Zechariah 2:9
in Zechariah 2I will surely wave My hand over them, so that they will become plunder for their own servants. Then you will know that the LORD of Hosts has sent Me.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
For, behold, I will shake my hand over them, and they shall be a spoil to those that served them; and ye shall know that Jehovah of hosts hath sent me.
KJV
For, behold, I will shake mine hand upon them, and they shall be a spoil to their servants: and ye shall know that the Lord of hosts hath sent me.
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This verse in Zechariah 2
Commentary
7 notes on this verse(Verse 9) For behold, I will shake My hand over them, and they shall become spoil for those who served them. Then you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent me. LXX: Behold, I will raise my hand against them, and they shall become plunder for those who served them. Then you will know that the Lord Almighty has sent me.
This site's exposition
flee from the land of the north
on Zechariah 2:6-9
The vision breaks into a direct summons: come forth, and flee from the land of the north, Babylon named the north because her armies came that way though the city itself lay east, a call to exiles still lingering there after the first return had already gone up. The tenderness of the appeal turns on one clause, he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye, covenant affection stated in the most physical figure available, and it is followed by judgment on the nations that plundered Zion, they shall be a spoil to their servants. The refrain ye shall know that the Lord of hosts hath sent me repeats at verse 9 and again at verse 11, authenticating the messenger's own commission, and the older writers note the phrase after the glory hath he sent me as language in which the sent one speaks as one with the Lord who sends him, a reading named rather than pressed to a verdict.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
For, behold, I will shake mine hand upon them,....
(1.) He is sent after the glory. After the glorious beginning of their deliverance he is sent to perfect it, for he is the finisher of that work which he is the author of. Christ is sent, in the first place, to the nation and people of the Jews, to whom pertained the glory, Rom. ix.
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
For behold I will shake My hand against them - As God promised of old against the enemies of His people , and they shall be a spoil to those who served them habitually. And ye shall know that the Lord of hosts hath sent Me - Theodoret: “He was sent, not as God, but as Man. For as God He is equal to the Father.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
shake . . . hand--A mere wave of God's hand can prostrate all foes (compare Ru 1:13; Ac 13:11). a spoil to their servants--to the Jews whom they had once as their slaves (compare Isa 14:2). As the Jews' state between the return from Babylon and Christ's coming was checkered with much adversity, this prophecy can only have its fulfilment under Christ. sent me-- (Isa 48:16;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase+unbalanced-parens
I will shake mine hand upon them - I will threaten first, and then stretch out my hand of judgment against them. A spoil to their servants - To those whom they had formerly subjected to their sway. As the Babylonians to the Medes and Persians; and so of the rest in the subversion of empires.
The words behind it
14 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כִּ֠י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| הִנְנִ֨י | hini | here I | H2005 → | 316 times |
| מֵנִ֤יף | menif | [am] about to brandish | H5130 → | |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| יָדִי֙ | yadi | hand my | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| עֲלֵיהֶ֔ם | ʾaleihem | on them | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| וְהָי֥וּ | vehayu | and they will be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| שָׁלָ֖ל | shalal | plunder | H7998 → | |
| לְעַבְדֵיהֶ֑ם | leavdeihem | for own slaves their | H5650 → | 799 times |
| וִֽידַעְתֶּ֕ם | vida'tem | and you will know | H3045 → | 945 times |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| יְהוָ֥ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| צְבָא֖וֹת | tzevaot | of hosts | H6635 → | 485 times |
| שְׁלָחָֽנִי׃ ס | shelachani | he has sent me | H7971 → | 845 times |
כִּ֠יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
הִנְנִ֨יhere I
hiniH2005 →316 times
מֵנִ֤יף[am] about to brandish
menifH5130 →
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
יָדִי֙hand my
yadiH3027 →1618 times
עֲלֵיהֶ֔םon them
ʾaleihemH5921 →5755 times
וְהָי֥וּand they will be
vehayuH1961 →3559 times
שָׁלָ֖לplunder
shalalH7998 →
לְעַבְדֵיהֶ֑םfor own slaves their
leavdeihemH5650 →799 times
וִֽידַעְתֶּ֕םand you will know
vida'temH3045 →945 times
כִּֽי־that
ki-H3588 →4482 times
יְהוָ֥הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
צְבָא֖וֹתof hosts
tzevaotH6635 →485 times
שְׁלָחָֽנִי׃ סhe has sent me
shelachaniH7971 →845 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
Isaiah 14:2The nations will escort Israel and bring it to its homeland. Then the house of Israel will possess the nations as menservants and maidservants in the LORD’s land. They will make captives of their…
it leads to
- Isaiah 61:5
Strangers will stand and feed your flocks, and foreigners will be your plowmen and vinedressers.
- Isaiah 60:14
The sons of your oppressors will come and bow down to you; all who reviled you will fall facedown at your feet and call you the City of the LORD, Zion of the Holy…
- Jeremiah 30:16
Nevertheless, all who devour you will be devoured, and all your adversaries—every one of them—will go off into exile. Those who plundered you will be plundered, and all who raided you will be raided.
- Isaiah 61:5
Through
Zechariah 6:15Even those far away will come and build the temple of the LORD, and you will know that the LORD of Hosts has sent Me to you. This will happen if you diligently obey…
it leads to
- Isaiah 60:10
Foreigners will rebuild your walls, and their kings will serve you. Although I struck you in anger, yet in favor I will show you mercy.
- Isaiah 60:10
Through
Isaiah 19:16In that day the Egyptians will be like women. They will tremble with fear beneath the uplifted hand of the LORD of Hosts, when He brandishes it against them.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 51:30
The warriors of Babylon have stopped fighting; they sit in their strongholds. Their strength is exhausted; they have become like women. Babylon’s homes have been set ablaze, the bars of her gates are broken.
- Jeremiah 51:30
Through
Zechariah 4:9“The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house, and his hands will complete it. Then you will know that the LORD of Hosts has sent me to you.
it leads to
- Ezra 6:14–15
So the Jewish elders built and prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah son of Iddo. They finished building according to the command of the God of Israel and the decrees…
- Zechariah 6:12–13
And you are to tell him that this is what the LORD of Hosts says: ‘Here is a man whose name is the Branch, and He will branch out from His place and build…
- Ezra 6:14–15
Through
Ezekiel 39:10They will not gather wood from the countryside or cut it from the forests, for they will use the weapons for fuel. They will loot those who looted them and plunder those who plundered…
it leads to
- Isaiah 33:1
Woe to you, O destroyer never destroyed, O traitor never betrayed! When you have finished destroying, you will be destroyed. When you have finished betraying, you will be betrayed.
- Isaiah 33:1
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 and Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; 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.
