Zacharias 12:1

1 The burden of the word of the Lord for Israel; saith the Lord, that stretches out the sky, and lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him.

Zacharias 12:1 Meaning and Commentary

Zechariah 12:1

The burden of the word of the Lord for Israel
And against their enemies; for the good of the church of God, for its joy, comfort, and salvation; or, "concerning Israel" ^F24; what shall befall them in the latter day, as the destruction of antichrist, prophesied of in the preceding chapter ( Zechariah 11:1-17 ) ; and what is hereafter said may be believed that it shall be accomplished. The Lord is described in the greatness of his power, speaking as follows: saith the Lord, which stretcheth forth the heavens:
as a curtain, ( Psalms 104:2 ) the expanse or firmament of heaven, which is stretched out as a canopy over all the earth around: and layeth the foundation of the earth;
firm and sure, though upon the seas and floods, yea, upon nothing, ( Psalms 24:2 ) ( Job 26:7 ) : and formeth the spirit of man within him;
the soul of man, with all its powers and faculties, gifts and endowments; which is of his immediate creation, and which he continues daily to form, and infuse into the bodies of men, and holds in life there; hence he is called the Father of spirits, ( Hebrews 12:9 ) .

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FOOTNOTES:

F24 (le) "de", Piscator, Drusius; "super Israele", Cocceius, Burkius.

Zacharias 12:1 In-Context

1 The burden of the word of the Lord for Israel; saith the Lord, that stretches out the sky, and lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him.

2 Behold, I make Jerusalem as trembling door-posts to all the nations round about, and in Judea there shall be a siege against Jerusalem.

3 And it shall come to pass in that day I will make Jerusalem a trodden stone to all the nations: every one that tramples on it shall utterly mock at , and all the nations of the earth shall be gathered together against it.

4 In that day, saith the Lord Almighty, I will smite every horse with amazement, and his rider with madness: but I will open mine eyes upon the house of Juda, and I will smite all the horses of the nations with blindness.

5 And the captains of thousands of Juda shall say in their hearts, We shall find for ourselves the inhabitants of Jerusalem in the Lord Almighty their God.