Zechariah 12:1

1 The burden of a word of Jehovah on Israel. An affirmation of Jehovah, Stretching out heaven, and founding earth, And forming the spirit of man in his midst.

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 a word of Jehovah on Israel. An affirmation of Jehovah, Stretching out heaven, and founding earth, And forming the spirit of man in his midst.

2 Lo, I am making Jerusalem a cup of reeling To all the peoples round about, And also against Judah it is, In the siege against Jerusalem.

3 And it hath come to pass, in that day, I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone to all the peoples, All loading it are completely pressed down, And gathered against it have been all nations of the earth.

4 In that day -- an affirmation of Jehovah, I do smite every horse with astonishment, And its rider with madness, And on the house of Judah I open My eyes, And every horse of the peoples I smite with blindness.

5 And leaders of Judah have said in their heart, `Strength to me [are] the inhabitants of Jerusalem, In Jehovah of Hosts their God.'