Zechariah 14:16-21

16 {And then} every survivor from all those nations coming against Jerusalem will go up year after year to worship [the] king, Yahweh of hosts, and celebrate the Feast of Booths.

17 {And then} whoever of the clans of the earth does not go up to Jerusalem to worship the king, Yahweh of hosts, it will not rain on them.

18 And if the clan of Egypt will not go up and come in, on them will be that plague Yahweh inflicts on the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Booths.

19 This will be the punishment of Egypt and the punishment of all the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Booths.

20 On that day there will be [inscribed] on the bells of the horses, "Holy to Yahweh." And the cooking pots in the house of Yahweh will be [holy] like the sacrificial basins before the altar.

21 And every cooking pot in Jerusalem and in Judah will be holy to Yahweh of hosts, and all those who sacrifice will come and will take from them, and will cook in them, and there will be no longer a {trader} in the house of Yahweh of hosts on that day.

Zechariah 14:16-21 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO ZECHARIAH 14

This chapter treats of the coming of Christ with all his saints, and his personal appearance among them; and of the signs of the times before that; and of what shall befall the enemies of the church, both open and secret; and of the happy state and condition of the church itself. First there will be a time of great affliction to the people of God, Zec 14:1,2, when the Lord will appear and fight for them, and will appear to them, and with them, Zec 14:3-5 but before this time it will be an uncommon season, neither day nor night; at the close of which, light will break forth, Zec 14:6,7 the Gospel will be spread far and near, attended with the Spirit and grace of God in great plenty, Zec 14:8 which will bring on the spiritual reign of Christ over all the earth, Zec 14:9 particularly the land of Judea, and the city of Jerusalem, shall be inhabited by men with safety, Zec 14:10,11 and all those that oppose and fight against the Lord's people shall be destroyed, partly by an immediate plague from the Lord upon them, and partly by the hands of one another, and also by the saints of the most High; and the plague shall not only be upon their persons, but upon their cattle likewise, Zec 14:12-16 and as for those that profess the Christian name, and yet neglect or refuse to worship the Lord in a spiritual and evangelical manner, there shall be no rain upon them, Zec 14:17-19 and as for the church and people of God, there shall be universal holiness among them, and not a single Canaanite to be found in the midst of them, Zec 14:20,21.

Footnotes

• [a]. Literally "And it will happen"
• [b]. Or "from year to year"; or "yearly"
• [c]. That is, Succoth (or Tabernacles)
• [d]. Literally "And it will happen"
• [e]. Or "temple"
• [f]. That is, the ceremonial bowls used by the priests for sprinkling blood
• [g]. Literally "Canaanite" (Canaanites, especially Phoenicians, were merchants and traders)
• [h]. Or "temple"