Christian Standard Bible
Zechariah 10:2
2For the idols speak falsehood, and the diviners see illusions; they relate empty dreams and offer empty comfort. Therefore the people wander like sheep; they suffer affliction because there is no shepherd.
Zechariah 10:2 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)For the idols have spoken vanity, and the diviners have seen a lie, and have told false dreams; they comfort in vain: therefore they went their way as a flock, they were troubled, because there was no shepherd.
- New International Version (NIV)The idols speak deceitfully, diviners see visions that lie; they tell dreams that are false, they give comfort in vain. Therefore the people wander like sheep oppressed for lack of a shepherd.
- English Standard Version (ESV)For the household gods utter nonsense, and the diviners see lies; they tell false dreams and give empty consolation. Therefore the people wander like sheep; they are afflicted for lack of a shepherd.
- New King James Version (NKJV)For the idols speak delusion; The diviners envision lies, And tell false dreams; They comfort in vain. Therefore the people wend their way like sheep; They are in trouble because there is no shepherd.
Context of Zechariah 10:2
1Ask the Lord for rain in the season of spring rain. The Lord makes the rain clouds, and he will give them showers of rain and crops in the field for everyone. For the idols speak falsehood, and the diviners see illusions; they relate empty dreams and offer empty comfort. Therefore the people wander like sheep; they suffer affliction because there is no shepherd. 3My anger burns against the shepherds, so I will punish the leaders. For the Lord of Armies has tended his flock, the house of Judah; he will make them like his majestic steed in battle. 4The cornerstone, the tent peg, the battle bow, and every ruler — all will go out from him together.
Read all of Zechariah 10Zechariah 10:2 word by word
כִּ֧י הַתְּרָפִ֣ים דִּבְּרוּ־אָ֗וֶן וְהַקּֽוֹסְמִים֙ חָ֣זוּ שֶׁ֔קֶר וַֽחֲלֹמוֹת֙ הַשָּׁ֣וא יְדַבֵּ֔רוּ הֶ֖בֶל יְנַֽחֵמ֑וּן עַל־כֵּן֙ נָסְע֣וּ כְמוֹ־צֹ֔אן יַעֲנ֖וּ כִּֽי־אֵ֥ין רֹעֶֽה׃ פRead the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- For the idolsתְּרָפִיםterâphîym · teraphimH8655
- have spokenדָבַרdâbar · to speak: speakH1696
- vanityאָ֫וֶן'âven · evil: wickednessH205
- and the divinersקָסַםqâsam · to divineH7080
- have seenחָזָהchâzâh · to seeH2372
- a lieשֶׁ֫קֶרsheqer · deceptionH8267
- falseשָׁוְאshâv' shav · vanity: falseH7723
- dreamsחֲלוֹםchălôm chălôm · dreamH2472
- they comfortנָחַםnâcham · to be sorry: comfortH5162
- in vainהֶ֫בֶלhebel hăbêl · vanityH1892
- therefore they wentנָסַעnâsa‛ · to set outH5265
- their way as a flockצֹאןtsô'n tse'ôn · flockH6629
- they were troubledעָנָה‛ânâh · to afflictH6031
- no shepherdרָעָהrâ‛âh · to pastureH7462
Cross-references for Zechariah 10:2
- Genesis 31:19When Laban had gone to shear his sheep, Rachel stole her father’s household idols.
- Judges 18:14The five men who had gone to scout out the land of Laish told their brothers, “Did you know that there are an ephod, household gods, and a carved image and a silver idol in these houses? Now think about what you should do.”
- Isaiah 44:9All who make idols are nothing, and what they treasure benefits no one. Their witnesses do not see or know anything, so they will be put to shame.
- Isaiah 46:5“To whom will you compare me or make me equal? Who will you measure me with, so that we should be like each other?
- Jeremiah 10:8They are both stupid and foolish, instructed by worthless idols made of wood!
- Jeremiah 14:22Can any of the worthless idols of the nations bring rain? Or can the skies alone give showers? Are you not the Lord our God? We therefore put our hope in you, for you have done all these things.
- Hosea 3:4For the Israelites must live many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred pillar, and without ephod or household idols.
- Habakkuk 2:18What use is a carved idol after its craftsman carves it? It is only a cast image, a teacher of lies. For the one who crafts its shape trusts in it and makes worthless idols that cannot speak.
- Jeremiah 23:25“I have heard what the prophets who prophesy a lie in my name have said: ‘I had a dream! I had a dream! ’
- Jeremiah 27:9So you should not listen to your prophets, diviners, dreamers, fortune-tellers, or sorcerers who say to you, ‘Don’t serve the king of Babylon!’
- Jeremiah 29:8For this is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says: “Don’t let your prophets who are among you and your diviners deceive you, and don’t listen to the dreams you elicit from them,
- Lamentations 2:14Your prophets saw visions for you that were empty and deceptive; they did not reveal your iniquity and so restore your fortunes. They saw pronouncements for you that were empty and misleading.
- Ezekiel 13:6They saw false visions and their divinations were a lie. They claimed, “This is the Lord’s declaration,” when the Lord did not send them, yet they wait for the fulfillment of their message.
- Ezekiel 21:29While they offer false visions and lying divinations about you, the time has come to put you to the necks of the profane wicked ones; the day has come for final punishment.
- Micah 3:6Therefore, it will be night for you — without visions; it will grow dark for you — without divination. The sun will set on these prophets, and the daylight will turn black over them.
- Job 13:4You use lies like plaster; you are all worthless healers.
Commentaries on Zechariah 10:2
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 2The idols have spoken vanity - This is spoken of the Jews, and must refer to their idolatry practiced before the captivity, for there were no idols after. Therefore they went their way - They were like a flock that had no shepherd, shifting from place to place, and wandering about in the wilderness, seeking for pasture, wherever they might find it. Some think that the idols and diviners were those of the Seleucidae Greeks, who excited their masters with…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 2For the teraphim have spoken vanity - Rather, “spake vanity.” He appeals to their former experience. Their father had sought of idols, not of God; therefore they went into captivity. The “teraphim” were used as instruments of divination. They are united with the “ephod,” as forbidden, over against the allowed, means of enquiry as to the future, in Hosea, “without an ephod and without teraphim” Hosea 3:4; they were united in the mingled worship of Micah…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 2idols: This might refer to ancestor statues used in ceremonies to summon the spirits of the dead. Consulting with the dead was common in the ancient world, but God's law forbade it for the Hebrews (see Leviticus 20:27; Deuteronomy 18:10–11).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 22. idols--literally, "the teraphim," the household gods, consulted in divination (see on Ho 3:4). Derived by Gesenius from an Arabic root, "comfort," indicating them as the givers of comfort. Or an Ethiopian root, "relics." Herein Zechariah shows that the Jews by their own idolatry had stayed the grace of God heretofore, which otherwise would have given them all those blessings, temporal and spiritual, which they are now (Zec 10:1) urged to "ask" for…Read the comment
Topics related to Zechariah 10:2
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Zechariah 10
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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