Zechariah 13:8
in Zechariah 13And in all the land, declares the LORD, two-thirds will be cut off and perish, but a third will be left in it.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith Jehovah, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein.
KJV
And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the Lord, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein.
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This verse in Zechariah 13
Commentary
6 notes on this verseTwo parts therein shall be cut off - In the war with the Romans. But the third shall be left - Those who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ shall be preserved alive; and not one of these perished in the siege, or afterwards, by those wars.
This site's exposition
two parts therein shall be cut off and die
on Zechariah 13:8-9
Two parts of the land are cut off and die while a third is left, the remnant then brought through the fire and refined as silver, tried as gold, a process the commentators read as purification rather than mere reduction. The refined third calls on the Lord's name and is answered, and the covenant formula closes the book's central movement, I will say, It is my people, and they shall say, The Lord is my God. Pusey and Barnes read the formula as the mutual claim of Exodus renewed on the far side of judgment, the remnant's smallness answered by the completeness of the bond it now holds.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verse 7 and following) "I will raise up a spear against my shepherd, and against the man who is my associate," says the Lord of hosts. Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered, and I will turn my hand against the little ones. And they shall be in all the land, says the Lord, two parts in it shall be cut off and perish, and the third part shall be left. And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will test them as gold is tested.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Some understand by the cutting off, and dying, or two parts in all the earth, the abolishing of heathenism and Judaism, that Christianity, the third part, might be left to reign alone. The Jewish worship was quite taken away by the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple. And, some time after, Pagan idolatry was in a manner extirpated, when the empire became Christian.
And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the Lord,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
In all the land, two parts therein shall be cut off and die - “In all the land of Israel,” says a Jewish interpreter; (Kimchi); “ - the land, in which the Good Shepherd had been slain and the sheep scattered, “that upon you.” our Lord had said, “may come all the righteous blood.” As David punished Moab, “with two lines measured he to put to death, and with one full line to keep alive” 2Sa 8:2; and Ezekiel prophesied, “A third part of thee shall die with the pestilence, and with famine shall they be consumed in the midst of thee: and a third part shall fall by the sword round about thee” Eze 5:12; so now, the greater part should be destroyed, but a remnant should be saved. “But the third part shall be left therein. Even so then at this present time also,” Paul says, “there is a remnant according to the election of grace” Rom 11:5. Osorius: “The third part only shall be saved from the common destruction; yet not so, that they should suppose that glory was to be obtained amid ease.”
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְהָיָ֤ה | vehayah | and it will be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| בְכָל־ | vekhol- | in all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הָאָ֙רֶץ֙ | haaretz | the land | H776 → | 2504 times |
| נְאֻם־ | neum- | [the] utterance of | H5002 → | 376 times |
| יְהוָ֔ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| פִּֽי־ | pi- | a mouth of | H6310 → | 498 times |
| שְׁנַ֣יִם | shenayim | two | H8147 → | 768 times |
| בָּ֔הּ | bah | in it | ||
| יִכָּרְת֖וּ | yikaretu | they will be cut off | H3772 → | 288 times |
| יִגְוָ֑עוּ | yigvau | they will perish | H1478 → | |
| וְהַשְּׁלִשִׁ֖ית | vehashelishit | and the third [part] | H7992 → | 107 times |
| יִוָּ֥תֶר | yivater | it will be left | H3498 → | |
| בָּֽהּ׃ | bah | in it |
וְהָיָ֤הand it will be
vehayahH1961 →3559 times
בְכָל־in all
vekhol-H3605 →5413 times
הָאָ֙רֶץ֙the land
haaretzH776 →2504 times
נְאֻם־[the] utterance of
neum-H5002 →376 times
יְהוָ֔הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
פִּֽי־a mouth of
pi-H6310 →498 times
שְׁנַ֣יִםtwo
shenayimH8147 →768 times
בָּ֔הּin it
bah
יִכָּרְת֖וּthey will be cut off
yikaretuH3772 →288 times
יִגְוָ֑עוּthey will perish
yigvauH1478 →
וְהַשְּׁלִשִׁ֖יתand the third [part]
vehashelishitH7992 →107 times
יִוָּ֥תֶרit will be left
yivaterH3498 →
בָּֽהּ׃in it
bah
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
Ezekiel 5:12A third of your people will die by plague or be consumed by famine within you, a third will fall by the sword outside your walls, and a third I will scatter to every…
it leads to
- Ezekiel 5:2
When the days of the siege have ended, you are to burn up a third of the hair inside the city; you are also to take a third and slash it with the sword…
- Jeremiah 15:2
If they ask you, ‘Where shall we go?’ you are to tell them that this is what the LORD says: ‘Those destined for death, to death; those destined for the sword, to the sword;…
- Jeremiah 43:10–11
Then tell them that this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘I will send for My servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and I will set his throne over these…
- Ezekiel 5:2
Through
Revelation 16:19The great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations collapsed. And God remembered Babylon the great and gave her the cup of the wine of the fury of His…
it leads to
- Revelation 18:5
For her sins are piled up to heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities.
- Revelation 17:18
And the woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth.”
- Revelation 18:10
In fear of her torment, they will stand at a distance and cry out: “Woe, woe to the great city, the mighty city of Babylon! For in a single hour your judgment has come.”
- Revelation 18:21
Then a mighty angel picked up a stone the size of a great millstone and cast it into the sea, saying: “With such violence the great city of Babylon will be cast down, never…
- Revelation 18:2
And he cried out in a mighty voice: “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She has become a lair for demons and a haunt for every unclean spirit, every unclean bird, and every detestable…
- Revelation 18:5
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Zechariah
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Edward Bouverie Pusey, The Minor Prophets: A Commentary; Jerome, Commentary on Zechariah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.