Zechariah 7:14
in Zechariah 7But I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations that they had not known, and the land was left desolate behind them so that no one could come or go. Thus they turned the pleasant land into a desolation.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
but I will scatter them with a whirlwind among all the nations which they have not known. Thus the land was desolate after them, so that no man passed through nor returned: for they laid the pleasant land desolate.
KJV
But I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations whom they knew not. Thus the land was desolate after them, that no man passed through nor returned: for they laid the pleasant land desolate.
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This verse in Zechariah 7
Commentary
8 notes on this verse(Verses 8 onwards) And the word of the Lord came to Zechariah, saying: Thus says the Lord of hosts: Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another; do not oppress the widow, the orphan, the foreigner, or the poor; and do not devise evil in your hearts against one another. But they refused to listen, and turned a stubborn shoulder, and stopped their ears in order not to hear. They made their hearts adamant in order not to hear the law and the words that the Lord of hosts had sent by his spirit through the former prophets.
This site's exposition
it is come to pass, that as he cried
on Zechariah 7:13-14
The Lord's response mirrors their own refusal back at them: as he cried and they would not hear, so they cried and he would not hear. Pusey reads this as the exile's own logic laid bare, a nation that stopped its ears to correction was in turn met with silence when it later cried for help, the measure it gave becoming the measure it received. The chapter closes on the scattering itself, a whirlwind driving them among nations they did not know and a pleasant land left desolate behind them, the fast's original occasion explained rather than merely dated.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
This occasional sermon, which the prophet preached, and which is recorded in this and the next chapter, was above two years after the former, in which he gave them an account of his visions, as appears by comparing the date of this (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
But I scattered them with a whirlwind,....
The desolations of a land are owing to the wickedness of its inhabitants, Ps. cvii. This came of their wilful disobedience to the law of God. And the present generation saw how desolate sin had made that pleasant land, and yet would not take warning.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
I scattered them with a whirlwind - This refers to the swift victories and cruel conduct of the Chaldeans towards the Jews; they came upon them like a whirlwind; they were tossed to and fro, and up and down, everywhere scattered and confounded.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
It was ordered remarkably by God's providence, that no occupants took possession of it, but that during the Jews' absence it was reserved for them against their return after seventy years. they laid . . . desolate--The Jews did so by their sins.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
But I scattered them - Rather, “And I will scatter them.” The saying continues what God had said that he had said, and which had come to pass. Among all nations whom they knew not. So God had repeatedly said by Jeremiah, “I will cast you out of this land into a land that ye know not, ye nor your fathers; where I will not show you favor” (Jer 16:13; add Jer 15:14; Jer 17:4). This was the aggravation of the original woe in the law: “The Lord shall bring a nation against thee from far, from the end of the earth, a nation whose tongue thou shalt not understand, a nation of fierce countenance” Deu 28:49-50. There was no mitigation of suffering, when the common bond between man and man, mutual speech, was wanting. That no man passed through nor returned - Literally, “from passer through and from returner;” as in the prophecy of Alexander’s march and return, “because of him that passeth by and of him that returneth” Zec 9:8; and of Seir God saith, “I will cut off from him, passer-through and returner” . As we say, there shall be no traffic more through her. And they made the pleasant land desolate - They were the doers of what they by their sins caused, by bringing down the judgments of God. […]
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
And it came about; as He called and they did not hearken the Lord said concerning them in those days: So shall they call and I will not hearken.
