Zechariah 14:17

Translations

Modern

And should any of the families of the earth not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of Hosts, then the rain will not fall on them.

Traditional

And it shall be, that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain.

Literal

And it will come to pass that whoever does not go up from the families of the earth to Jerusalem, to bow down to the King, YHWH of Hosts, there will not be on them rain.

Latin

Et erit: qui non ascenderit de familiis terræ ad Jerusalem ut adoret regem, Dominum exercituum, non erit super eos imber.

Original

Hebrew

English

And should any of the families of the earth not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of Hosts, then the rain will not fall on them.

Notes

Zechariah 14:17

go up to Jerusalem to worship the King: Jerusalem, with God's temple, is seen as the center of God's worldwide kingdom (Zechariah 8:20–22; see Isaiah 56:6–7; 66:19–23; Micah 4:1; Haggai 2:7; Revelation 21:1–2, 10–27).
the rain: This was one of the curses God announced against Israel for breaking the covenant (see Deuteronomy 28:22–24). That curse also applied to all nations, as God's rule covers all people (compare Zechariah 10:1).

Zechariah 14:1–21

Zechariah ends with visions of judgment, salvation, and God's universal kingdom. In the future, Israel will face a siege and near destruction, but the Lord will intervene to save his people (Zechariah 14:3–4) and punish their enemies with a severe plague (14:12). Israel will be restored as God's people, and Jerusalem will become the center of civilization (Zechariah 14:16–17). God's rule will extend over the entire earth (Zechariah 14:9), and the natural world will change (14:6–10). God's holiness will be the defining feature of his rule over the earth (Zechariah 14:20–21).

Zechariah’s message calls God’s people to hope in the King of Israel, who has full power and authority.

Zechariah 12:1–14:21

The theme of Jerusalem versus the nations connects the four messages in Zechariah's second oracle. The nations gather against Jerusalem at both the start (Zechariah 12:1–9) and the end (14:1–15) of the oracle. The repeated phrase on that day points to the future day of the Lord.

This oracle shows both judgment and blessing for Jerusalem. The main focus is the cleansing of the people of Israel (Zechariah 13:1), ending with God's universal kingdom (14:16–21). These future visions encouraged the Judeans of Zechariah's time to stay faithful despite feeling unimportant and helpless.

Theme notes and profiles

Apocalyptic Literature God’s Promised Kingdom

Events

Prophecies of Zechariahc. 520 BC

Related verses

Amos 4:7–8
“I also withheld the rain from you when the harvest was three months away. I sent rain on one city but withheld it from another. One field received rain; another without rain withered.
Isaiah 60:12
For the nation or kingdom that will not serve you will perish; it will be utterly destroyed.
Jeremiah 14:4
The ground is cracked because no rain has fallen on the land. The farmers are ashamed; they cover their heads.
James 5:17
Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years.
Revelation 11:6
These witnesses have power to shut the sky so that no rain will fall during the days of their prophecy, and power to turn the waters into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague as often as they wish.
Genesis 12:3
I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you; and all the families of the earth will be blessed through you.”
Deuteronomy 11:17
…or the anger of the LORD will be kindled against you. He will shut the heavens so that there will be no rain, nor will the land yield its produce, and you will soon perish from the good land that the LORD is giving you.
Genesis 10:32
All these are the clans of Noah’s sons, according to their generations and nations. From these the nations of the earth spread out after the flood.
Genesis 28:14
Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and east and north and south. All the families of the earth will be blessed through you and your offspring.
1 Kings 17:1
Now Elijah the Tishbite, who was among the settlers of Gilead, said to Ahab, “As surely as the LORD, the God of Israel, lives, before whom I stand, there will be neither dew nor rain in these years except at my word!”
2 Chronicles 6:26
When the skies are shut and there is no rain because Your people have sinned against You, and they pray toward this place and confess Your name, and they turn from their sins because You have afflicted them,
2 Chronicles 7:13
If I close the sky so there is no rain, or if I command the locust to devour the land, or if I send a plague among My people,

Parallels

Leviticus 23:33–44 Nehemiah 8:13–18

People

LORD: Names or title used to refer to God

Places

Jerusalem: The capital of Israel, a holy city for three religions

Glossary

Feasts and Festivals of Israel Gog Holy War Holy War Zechariah, Book of Zion

Topics

Church: Prophecies Concerning Prosperity of Feast of Tabernacles: Penalty for not Observing Gentiles: Prophecies of the Conversion of Millennium: General Scriptures Concerning Prophecies Concerning Israel: Prophecies Concerning of Blessing and Restoration Rain: Withheld As Judgment Wicked (People): Temporal Punishment of Worship: Commanded

Zechariah 14:17

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