Zechariah 10:5
in Zechariah 10They will be like mighty men in battle, trampling the enemy in the mire of the streets. They will fight because the LORD is with them, and they will put the horsemen to shame.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And they shall be as mighty men, treading down their enemies in the mire of the streets in the battle; and they shall fight, because Jehovah is with them; and the riders on horses shall be confounded.
KJV
And they shall be as mighty men, which tread down their enemies in the mire of the streets in the battle: and they shall fight, because the Lord is with them, and the riders on horses shall be confounded.
⋯
This verse in Zechariah 10
Commentary
8 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
And they - (the house of Judah , of whom he had said, He hath made them as the goodly horse in the battle) shall be as mighty men, trampling on the mire of the streets Micah had said, “she shall be a trampling, as the mire of the streets” Mic 7:10, and David, “I did stamp them as the mire of the street” 2Sa 22:
This site's exposition
tread down their enemies in the mire of the streets
on Zechariah 10:5-7
The promised strength turns immediately practical, mighty men treading down enemies in battle because the Lord is with them, and the riders on horses, the era's most feared weapon, left confounded before them. The promise widens at once to both halves of the divided kingdom, the house of Judah strengthened and the house of Joseph, the northern tribes carried off generations earlier, saved and brought back as though never cast off. Henry reads the reunification of Judah and Ephraim as answering the ancient rivalry the divided monarchy had never healed, with Ephraim's own heart rejoicing as through wine once the promise reaches it.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verse 3 and following) My anger is kindled against the shepherds, and I will punish the goats; for the Lord of hosts will visit his flock, the house of Judah, and make them like his majestic horse in battle. From him comes the cornerstone, from him the tent peg, from him the bow of battle; from him every oppressor comes forth together, and they shall be like mighty warriors trampling the mud of the streets in battle. They will fight, for the Lord is with them.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
): They shall be as mighty men, that are both strong in body and bold in spirit, men of vigour, men of valour, effective men. Those of Ephraim, as well as those of Judah, shall be like a mighty man (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation
And they shall be as mighty men,....
Gracious things and glorious ones, very glorious and very gracious, were promised to this poor afflicted people in the foregoing chapter; now here God intimates to them that he will for these things be enquired of by them, and that he expects they should acknowledge him in all their ways and in all his ways towards them--and not idols that were rivals with him for their respects.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
riders on horses--namely, the enemy's horsemen. Though the Jews were forbidden by the law to multiply horses in battle (De 17:16), they are made Jehovah's war horse (Zec 10:3;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase+unbalanced-parens
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
They shall be as mighty men - The Maccabees and their successors. Riders on horses - The Macedonians, who opposed the Maccabees, and had much cavalry; whereas the Jews had none, and even few weapons of war; yet they overcame these horsemen.
The words behind it
13 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְהָי֨וּ | vehayu | and they will be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| כְגִבֹּרִ֜ים | khegiborim | like warriors | H1368 → | 158 times |
| בּוֹסִ֨ים | bosim | treading down | H947 → | |
| בְּטִ֤יט | betit | in [the] mud of | H2916 → | |
| חוּצוֹת֙ | chutzot | [the] streets | H2351 → | |
| בַּמִּלְחָמָ֔ה | bamilchamah | in <the> battle | H4421 → | 320 times |
| וְנִ֨לְחֲמ֔וּ | venilchamu | and they will fight | H3898 → | 177 times |
| כִּ֥י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| יְהוָ֖ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| עִמָּ֑ם | ʾimam | [will be] with them | H5973 → | 1050 times |
| וְהֹבִ֖ישׁוּ | vehovishu | and they will put to shame | H954 → | 127 times |
| רֹכְבֵ֥י | rokhevei | riders of | H7392 → | 78 times |
| סוּסִֽים׃ | susim | horses | H5483 → | 140 times |
וְהָי֨וּand they will be
vehayuH1961 →3559 times
כְגִבֹּרִ֜יםlike warriors
khegiborimH1368 →158 times
בּוֹסִ֨יםtreading down
bosimH947 →
בְּטִ֤יטin [the] mud of
betitH2916 →
חוּצוֹת֙[the] streets
chutzotH2351 →
בַּמִּלְחָמָ֔הin <the> battle
bamilchamahH4421 →320 times
וְנִ֨לְחֲמ֔וּand they will fight
venilchamuH3898 →177 times
כִּ֥יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
יְהוָ֖הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
עִמָּ֑ם[will be] with them
ʾimamH5973 →1050 times
וְהֹבִ֖ישׁוּand they will put to shame
vehovishuH954 →127 times
רֹכְבֵ֥יriders of
rokheveiH7392 →78 times
סוּסִֽים׃horses
susimH5483 →140 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Psalms 20:7Some trust in chariots and others in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.
it leads to
- Isaiah 31:1
Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, who rely on horses, who trust in their abundance of chariots and in their multitude of horsemen. They do not look to the Holy…
- Jeremiah 17:5
This is what the LORD says: “Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind, who makes the flesh his strength and turns his heart from the LORD.
- Proverbs 21:31
A horse is prepared for the day of battle, but victory is of the LORD.
- Psalms 33:16–17
No king is saved by his vast army; no warrior is delivered by his great strength.
- 2 Chronicles 32:8
With him is only the arm of flesh, but with us is the LORD our God to help us and to fight our battles.” So the people were strengthened by the words of Hezekiah…
- Isaiah 31:1
Through
Haggai 2:22I will overturn royal thrones and destroy the power of the kingdoms of the nations. I will overturn chariots and their riders; horses and their riders will fall, each by the sword of his…
it leads to
- Micah 5:10
“In that day,” declares the LORD, “I will remove your horses from among you and wreck your chariots.
- Judges 7:22
And when the three hundred rams’ horns sounded, the LORD set all the men in the camp against one another with their swords. The army fled to Beth-shittah toward Zererah as far as the…
- Micah 5:10
Through
Zechariah 9:13For I will bend Judah as My bow and fit it with Ephraim. I will rouse your sons, O Zion, against the sons of Greece. I will make you like the sword of a…
it leads to
- Revelation 17:14
They will make war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will triumph over them, because He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and He will be accompanied by His called and chosen…
- Revelation 17:14
About Zechariah
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Zechariah; John Calvin, Commentaries on the Twelve Minor Prophets; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.