King James Version
Zechariah 12
14 verses with commentary
Jerusalem's Enemies to Be Destroyed
The burden of the word of the LORD for Israel, saith the LORD, which stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>The burden of the word of the LORD for Israel, saith the LORD, which stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him.</strong> This oracle begins with overwhelming divine credentials establishing God's authority to speak. The term "burden" (<em>massa</em>, מַשָּׂא) means weighty prophetic utterance—oracles of judgment and deliv...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**17. Ephraim--**the ten tribes. Judah was at this time not so given to idolatry as afterwards.
**joined to--**closely and voluntarily; identifying themselves with them as a whoremonger becomes one flesh with the harlot (Nu 25:3; 1Co 6:16, 17).
**idols--**The Hebrew means also "sorrows," "pains," implying the pain which idolatry brings on its votaries.
**let him alone--**Leave him to himself...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 12
The conclusion of the vision of the Scriptures of truth. (Dn 12:1-4) The times of the continuance of these events. (Dn 12:5-13)
**Verses 1-4** . Michael signifies, "Who is like God," and his name, with the title of "the great Prince," points out the Divine Saviour. Christ stood for the children of our people in their stead as a sacrifice, bore the curse for them, to bear it from t...
Read full commentary →Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem. trembling: or, slumber, or, poison when: or, and also against Judah shall he be which shall be in siege against Jerusalem
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem.</strong> God promises to transform Jerusalem from victim to instrument of judgment. The phrase <strong>"cup of trembling"</strong> (<em>saph ra'al</em>, סַף רַעַל) literally means "cup of reeling" or "bowl of staggering"—nations attacki...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**18. Their drink is sour--**metaphor for utter degeneracy of principle (Is 1:22). Or, unbridled licentiousness; not mere ordinary sin, but as abandoned as drunkards who vomit and smell sour with wine potations [Calvin]. Maurer not so well translates, "When their drinking is over, they commit whoredoms," namely, in honor of Astarte (Ho 4:13, 14).
**her rulers--**Israel's; literally, "shields" (c...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 12
The conclusion of the vision of the Scriptures of truth. (Dn 12:1-4) The times of the continuance of these events. (Dn 12:5-13)
**Verses 1-4** . Michael signifies, "Who is like God," and his name, with the title of "the great Prince," points out the Divine Saviour. Christ stood for the children of our people in their stead as a sacrifice, bore the curse for them, to bear it from t...
Read full commentary →And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces , though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it.</strong> The metaphor shifts from "cup of trembling" to <strong>"burdensome stone"</strong> (<em>eben ma'amasah</em>, אֶבֶן מַעֲמָסָה)—a heavy stone that injures those attempting to lift it. A...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
19. Israel shall be swept away from her land (Ho 4:16) suddenly and violently as if by "the wings of the wind" (Psa 18:10; 104:3; Jr 4:11, 12).
**ashamed ... of their sacrifices--**disappointed to their shame in their hope of help through their sacrifices to idols.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 12
The conclusion of the vision of the Scriptures of truth. (Dn 12:1-4) The times of the continuance of these events. (Dn 12:5-13)
**Verses 1-4** . Michael signifies, "Who is like God," and his name, with the title of "the great Prince," points out the Divine Saviour. Christ stood for the children of our people in their stead as a sacrifice, bore the curse for them, to bear it from t...
Read full commentary →In that day, saith the LORD, I will smite every horse with astonishment, and his rider with madness: and I will open mine eyes upon the house of Judah, and will smite every horse of the people with blindness.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>In that day, saith the LORD, I will smite every horse with astonishment, and his rider with madness: and I will open mine eyes upon the house of Judah, and will smite every horse of the people with blindness.</strong> God's warfare involves psychological and supernatural weapons against enemy armies. Three judgments fall on attacking forces: First, <strong>"every horse with astonishment"</...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 12
The conclusion of the vision of the Scriptures of truth. (Dn 12:1-4) The times of the continuance of these events. (Dn 12:5-13)
**Verses 1-4** . Michael signifies, "Who is like God," and his name, with the title of "the great Prince," points out the Divine Saviour. Christ stood for the children of our people in their stead as a sacrifice, bore the curse for them, to bear it from t...
