God’s Word Translation
Zechariah 14:17
17If any of the families on the earth won’t go to Jerusalem to worship the king, the Lord of Armies, then rain won’t fall 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.
- English Standard Version (ESV)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.
- 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.
Context of Zechariah 14:17
15A similar plague will also affect horses, mules, camels, donkeys, and all other animals in those camps. 16Everyone who is left from all the nations that attacked Jerusalem will come every year to worship the king, the Lord of Armies, and to celebrate the Festival of Booths. If any of the families on the earth won’t go to Jerusalem to worship the king, the Lord of Armies, then rain won’t fall on them. 18If the people of Egypt won’t go or enter Jerusalem, then ⌞rain won’t fall⌟ on them. The plague the Lord uses to strike the nations will affect those who won’t come to celebrate the Festival of Booths. 19This will be ⌞the punishment⌟ for Egypt’s sin and for the sin of all the nations that won’t go to celebrate the Festival 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 me, and I will give you the nations as your inheritance and the ends of the earth as your own possession.
- Psalms 110:5The Lord is at your right side. He will crush kings on the day of his anger.
- Isaiah 45:23I have bound myself with an oath. A word has gone out from my righteous mouth that will not be recalled, “Every knee will bow to me and every tongue will swear ⌞allegiance⌟.”
- Isaiah 60:12Nations and kingdoms that do not serve you will be destroyed. The nations will certainly be ruined.
- Jeremiah 10:25Pour out your fury on the nations who don’t know you and on people who don’t worship you. They have devoured the descendants of Jacob. They have devoured them completely. They have destroyed their homes.
- Romans 14:10Why do you criticize or despise other Christians? Everyone will stand in front of God to be judged.
- Genesis 10:32These were the families of Noah’s sons listed by their genealogies, nation by nation. From these ⌞descendants⌟ the nations spread over the earth after the flood.
- Genesis 12:3I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you, I will curse. Through you every family on earth will be blessed.”
- Genesis 28:14Your descendants will be like the dust on the earth. You will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. Through you and through your descendant every family on earth will be blessed.
- Amos 3:2Out of all the families on earth, I have known no one else but you. That is why I am going to punish you for all your sins.
- Acts 17:26From one man he has made every nation of humanity to live all over the earth. He has given them the seasons of the year and the boundaries within which to live.
- Deuteronomy 11:17The Lord will become angry with you. He’ll shut the sky so that there’ll be no rain. Then the ground won’t grow any crops, and you’ll quickly disappear from this good land the Lord is giving you.
- Deuteronomy 28:23The sky above will look like bronze, and the ground below will be as hard as iron.
- 1 Kings 8:35“When the sky is shut and there’s no rain because they are sinning against you, and they pray toward this place, praise your name, and turn away from their sin because you made them suffer,
- 1 Kings 17:1Elijah, who was from Tishbe but had settled in Gilead, said to Ahab, “I solemnly swear, as the Lord God of Israel whom I serve lives, there will be no dew or rain during the next few years unless I say so.”
- 2 Chronicles 6:26“When the sky is shut and there’s no rain because they are sinning against you and they pray toward this place, praise your name, and turn away from their sin because you made them suffer,
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
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
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