Zechariah 8:23
in Zechariah 8This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “In those days ten men from the nations of every tongue will tightly grasp the robe of a Jew, saying, ‘Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.’”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: In those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold, out of all the languages of the nations, they shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.
KJV
Thus saith the Lord of hosts; In those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the nations, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you: for we have heard that God is with you.
⋯
This verse in Zechariah 8
Commentary
12 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Ten men of all languages of the nations - Ten is the symbol of a whole, all the numbers before it meeting in it and starting again from it. The day of Pentecost was to be the reversal of the confusion of Babel; all were to have one voice, as God had said, “It (the time) shall come to gather all nations and tongues, and they shall come and see My glory” Isa 66:
This site's exposition
there shall come people, and the inhabitants of many cities
on Zechariah 8:20-23
The chapter widens from Judah's own fasts to a picture of nations streaming toward Jerusalem to seek the Lord, one city inviting another until many peoples and strong nations arrive. The closing image sharpens the point to ten men from every language taking hold of a single Jew's garment, saying, we will go with you, for we have heard that God is with you. Keil and Calvin read the picture as pointing toward the nations being drawn to the God of Israel, and the church later saw its own ingathering foreshadowed here, though the verse itself names the pilgrims coming to Jerusalem rather than describing where they end.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
God will make the return of the remainder so conspicuous that many people who are from different nations and have shared that calamity will perceive God's care for the people. They will lay hold of any one of them and use him as a guide …
(Verse 23) Thus says the Lord of hosts: In those days, when ten men from all the languages of the nations take hold of the garment of a Jewish man, saying, 'We will go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.' LXX: Thus says the Lord Almighty: In those days, if ten men from all the languages of the nations take hold of the fringe of a Jewish man, saying, 'We will go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.'
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
A Jew - To whom the gospel was first preached. We have heard - And now see, and are assured. That God - The true God, the only true God, whom to know is life eternal.
The gospel was preached to the Jews first (for of that nation the apostles were) and by them it was carried to the Gentiles. St. Paul was a Jew whose skirt many took hold of when they welcomed him as an angel of God, and begged him to take them along with him to Christ; thus the Greeks took hold of Philip's skirt, saying, Sir, we would see Jesus, John xii.
1 Again the word of the L ORD of hosts came to me, saying, 2 Thus saith the L ORD of hosts; I was jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I was jealous for her with great fury.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:89%@v1-2
5 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
But it would be accomplished much more fully in the conversion of the Gentiles to the faith of Christ, and the incorporating of them with the believing Jews in one great body, under Christ the head, a mystery which is made manifest by the scriptures of the prophets ( Rom. xvi.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
Thus saith the Lord of hosts,....
By this it appears that they are brought into the church, not by human persuasion, for they are of different languages, not by external force, for they are strong nations, able to have kept their ground if they had been so attacked, but purely by the effectual working of divine truth and grace.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
God is with you--the effect produced on unbelievers in entering the assemblies of the Church (1Co 14:25). But primarily, that produced on the nations in witnessing the deliverance of the Jews by Cyrus. Finally, that to be produced on the nations by the future grand interposition of Messiah in behalf of His people.
Ten men - shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew - The converts from among the Gentiles shall be to the Jews as ten to one. But ten may here signify a great number, without comparison. And from this scripture it appears as if the Jews, converted to God, should be the instruments of converting many Gentiles. See on Isa 3:6 (note). Catching hold of the skirt is a gesture naturally used to entreat assistance and protection. This and the three foregoing verses, says Abp. Newcome, refer to the great accession of converts which the Jewish Church received between the captivity and the coming of Christ; to the number of Christian disciples which the Jewish preachers made, and to the future conversions of which the restoration of the Jews will be an eminent cause.