Read full commentary →And the governors of Judah shall say in their heart, The inhabitants of Jerusalem shall be my strength in the LORD of hosts their God. The inhabitants: or, There is strength to me and to the inhabitants, etc
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And the governors of Judah shall say in their heart, The inhabitants of Jerusalem shall be my strength in the LORD of hosts their God.</strong> This verse presents remarkable unity between rural Judah ("governors") and urban Jerusalem ("inhabitants"). The <strong>"governors of Judah"</strong> (<em>alufey Yehudah</em>, אַלֻּפֵי יְהוּדָה) are clan chiefs or leaders of Judah's territory outsi...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
CHAPTER 5 Ho 5:1-5. God's Judgments on the Priests, People, and Princes of Israel for Their Sins.
Judah, too, being guilty shall be punished; nor shall Assyria, whose aid they both sought, save them; judgments shall at last lead them to repentance.
**1. the king--**probably Pekah; the contemporary of Ahaz, king of Judah, under whom idolatry was first carried so far in Judah as to call for the ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 5-13** One of the angels asking how long it should be to the end of these wonders, a solemn reply is made, that it would be for a time, times, and a half, the period mentioned Dn 7:25, and in the Revelation. It signifies 1260 prophetic days or years, beginning from the time when the power of the holy people should be scattered. The imposture of Mohammed, and the papal usurpation, began ab...
Read full commentary →In that day will I make the governors of Judah like an hearth of fire among the wood, and like a torch of fire in a sheaf; and they shall devour all the people round about, on the right hand and on the left: and Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place, even in Jerusalem.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>In that day will I make the governors of Judah like an hearth of fire among the wood, and like a torch of fire in a sheaf; and they shall devour all the people round about, on the right hand and on the left: and Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place, even in Jerusalem.</strong> Judah's leaders, previously weak, become instruments of divine judgment. Two vivid similes convey i...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**2. revolters--**apostates.
**profound--**deeply rooted [Calvin] and sunk to the lowest depths, excessive in their idolatry (Ho 9:9; Is 31:6) [Henderson]. From the antithesis (Ho 5:3), "not hid from me," I prefer explaining, profoundly cunning in their idolatry. Jeroboam thought it a profound piece of policy to set up golden calves to represent God in Dan and Beth-el, in order to prevent Israel...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 5-13** One of the angels asking how long it should be to the end of these wonders, a solemn reply is made, that it would be for a time, times, and a half, the period mentioned Dn 7:25, and in the Revelation. It signifies 1260 prophetic days or years, beginning from the time when the power of the holy people should be scattered. The imposture of Mohammed, and the papal usurpation, began ab...
Read full commentary →The LORD also shall save the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem do not magnify themselves against Judah.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>The LORD also shall save the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem do not magnify themselves against Judah.</strong> This verse reveals God's pastoral wisdom in orchestrating deliverance to prevent pride and division. <strong>"The tents of Judah"</strong> (<em>oheley Yehudah</em>) refers to rural Judah's temporary dwellings...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**3. Ephraim--**the tribe so called, as distinguished from "Israel" here, the other nine tribes. It was always foremost of the tribes of the northern kingdom. For four hundred years in early history, it, with Manasseh and Benjamin, its two dependent tribes, held the pre-eminence in the whole nation. Ephraim is here addressed as foremost in idolatry.
**I how ... not hid from me--**notwithstanding...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 5-13** One of the angels asking how long it should be to the end of these wonders, a solemn reply is made, that it would be for a time, times, and a half, the period mentioned Dn 7:25, and in the Revelation. It signifies 1260 prophetic days or years, beginning from the time when the power of the holy people should be scattered. The imposture of Mohammed, and the papal usurpation, began ab...
