Zechariah 9:10

10 And I shall lose the four-horsed cart of Ephraim, and an horse of Jerusalem, and the bow of battle shall be destroyed; and he shall speak peace to heathen men, and the power of him shall be from sea till to sea, and from floods, till to the ends of [the] earth. (And he shall destroy the four-horsed carts, or the chariots, of Ephraim, and the horses of Jerusalem, and the bows for battle shall be destroyed; and he shall speak peace to the heathen, and his power shall be from sea unto sea, and from the Euphrates River, unto the ends of the earth.)

Zechariah 9:10 Meaning and Commentary

Zechariah 9:10

And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim
That is, the military one; signifying that wars shall cease, ( Psalms 46:9 ) : and the horse from Jerusalem;
the warlike one; see ( Micah 5:10 ) . Ephraim designs the ten tribes, and Jerusalem stands for the two tribes of Judah and Benjamin; and the sense is, that these shall be one in the days of the Messiah, as Kimchi observes; and that all instruments of war shall be removed from them, and there shall be an entire peace between them; see ( Isaiah 11:13 ) ( Ezekiel 37:16 Ezekiel 37:19 ) : and the battle bow shall be cut off;
another instrument of war. The Targum paraphrases it,

``I will break the strength of those that make war, the armies of the people;''

all this does not design so much the outward peace that should be in the world at the birth of Christ, as the spiritual peace of his kingdom; and that, as it is not of this world, so neither is it spread, supported, and defended by carnal weapons; and also the peaceableness and safety of his subjects, and the destruction of their enemies: and he shall speak peace unto the heathen;
not only the church of Christ, gathered out of the Jews, should enjoy great spiritual peace, prosperity, and safety; but the Gentiles also should share in it, to whom Christ went, and preached peace; not in his own person, being the minister of the circumcision: but by his apostles, who had the ministration of reconciliation committed to them; and being sent forth by Christ, went everywhere preaching peace by him, who is Lord of all, unto all nations; see ( Ephesians 2:17 ) : and his dominion [shall be] from sea [even] to sea, and from the
river [even] to the ends of the earth;
according to Aben Ezra, from the Red Sea to the sea of the Philistines, and from the river Euphrates to the ends of the earth: or, as Kimchi cites him, from the south sea, called the sea of Edom, to the north sea, which is the sea of the ocean; from the river that goes out from Eden, which is at the beginning of the east, unto the ends of the earth, which is the end of the west: or, as the Targum paraphrases it,

``from the sea to the west, and from Euphrates to the ends of the earth.''

The phrases are expressive of the extensiveness of Christ's dominion, through the preaching of the Gospel, both in Judea and in the Gentile world, before the destruction of Jerusalem; and especially in the latter day; see ( Psalms 72:8 ) . This and the preceding clause are allowed to belong to the Messiah, by a modern Jewish writer ^F9.

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FOOTNOTES:

F9 R. Isaac, Chizzuk Emuna, par. 1. c. 1. p. 43, 44. So Kimchi in Isa. lxv. 19.

Zechariah 9:10 In-Context

8 And I shall compass mine house of these that hold knighthood to me, and go, and turn again; and an exactor, or unjust asker, shall no more pass on them, for now I saw with mine eyes. (And I shall surround my House with those of my host, or of my army, yea, they who go, and return, at my command; and no more shall an oppressor overrun them, for now I have seen their suffering with my own eyes.)

9 Thou daughter of Zion, make joy withoutforth enough; sing, thou daughter of Jerusalem; lo! thy king shall come to thee, he (is) just, and (a) saviour; he (is) poor, and ascending on a she ass, and on a colt/on a foal, the son of a she ass. (O daughter of Zion, make full out joy, or rejoice; sing, O daughter of Jerusalem; lo! thy King shall come to thee, he is just, and a saviour/he is just, and the victor; he is poor, and riding on a she donkey, and on a colt, or on a foal, the son of a she donkey.)

10 And I shall lose the four-horsed cart of Ephraim, and an horse of Jerusalem, and the bow of battle shall be destroyed; and he shall speak peace to heathen men, and the power of him shall be from sea till to sea, and from floods, till to the ends of [the] earth. (And he shall destroy the four-horsed carts, or the chariots, of Ephraim, and the horses of Jerusalem, and the bows for battle shall be destroyed; and he shall speak peace to the heathen, and his power shall be from sea unto sea, and from the Euphrates River, unto the ends of the earth.)

11 And thou in the blood of thy testament sentest out thy bound men from the lake in which is no water. (And by the blood of my covenant with thee, I sent out thy bound men from the pit in which there was no water.)

12 Ye bound of hope, be turned again to (the) stronghold; and today I tell, and I shall yield to thee double things, (Ye prisoners of hope, return to the stronghold, or to the fortress; for today I declare that I shall give thee double for all thy trouble,)