Zechariah 12:1

1 The burden of the word of the Lord on Israel. And the Lord said, stretching forth heaven, and founding the earth, and making the spirit of a man in him, (The charge, or the heavy burden, of the word of the Lord for Israel. And the Lord said, stretching forth the heavens, and founding the earth, and making, or forming, the spirit of a man within him,)

Zechariah 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.

Zechariah 12:1 In-Context

1 The burden of the word of the Lord on Israel. And the Lord said, stretching forth heaven, and founding the earth, and making the spirit of a man in him, (The charge, or the heavy burden, of the word of the Lord for Israel. And the Lord said, stretching forth the heavens, and founding the earth, and making, or forming, the spirit of a man within him,)

2 Lo! I shall set Jerusalem (as) a lintel of gluttony to all peoples in compass, but also Judah shall be in besieging against Jerusalem.

3 And it shall be, in that day I shall set Jerusalem a stone of burden to all peoples; all that shall lift it shall be drawn with cutting down, and all realms of earth shall be gathered against it. (And it shall be, on that day I shall make Jerusalem like a burdensome stone to all the nations; yea, all who shall try to lift it shall be drawn, or shall be cut, down, and all the kingdoms of the earth shall be gathered against it.)

4 In that day, saith the Lord, I shall smite each horse in[to] dread, either losing of mind, and the rider of him in[to] madness; and on the house of Judah I shall open mine eyes, and shall smite with blindness each horse of (the) peoples. (On that day, saith the Lord, I shall strike each horse with fear, that is, unto the losing of its mind, and his rider with madness; and I shall open my eyes upon the house of Judah, and I shall strike each horse of the nations with blindness.)

5 And the dukes of Judah shall say in their hearts, Be the dwellers of Jerusalem strengthened to me in the Lord of hosts, the God of them. (And the leaders of Judah shall say in their hearts, Let the inhabitants of Jerusalem find their strength in the Lord of hosts, their God.)