Read full commentary →In that day shall the LORD defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David; and the house of David shall be as God, as the angel of the LORD before them. feeble: or, abject: Heb. fallen
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>In that day shall the LORD defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David; and the house of David shall be as God, as the angel of the LORD before them.</strong> This verse promises supernatural empowerment transforming God's people. Three ascending levels of strength: First, <strong>"he that is feeble among them"</strong> (<em>ha-nikhsh...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**4. They--**Turning from a direct address to Ephraim, he uses the third person plural to characterize the people in general. The Hebrew is against the Margin, their doings will not suffer them" the omission of "them" in the Hebrew after the verb being unusual. The sense is, they are incurable, for they will not permit (as the Hebrew literally means) their doings to be framed so as to turn unto Go...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-11** The rejection of Israel for a time, is signified by the name of another child: call him Lo-ammi, "not my people." The Lord disowns all relation to them. We love him, because he first loved us; but our being cast out of covenant, is owing to ourselves and our folly. Mercy is remembered in the midst of wrath; the rejection, as it shall not be total, so it shall not be final. The same...
Read full commentary →And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.</strong> This climactic verse summarizes God's eschatological purpose regarding hostile nations. The phrase <strong>"it shall come to pass"</strong> (<em>vehayah</em>) signals prophetic certainty—not mere possibility but definite divine decree. <strong>"In that day"</strong> (<em...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**5. the pride of Israel--**wherewith they reject the warnings of God's prophets (Ho 5:2), and prefer their idols to God (Ho 7:10; Jr 13:17).
**testify to his face--**openly to his face he shall be convicted of the pride which is so palpable in him. Or, "in his face," as in Is 3:9.
**Judah ... shall fall with them--**This prophecy is later than Ho 4:15, when Judah had not gone so far in idolat...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-11** The rejection of Israel for a time, is signified by the name of another child: call him Lo-ammi, "not my people." The Lord disowns all relation to them. We love him, because he first loved us; but our being cast out of covenant, is owing to ourselves and our folly. Mercy is remembered in the midst of wrath; the rejection, as it shall not be total, so it shall not be final. The same...
Read full commentary →Mourning for the Pierced One
And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.</strong> This is one of the Old Testament's most remarkable Messianic ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**6. with ... flocks--**to propitiate Jehovah (Is 1:11-15).
**seek ... not find--**because it is slavish fear that leads them to seek Him; and because it then shall be too late (Pr 1:28; Joh 7:34).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-11** The rejection of Israel for a time, is signified by the name of another child: call him Lo-ammi, "not my people." The Lord disowns all relation to them. We love him, because he first loved us; but our being cast out of covenant, is owing to ourselves and our folly. Mercy is remembered in the midst of wrath; the rejection, as it shall not be total, so it shall not be final. The same...
Read full commentary →In that day shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>In that day shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon</strong> (בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא יִגְדַּל הַמִּסְפֵּד בִּירוּשָׁלִַם כְּמִסְפַּד הֲדַדְרִּמּוֹן בְּבִקְעַת מְגִדּוֹן)—<em>misped</em> (mourning/lamentation) at unprecedented intensity. Hadadrimmon near Megiddo recalls King Josiah's death in battle (609 BC, 2 Chronicles 35:22-25), whe...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**7. treacherously--**as to the marriage covenant (Jr 3:20).
**strange children--**alluding to "children of whoredoms" (Ho 1:2; 2:4). "Strange" or foreign implies that their idolatry was imported from abroad [Henderson]. Or rather, "regarded by God as strangers, not His," as being reared in idolatry. The case is desperate, when not only the existing, but also the rising, generation is reared in ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-11** The rejection of Israel for a time, is signified by the name of another child: call him Lo-ammi, "not my people." The Lord disowns all relation to them. We love him, because he first loved us; but our being cast out of covenant, is owing to ourselves and our folly. Mercy is remembered in the midst of wrath; the rejection, as it shall not be total, so it shall not be final. The same...
