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Zechariah 14:13

in Zechariah 14

On that day a great panic from the LORD will come upon them, so that each will seize the hand of another, and the hand of one will rise against the other.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV

ASV

And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from Jehovah shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbor, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbor.

KJV

And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the Lord shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour.

This verse in Zechariah 14

Commentary

8 notes on this verse
A great tumult - And panic fear, such as God said He would send upon the Canaanites before Israel Deu 7:23, or on Israel itself, if disobedient Deu 28:20; or which fell on the Philistines after Jonathan’s capture of the garrison at Michmash, when every man’s “sword was against his fellow” .

This site's exposition

consume away while they stand upon their feet

on Zechariah 14:12-15

The plague on the nations that fought Jerusalem is described at the body's own ruin, flesh, eyes, and tongue consuming away while the man still stands on his feet, a judgment the earlier verses do not explain further. The great tumult that follows, every man's hand rising against his neighbour, is read by the bench beside Gideon's rout of Midian, where the Lord set every man's sword against his fellow throughout the host (Judg 7:22), the same confusion turned against an enemy camp rather than Israel's own. Judah still fights at Jerusalem even inside a battle the Lord himself wins, wealth and beasts of the nations gathered in one sweeping plague that spares nothing that came up against the city.

The record, by era

The Church Fathers2 voices

A commentator

Jerome

Commentary on Zechariah · Written before 420.

proposed

In that day there will be a great tumult of the Lord among them: and a man will seize the hand of his neighbor, and his hand will be placed upon the hand of his neighbor. But Judah will fight against Jerusalem, and the riches of all the nations will be gathered around: gold, silver, and many garments.

A commentator

Ephrem the Syrian

COMMENTARY ON ZECHARIAH · Written before 373.

proposed

On that day a great panic from the Lord shall fall on them, so that each will seize the hand of a neighbor, and the hand of the one will be fastened to the hand of the other. After peace was restored to the Jews, …

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

As they are the sin of those that raise them they are not from the Lord, but from the wicked one, and from men's own lusts; but, as they are the punishment of those that suffer by them, they are from the Lord, who serves his own purposes, and carries on his intentions, by the sins, and follies, and restless spirits, of men.
And it shall come to pass in that day,....

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

proposed

1Sa 14:15, 20). lay hold . . . on . . . hand of . . . neighbour--instinctively grasping it, as if thereby to be safer, but in vain [MENOCHIUS]. Rather, in order to assail "his neighbor" [CALVIN], (Eze 38:21). Sin is the cause of all quarrels on earth.

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens

1 more voice on this verse

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

proposed

A great tumult from the Lord - Among those enemies of his Church, who shall engage and destroy each other.

How the passage was read

What the Jewish commentators add

there will be great consternation, sent by the Lord upon them to confuse their wisdom, to bring them about to madness.
Rashi: France, 1040–1105 · Rashi on Zechariah 14:13:1, via Sefaria, The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg
2 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
his flesh will waste away while he still stands This denotes the falling off of the limbs.
Rashi: France, 1040–1105 · Rashi on Zechariah 14:12:1, via Sefaria, The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg
Yea, even Judah against their will shall fight against Jerusalem.
Rashi: France, 1040–1105 · Rashi on Zechariah 14:14:1, via Sefaria, The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg

This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.

Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 3 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.

The words behind it

17 Hebrew words

Every 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.

  • וְהָיָה֙and it will be

    vehayahH19613559 times

  • בַּיּ֣וֹםon the day

    baiyomH31172304 times

  • הַה֔וּא<the> that

    hahu'H19311879 times

  • תִּֽהְיֶ֧הit will be

    tihyehH19613559 times

  • מְהֽוּמַת־a panic of

    mehumat-H4103

  • יְהוָ֛הYahweh

    yahwehH30686520 times

  • רַבָּ֖הgreat

    rabahH7227454 times

  • בָּהֶ֑םamong them

    bahem

  • וְהֶחֱזִ֗יקוּand they will take hold of

    vehechezikuH2388291 times

  • אִ֚ישׁeach

    ʾishH3761663 times

  • יַ֣ד[the] hand of

    yadH30271618 times

  • רֵעֵ֔הוּneighbor his

    reehuH7453188 times

  • וְעָלְתָ֥הand it will go up

    vealtahH5927890 times

  • יָד֖וֹhand his

    yadoH30271618 times

  • עַל־on

    ʾal-H59215755 times

  • יַ֥ד[the] hand of

    yadH30271618 times

  • רֵעֵֽהוּ׃neighbor his

    reehuH7453188 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

The walk

8 stops

Each 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

    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…

    it leads to

    • 1 Kings 4:12

      Baana son of Ahilud in Taanach, in Megiddo, and in all of Beth-shean next to Zarethan below Jezreel, from Beth-shean to Abel-meholah and on past Jokmeam;

  • Through

    Ezekiel 38:21

    And I will summon a sword against Gog on all My mountains, declares the Lord GOD, and every man’s sword will be against his brother.

    it leads to

    • Haggai 2:22

      I 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…

    • 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…

    • Ezekiel 14:17

      Or if I bring a sword against that land and say, ‘Let a sword pass through it,’ so that I cut off from it both man and beast,

  • Through

    Zechariah 11:6

    For I will no longer have compassion on the people of the land, declares the LORD, but behold, I will cause each man to fall into the hands of his neighbor and his king,…

    it leads to

    • Jeremiah 13:14

      I will smash them against one another, fathers and sons alike, declares the LORD. I will allow no mercy or pity or compassion to keep Me from destroying them.’”

    • Hebrews 10:26–31

      If we deliberately go on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no further sacrifice for sins remains,

    • Micah 5:8

      Then the remnant of Jacob will be among the nations, in the midst of many peoples, like a lion among the beasts of the forest, like a young lion among flocks of sheep, which…

  • Through

    Zechariah 12:4

    On that day, declares the LORD, I will strike every horse with panic, and every rider with madness. I will keep a watchful eye on the house of Judah, but I will strike with…

    it leads to

    • Deuteronomy 28:28

      The LORD will afflict you with madness, blindness, and confusion of mind,

Where this verse is studied

About Zechariah

Zechariah's Vision of Four Chariots, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
Zechariah's Vision of Four Chariots, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Ephrem the Syrian, COMMENTARY ON ZECHARIAH; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Zechariah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.