Naravist

The Prophets · Old Testament

Zechariah 14

Zechariah 14: the city taken, the mount split, and every pot made holy

General context

The day of the Lord comes and the city's spoil is divided within her. All nations are gathered against Jerusalem to battle; the city is taken, the houses rifled, the women ravished, half the city goes into captivity, and the rest are not cut off from the city. Then the Lord goes out to fight those nations as in the day of battle. His feet stand on the mount of Olives east of Jerusalem; the mount splits into a very great valley, half moving north and half south, and the people flee as they fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. The light will be neither clear nor dark, one day known to the Lord, with light at evening time. Living waters go out from Jerusalem toward the former and hinder seas in summer and winter, and the Lord is king over all the earth, one Lord with one name. The land becomes a plain from Geba to Rimmon while Jerusalem is lifted up and safely inhabited between its named gates and towers. A plague consumes the flesh, eyes and tongues of those who fought against Jerusalem while they stand, a tumult sets each hand against a neighbour's, Judah fights at Jerusalem, and the same plague strikes the enemy's animals. Everyone left of those nations goes up year by year to worship the King and keep the feast of tabernacles, and those who will not come up, Egypt included, receive no rain and the plague. In that day the bells of the horses carry HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD, the pots in the Lord's house are like the bowls before the altar, every pot in Jerusalem and Judah is holy to the Lord of hosts, and there is no more the Canaanite in his house.

Cited passages: Zechariah 14:1, Zechariah 14:2, Zechariah 14:3, Zechariah 14:4, Zechariah 14:5, Zechariah 14:6, Zechariah 14:7, Zechariah 14:8, Zechariah 14:9, Zechariah 14:10, Zechariah 14:11, Zechariah 14:12, Zechariah 14:13, Zechariah 14:14, Zechariah 14:15, Zechariah 14:16, Zechariah 14:17, Zechariah 14:18, Zechariah 14:19, Zechariah 14:20, Zechariah 14:21

Zechariah 14 (KJV)

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

This page shows the King James Version. In the app, reading opens in the Berean Standard Bible unless you have chosen another translation. The reader includes five translations: the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), the King James Version (KJV), the World English Bible (WEB), the Bible in Basic English (BBE), and the American Standard Version (ASV). Search covers three of them: Berean Standard, King James, and World English. Basic English and American Standard readers search the King James words.

Historical context

The chapter gives no date for what it describes and names no king or commander among the nations. Its one backward reference is a comparison: people will flee "like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah," and the text says nothing more about that earthquake. Places are named without explanation: the mount of Olives, described only as "before Jerusalem on the east," Azal, Geba, Rimmon, Benjamin's gate, the first gate, the corner gate, the tower of Hananeel and the king's winepresses. Egypt is the only nation named among those required to come up. The harm done to the city is stated plainly in verse 2, houses rifled, women ravished, half the city into captivity, and the text does not name who does it. The plague in verses 12 and 15 is described in physical detail and given no agent besides the Lord. "HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD" is printed in capitals in this source at verse 20. The closing clause about the Canaanite in the house of the Lord of hosts is given without explanation. No prophet is named in the chapter.

Cited passages: Zechariah 14:1, Zechariah 14:2, Zechariah 14:4, Zechariah 14:5, Zechariah 14:10, Zechariah 14:12, Zechariah 14:15, Zechariah 14:18, Zechariah 14:20, Zechariah 14:21

Literary context

The book ends by pushing its scale as far as it will go: all nations, all the earth, every pot. The order is deliberately uncomfortable, with the city taken and plundered before the Lord goes out to fight, so rescue arrives after the worst is already recorded. The landscape then does the moving rather than the armies, a mountain split in two, a valley opened, the land flattened from Geba to Rimmon while Jerusalem alone is lifted up. Verses 6 and 7 describe a day by what it is not, not clear, not dark, not day, not night, and place light at evening, when light usually goes. The plague is described from the outside in, flesh, eyes, tongue, and then repeated over the animals in a single verse, which flattens the distinction between soldier and beast. The survivors of the attacking nations are not destroyed but made pilgrims, and the last movement reverses the book's own categories: horse bells and cooking pots carry the inscription reserved for holy things, so the sacred spreads outward instead of being fenced in.

Cited passages: Zechariah 14:2, Zechariah 14:3, Zechariah 14:4, Zechariah 14:5, Zechariah 14:6, Zechariah 14:7, Zechariah 14:10, Zechariah 14:12, Zechariah 14:15, Zechariah 14:16, Zechariah 14:20, Zechariah 14:21

Key moments

  1. The city taken (Zechariah 14:2). Nations gather, the city falls, and half its people go into captivity.
  2. The mount of Olives splits (Zechariah 14:4). The Lord stands on the mount and it divides into a great valley.
  3. Fleeing as from the earthquake (Zechariah 14:5). The flight is compared to the earthquake in the days of Uzziah.
  4. Light at evening time (Zechariah 14:7). One day known to the Lord is neither day nor night, with light at evening.
  5. Living waters from Jerusalem (Zechariah 14:8). Waters run east and west from the city in summer and winter.
  6. One Lord, one name (Zechariah 14:9). The Lord is declared king over all the earth.
  7. Holiness on horse bells (Zechariah 14:20). The inscription for holy things appears on bells and cooking pots.

For reflection

The nations that fought against Jerusalem are not wiped out; those left go up year by year to keep the feast of tabernacles. What does the book risk by ending with former enemies as worshippers rather than as casualties?

People in this chapter

Also indexed here: