New English Translation
Zechariah 14:17
17But if any of the nations anywhere on earth refuse to go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord who rules over all, they will get no rain.
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
15This is the kind of plague that will devastate horses, mules, camels, donkeys, and all the other animals in those camps. 16Then all who survive from all the nations that came to attack Jerusalem will go up annually to worship the King, the Lord who rules over all, and to observe the Feast of Tabernacles. But if any of the nations anywhere on earth refuse to go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord who rules over all, they will get no rain. 18If the Egyptians will not do so, they will get no rain – instead there will be the kind of plague which the Lord inflicts on any nations that do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles. 19This will be the punishment of Egypt and of all nations that do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles.
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, the ends of the earth as your personal property.
- Psalms 110:5O sovereign Lord, at your right hand he strikes down kings in the day he unleashes his anger.
- Isaiah 45:23I solemnly make this oath – what I say is true and reliable: ‘Surely every knee will bow to me, every tongue will solemnly affirm;
- Isaiah 60:12Indeed, nations or kingdoms that do not serve you will perish; such nations will be totally destroyed.
- Jeremiah 10:25Vent your anger on the nations that do not acknowledge you. Vent it on the peoples who do not worship you. For they have destroyed the people of Jacob. They have completely destroyed them and left their homeland in utter ruin.
- Romans 14:10But you who eat vegetables only – why do you judge your brother or sister? And you who eat everything – why do you despise your brother or sister? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God.
- Genesis 10:32These are the families of the sons of Noah, according to their genealogies, by their nations, and from these the nations spread over the earth after the flood.
- Genesis 12:3I will bless those who bless you, but the one who treats you lightly I must curse, and all the families of the earth will bless one another by your name.”
- Genesis 28:14Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west, east, north, and south. All the families of the earth will pronounce blessings on one another using your name and that of your descendants.
- Amos 3:2“I have chosen you alone from all the clans of the earth. Therefore I will punish you for all your sins.”
- Acts 17:26From one man he made every nation of the human race to inhabit the entire earth, determining their set times and the fixed limits of the places where they would live,
- Deuteronomy 11:17Then the anger of the Lord will erupt against you and he will close up the sky so that it does not rain. The land will not yield its produce, and you will soon be removed from the good land that the Lord is about to give you.
- Deuteronomy 28:23The sky above your heads will be bronze and the earth beneath you iron.
- 1 Kings 8:35“The time will come when the skies are shut up tightly and no rain falls because your people sinned against you. When they direct their prayers toward this place, renew their allegiance to you, and turn away from their sin because you punish them,
- 1 Kings 17:1Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, “As certainly as the Lord God of Israel lives (whom I serve), there will be no dew or rain in the years ahead unless I give the command.”
- 2 Chronicles 6:26“The time will come when the skies are shut up tightly and no rain falls because your people sinned against you. When they direct their prayers toward this place, renew their allegiance to you, and turn away from their sin because you punish 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
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