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. 6 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
16 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְאֵ֣סָעֲרֵ֗ם | veesaarem | and I will storm away them | H5590 → | |
| עַ֤ל | ʾal | to | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הַגּוֹיִם֙ | hagoyim | the nations | H1471 → | 561 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֣ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| לֹֽא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יְדָע֔וּם | yedaum | they have known them | H3045 → | 945 times |
| וְהָאָ֙רֶץ֙ | vehaaretz | and the land | H776 → | 2504 times |
| נָשַׁ֣מָּה | nashamah | it was desolate | H8074 → | |
| אַֽחֲרֵיהֶ֔ם | ʾachareihem | behind them | H310 → | 715 times |
| מֵֽעֹבֵ֖ר | meover | from [one who] passes by | H5674 → | 556 times |
| וּמִשָּׁ֑ב | umishav | and from [one who] returns | H7725 → | 1056 times |
| וַיָּשִׂ֥ימוּ | vaiyasimu | and they made | H7760 → | 584 times |
| אֶֽרֶץ־ | ʾeretz- | a land of | H776 → | 2504 times |
| חֶמְדָּ֖ה | chemdah | desire | H2532 → | |
| לְשַׁמָּֽה׃ פ | leshamah | into a waste | H8047 → |
וְאֵ֣סָעֲרֵ֗םand I will storm away them
veesaaremH5590 →
עַ֤לto
ʾalH5921 →5755 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
הַגּוֹיִם֙the nations
hagoyimH1471 →561 times
אֲשֶׁ֣רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
לֹֽא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
יְדָע֔וּםthey have known them
yedaumH3045 →945 times
וְהָאָ֙רֶץ֙and the land
vehaaretzH776 →2504 times
נָשַׁ֣מָּהit was desolate
nashamahH8074 →
אַֽחֲרֵיהֶ֔םbehind them
ʾachareihemH310 →715 times
מֵֽעֹבֵ֖רfrom [one who] passes by
meoverH5674 →556 times
וּמִשָּׁ֑בand from [one who] returns
umishavH7725 →1056 times
וַיָּשִׂ֥ימוּand they made
vaiyasimuH7760 →584 times
אֶֽרֶץ־a land of
ʾeretz-H776 →2504 times
חֶמְדָּ֖הdesire
chemdahH2532 →
לְשַׁמָּֽה׃ פinto a waste
leshamahH8047 →
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
Deuteronomy 28:64Then the LORD will scatter you among all the nations, from one end of the earth to the other, and there you will worship other gods, gods of wood and stone, which neither you…
it leads to
- Leviticus 26:33
But I will scatter you among the nations and will draw out a sword after you as your land becomes desolate and your cities are laid waste.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Deuteronomy 4:27–28
Then the LORD will scatter you among the peoples, and only a few of you will survive among the nations to which the LORD will drive you.
- Deuteronomy 28:36
The LORD will bring you and the king you appoint to a nation neither you nor your fathers have known, and there you will worship other gods—gods of wood and stone.
- Jeremiah 16:13
So I will cast you out of this land into a land that neither you nor your fathers have known. There you will serve other gods day and night, for I will show you…
- Nehemiah 1:8
Remember, I pray, the word that You commanded Your servant Moses when You said, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations,
- Leviticus 26:33
Through
Deuteronomy 4:27Then the LORD will scatter you among the peoples, and only a few of you will survive among the nations to which the LORD will drive you.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 28:62–64
You who were as numerous as the stars in the sky will be left few in number, because you would not obey the voice of the LORD your God.
- Deuteronomy 28:62–64
Through
Jeremiah 5:15Behold, I am bringing a distant nation against you, O house of Israel,” declares the LORD. “It is an established nation, an ancient nation, a nation whose language you do not know and whose…
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 28:49
The LORD will bring a nation from afar, from the ends of the earth, to swoop down upon you like an eagle—a nation whose language you will not understand,
- Deuteronomy 28:49
Through
Jeremiah 23:19Behold, the storm of the LORD has gone out with fury, a whirlwind swirling down upon the heads of the wicked.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 30:23
Behold, the storm of the LORD has gone out with fury, a whirlwind swirling down upon the heads of the wicked.
- Jeremiah 30:23
Where this verse is studied
On this page
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); Edward Bouverie Pusey, The Minor Prophets: A Commentary; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Zechariah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.