Read full commentary →And the land shall mourn, every family apart; the family of the house of David apart, and their wives apart; the family of the house of Nathan apart, and their wives apart; every: Heb. families, families
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And the land shall mourn, every family apart</strong> (וְסָפְדָה הָאָרֶץ מִשְׁפָּחוֹת מִשְׁפָּחוֹת לְבָד)—corporate and individual mourning simultaneously. <em>Mishpachah</em> (family/clan) repeated emphasizes that while the nation mourns collectively, each family internalizes the grief separately. <strong>The family of the house of David apart, and their wives apart</strong>—royal family ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
8. The arrival of the enemy is announced in the form of an injunction to blow an alarm.
**cornet ... trumpet--**The "cornet" was made of the curved horn of animals and was used by shepherds. The "trumpet" was of brass or silver, straight, and used in wars and on solemn occasions. The Hebrew is hatzotzerah, the sound imitating the trumpet note (Ho 8:1; Nu 10:2; Jr 4:5; Joe 2:1).
**Gibeah ... Ra...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 5-13** One of the angels asking how long it should be to the end of these wonders, a solemn reply is made, that it would be for a time, times, and a half, the period mentioned Dn 7:25, and in the Revelation. It signifies 1260 prophetic days or years, beginning from the time when the power of the holy people should be scattered. The imposture of Mohammed, and the papal usurpation, began ab...
Read full commentary →The family of the house of Levi apart, and their wives apart; the family of Shimei apart, and their wives apart; of Shimei: or, of Simeon, as LXX
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>The family of the house of Levi apart, and their wives apart</strong>—after the royal house (David, Nathan), Zechariah names the priestly tribe. Levi represents spiritual leadership—priests, Levites who served in temple worship. Their separate mourning acknowledges that spiritual leaders bear special guilt for rejecting Messiah. <strong>The family of Shimei apart, and their wives apart</st...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
9-10. Israel is referred to in Ho 5:9, Judah in Ho 5:10.
**the day of rebuke--**the day when I shall chastise him.
**among the tribes of Israel have I made known--**proving that the scene of Hosea's labor was among the ten tribes.
**that which shall surely be--**namely, the coming judgment here foretold. It is no longer a conditional decree, leaving a hope of pardon on repentance; it is abso...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 5-13** One of the angels asking how long it should be to the end of these wonders, a solemn reply is made, that it would be for a time, times, and a half, the period mentioned Dn 7:25, and in the Revelation. It signifies 1260 prophetic days or years, beginning from the time when the power of the holy people should be scattered. The imposture of Mohammed, and the papal usurpation, began ab...
Read full commentary →All the families that remain, every family apart, and their wives apart.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>All the families that remain, every family apart, and their wives apart</strong> (כֹּל הַמִּשְׁפָּחוֹת הַנִּשְׁאָרוֹת מִשְׁפָּחֹת מִשְׁפָּחֹת לְבָד וּנְשֵׁיהֶם לְבָד)—after specifying leadership (David, Nathan, Levi, Shimei), Zechariah adds 'all remaining families,' making clear that every clan, every household participates. No one is excluded from either guilt or repentance. <em>Nish'ar</...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
9-10. Israel is referred to in Ho 5:9, Judah in Ho 5:10.
**the day of rebuke--**the day when I shall chastise him.
**among the tribes of Israel have I made known--**proving that the scene of Hosea's labor was among the ten tribes.
**that which shall surely be--**namely, the coming judgment here foretold. It is no longer a conditional decree, leaving a hope of pardon on repentance; it is abso...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 12
The conclusion of the vision of the Scriptures of truth. (Dn 12:1-4) The times of the continuance of these events. (Dn 12:5-13)
**Verses 1-4** . Michael signifies, "Who is like God," and his name, with the title of "the great Prince," points out the Divine Saviour. Christ stood for the children of our people in their stead as a sacrifice, bore the curse for them, to bear it from t...
Read full commentary →