English Standard Version
Zechariah 14:17
17And if any of the families of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, there will be no rain on them.
Zechariah 14:17 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And 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.
- New International Version (NIV)If any of the peoples of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord Almighty, they will have no rain.
- New King James Version (NKJV)And it shall be that whichever of the families of the earth do not come up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, on them there will be no rain.
- New Living Translation (NLT)Any nation in the world that refuses to come to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, will have no rain.
Context of Zechariah 14:17
15And a plague like this plague shall fall on the horses, the mules, the camels, the donkeys, and whatever beasts may be in those camps. 16Then everyone who survives of all the nations that have come against Jerusalem shall go up year after year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Booths. And if any of the families of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, there will be no rain on them. 18And if the family of Egypt does not go up and present themselves, then on them there shall be no rain; there shall be the plague with which the Lord afflicts the nations that do not go up to keep the Feast of Booths. 19This shall be the punishment to Egypt and the punishment to all the nations that do not go up to keep the Feast of Booths.
Read all of Zechariah 14Zechariah 14:17 word by word
וְ֠הָיָה אֲשֶׁ֨ר לֹֽא־יַעֲלֶ֜ה מֵאֵ֨ת מִשְׁפְּח֤וֹת הָאָ֙רֶץ֙ אֶל־יְר֣וּשָׁלִַ֔ם לְהִֽשְׁתַּחֲוֹ֔ת לְמֶ֖לֶךְ יְהוָ֣ה צְבָא֑וֹת וְלֹ֥א עֲלֵיהֶ֖ם יִהְיֶ֥ה הַגָּֽשֶׁם׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- whoso will not come upעָלָה‛âlâh · to ascend: riseH5927
- the familiesמִשְׁפָּחָהmishpâchâh · familyH4940
- of the earthאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
- unto Jerusalemיְרוּשָׁלִַ֫ם, יְרוּשְׁלֵםyerûshâlaim yerûshâlayim · JerusalemH3389
- to worshipשָׁחָהshâchâh · to bowH7812
- the Kingמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4428
- the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- of hostsצָבָאtsâbâ' tsebâ'âh · HostsH6635
- even upon them shall be no rainגֶּ֫שֶׁםgeshem · rainH1653
Cross-references for Zechariah 14:17
- Psalms 2:8Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession.
- Psalms 110:5The Lord is at your right hand; he will shatter kings on the day of his wrath.
- Isaiah 45:23By myself I have sworn; from my mouth has gone out in righteousness a word that shall not return: 'To me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear allegiance.'
- Isaiah 60:12For the nation and kingdom that will not serve you shall perish; those nations shall be utterly laid waste.
- Jeremiah 10:25Pour out your wrath on the nations that know you not, and on the peoples that call not on your name, for they have devoured Jacob; they have devoured him and consumed him, and have laid waste his habitation.
- Romans 14:10Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God;
- Genesis 10:32These are the clans of the sons of Noah, according to their genealogies, in their nations, and from these the nations spread abroad on the earth after the flood.
- Genesis 12:3I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."
- Genesis 28:14Your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and in you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed.
- Amos 3:2"You only have I known of all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.
- Acts 17:26And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place,
- Deuteronomy 11:17then the anger of the Lord will be kindled against you, and he will shut up the heavens, so that there will be no rain, and the land will yield no fruit, and you will perish quickly off the good land that the Lord is giving you.
- Deuteronomy 28:23And the heavens over your head shall be bronze, and the earth under you shall be iron.
- 1 Kings 8:35"When heaven is shut up and there is no rain because they have sinned against you, if they pray toward this place and acknowledge your name and turn from their sin, when you afflict them,
- 1 Kings 17:1Now Elijah the Tishbite, of Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, "As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, before whom I stand, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word."
- 2 Chronicles 6:26"When heaven is shut up and there is no rain because they have sinned against you, if they pray toward this place and acknowledge your name and turn from their sin, when you afflict them,
Commentaries on Zechariah 14:17
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 17Upon them shall be no rain - Those who do not worship God shall not have his blessing; and those who do not attend Divine ordinances cannot have the graces and blessings which God usually dispenses by them. On such slothful, idle Christians, there shall be no rain!Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 17Whoso will not go up - Cyril: “To those who go not up,‘” he threatens the same punishment as persecutors would endure. For enemies, and they who will not love, shall have the same lot. This is, I think, what Christ Himself said, Whoso is not with Me is against Me, and whoso gathereth not with Me scattereth‘ Luke 11:23.” Upon them there shall be no rain - Rain was the most essential of God‘s temporal gifts for the temporal well-being of His people. Moses…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 16-21Verses 16-21 As it is impossible for all nations literally to come to Jerusalem once a year, to keep a feast, it is evident that a figurative meaning must here be applied. Gospel worship is represented by the keeping of the feast of tabernacles. Every day of a Christian's life is a day of the feast of tabernacles; every Lord's day especially is the great day of the feast; therefore every day let us worship the Lord of hosts, and keep every Lord's day with…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 17go up to Jerusalem to worship the King: Jerusalem, with God's temple, is seen as the center of God's worldwide kingdom (Zechariah 8:20–22; see Isaiah 56:6–7; 66:19–23; Micah 4:1; Haggai 2:7; Revelation 21:1–2, 10–27). the rain: This was one of the curses God announced against Israel for breaking the covenant (see Deuteronomy 28:22–24). That curse also applied to all nations, as God's rule covers all people (compare Zechariah 10:1).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1717. no rain--including every calamity which usually follows in the East from want of rain, namely, scarcity of provisions, famine, pestilence, &c. Rain is the symbol also of God's favor (Ho 6:3). That there shall be unconverted men under the millennium appears from the outbreak of Gog and Magog at the end of it (Re 20:7-9); but they, like Satan their master, shall be restrained during the thousand years. Note, too, from this verse that the Gentiles shall…Read the comment
Topics related to Zechariah 14:17
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Zechariah 14
- 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
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
English Standard Version — © 2001 Crossway Bibles
Commentaries