The words behind it
24 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כֹּ֥ה | koh | thus | H3541 → | 577 times |
| אָמַר֮ | ʾamar | he says | H559 → | 5305 times |
| יְהוָ֣ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| צְבָאוֹת֒ | tzevaot | of hosts | H6635 → | 485 times |
| בַּיָּמִ֣ים | baiyamim | in the days | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| הָהֵ֔מָּה | hahemah | <the> those | H1992 → | 553 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֤ר | ʾasher | that | H834 → | 5497 times |
| יַחֲזִ֙יקוּ֙ | yachaziku | they will take hold | H2388 → | 291 times |
| עֲשָׂרָ֣ה | ʾasarah | ten | H6235 → | |
| אֲנָשִׁ֔ים | ʾanashim | people | H582 → | 566 times |
| מִכֹּ֖ל | mikol | from all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| לְשֹׁנ֣וֹת | leshonot | [the] tongues of | H3956 → | |
| הַגּוֹיִ֑ם | hagoyim | the nations | H1471 → | 561 times |
| וְֽהֶחֱזִ֡יקוּ | vehecheziku | and they will take hold | H2388 → | 291 times |
| בִּכְנַף֩ | bikhnaf | on [the] skirt of | H3671 → | 109 times |
| אִ֨ישׁ | ʾish | a person | H376 → | 1663 times |
| יְהוּדִ֜י | yehudi | Jewish | H3064 → | |
| לֵאמֹ֗ר | lemor | <to> saying | H559 → | 5305 times |
| נֵֽלְכָה֙ | nelekhah | we want to go | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| עִמָּכֶ֔ם | ʾimakhem | with you | H5973 → | 1050 times |
| כִּ֥י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| שָׁמַ֖עְנוּ | shama'nu | we have heard | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| אֱלֹהִ֥ים | ʾelohim | God | H430 → | 2601 times |
| עִמָּכֶֽם׃ ס | ʾimakhem | [is] with you | H5973 → | 1050 times |
כֹּ֥הthus
kohH3541 →577 times
אָמַר֮he says
ʾamarH559 →5305 times
יְהוָ֣הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
צְבָאוֹת֒of hosts
tzevaotH6635 →485 times
בַּיָּמִ֣יםin the days
baiyamimH3117 →2304 times
הָהֵ֔מָּה<the> those
hahemahH1992 →553 times
אֲשֶׁ֤רthat
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
יַחֲזִ֙יקוּ֙they will take hold
yachazikuH2388 →291 times
עֲשָׂרָ֣הten
ʾasarahH6235 →
אֲנָשִׁ֔יםpeople
ʾanashimH582 →566 times
מִכֹּ֖לfrom all
mikolH3605 →5413 times
לְשֹׁנ֣וֹת[the] tongues of
leshonotH3956 →
הַגּוֹיִ֑םthe nations
hagoyimH1471 →561 times
וְֽהֶחֱזִ֡יקוּand they will take hold
vehechezikuH2388 →291 times
בִּכְנַף֩on [the] skirt of
bikhnafH3671 →109 times
אִ֨ישׁa person
ʾishH376 →1663 times
יְהוּדִ֜יJewish
yehudiH3064 →
לֵאמֹ֗ר<to> saying
lemorH559 →5305 times
נֵֽלְכָה֙we want to go
nelekhahH1980 →1546 times
עִמָּכֶ֔םwith you
ʾimakhemH5973 →1050 times
כִּ֥יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
שָׁמַ֖עְנוּwe have heard
shama'nuH8085 →1159 times
אֱלֹהִ֥יםGod
ʾelohimH430 →2601 times
עִמָּכֶֽם׃ ס[is] with you
ʾimakhemH5973 →1050 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 60:3Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.
it leads to
- Isaiah 49:23
Kings will be your foster fathers, and their queens your nursing mothers. They will bow to you facedown and lick the dust at your feet. Then you will know that I am the LORD;…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Acts 13:47
For this is what the Lord has commanded us: ‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles, to bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’”
- Revelation 21:24
By its light the nations will walk, and into it the kings of the earth will bring their glory.
- Isaiah 2:2–5
In the last days the mountain of the house of the LORD will be established as the chief of the mountains; it will be raised above the hills, and all nations will stream to…
- Micah 4:1–2
In the last days the mountain of the house of the LORD will be established as the chief of the mountains; it will be raised above the hills, and the peoples will stream to…
- Isaiah 49:23
Through
1 Corinthians 14:25and the secrets of his heart will be made known. So he will fall facedown and worship God, proclaiming, “God is truly among you!”
it leads to
- Isaiah 45:14
This is what the LORD says: “The products of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush, along with the Sabeans, men of stature, will come over to you and will be yours; they will trudge…
- Isaiah 45:14
Through
Isaiah 55:5Surely you will summon a nation you do not know, and nations who do not know you will run to you. For the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, has bestowed glory…
it leads to
- Isaiah 60:9
Surely the islands will wait for Me, with the ships of Tarshish in the lead, to bring your children from afar, with their silver and gold, to the honor of the LORD your God,…
- Isaiah 60:5
Then you will look and be radiant, and your heart will tremble and swell with joy, because the riches of the sea will be brought to you, and the wealth of the nations will…
- Isaiah 60:9
About Zechariah
This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Carl Friedrich Keil, The Twelve Minor Prophets; 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); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Theodore of Mopsuestia, COMMENTARY ON ZECHARIAH 8:20-23.