them, and seethe therein: and in that day there shall be no more the Canaanite in the house of the LORD of hosts.

Note"Seethe" is old English for "boil." Worshipers boiled the portions of a sacrifice they were to eat, and until now that had to be done in vessels of the right degree of holiness. The last word is genuinely ambiguous: the Hebrew kena'ani means either "Canaanite", a member of the peoples living in the land before Israel, or "trader, merchant," since Canaanites were known as traders. Read the first way it removes outsiders from the sanctuary; read the second it removes commerce from it. The text supports both.