Zechariah 9:17
in Zechariah 9How lovely they will be, and how beautiful! Grain will make the young men flourish, and new wine, the young women.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
For how great is his goodness, and how great is his beauty! grain shall make the young men flourish, and new wine the virgins.
KJV
For how great is his goodness, and how great is his beauty! corn shall make the young men cheerful, and new wine the maids.
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This verse in Zechariah 9
Commentary
11 notes on this verse(Verse 17.) For what is its good and what is its beauty, except for the chosen grain and the wine that brings forth virgins? LXX: For if there is anything best from it, and if there is anything good from it, it is the grain for the youth and the wine with a good aroma for the virgins.
This site's exposition
raised up thy sons, O Zion
on Zechariah 9:13-17
Judah bent as the bow and Ephraim as its arrow, and thy sons, O Zion, against thy sons, O Greece: the readings are named, the Maccabean victories over the Seleucid Greeks as the near horizon most of the bench gives, and the wider day-of-the-Lord horizon others hear, positions with holders and no verdict. The Lord seen over them, the arrow as lightning, the trumpet blown: the theophany fights for the sons it armed. The close turns from war to harvest, the flock saved in that day as the stones of a crown lifted as an ensign, and the last line is pure delight, for how great is his goodness, and how great is his beauty, corn and new wine cheering the young, the oracle ending at a table rather than a battlefield.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
A commentator
Apostolic ConstitutionsCONSTITUTIONS OF THE HOLY APOSTLES 7:2.20 · Written before 380.
proposed
Now concerning the several sorts of food, the Lord says to you, "You shall eat the good things of the earth," and "All sorts of flesh shall you eat, as the green herb," but "You shall pour out the blood." For "not those things that go into the mouth, but those that come out of it, defile a man." "I mean blasphemies, evil speaking, and if there be any other thing like that. But "do you eat the fat of the land with righteousness." For "if anything be pleasant, it is his; and if there be anything good, it is his: wheat for the young men, and wine to cheer the maids." For "who shall eat or who shall drink without him?" Wise Ezra does also admonish you and says, "Go your way, and eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and do not be sorrowful."
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
His goodness - Infinite goodness is the fountain of all the good done for this people. His beauty - How wonderful the beauty of Divine Providence in Israel's deliverance and salvation?
Note, What good gifts God bestows upon us we must serve him cheerfully with, and must race the streams up to the fountain, and, when we are refreshed with corn and wine, must say, How great is his goodness!
17 ), who is fairer than the children of men, the fairest of ten thousand, and altogether lovely. Though, in the eye of the world, he had no form or comeliness, in the eye of faith how great is his beauty! [2.] To admire and give thanks for the gifts of God's favour and grace, his bounty as well as his beauty; for how great is his goodness!
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-citation-number+unbalanced-parens
For how great is his goodness?....
4 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
The word of the Lord shall be a burden in the land of Hadrach, that is, of Syria, but it does not appear why it was so called. That that kingdom is meant is plain, because Damascus, the metropolis of that kingdom, is said to be the rest of this burden; that is, the judgments here threatened shall light and lie upon that city.
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
For how great is His goodness - For it is unutterable! As the Psalmist said, “O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is Thy Name in all the earth!” Psa 8:1, and Jacob, “How awful is this place!” Gen 28:17, and the Psalmist, “How awful are Thy doings!” The goodness and the beauty are the goodness and beauty of God, whose great doings had been his theme throughout before. Of the goodness the sacred writers often speak , since of this we have extremest need.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
his goodness . . . his beauty--the goodness and beauty which Jehovah-Messiah bestows on His people. Not as MAURER thinks, the goodness, &c., of His land or His people (Ps 31:19; Jer 31:12). make . . . cheerful--literally, "make it grow." new wine the maids--supply, "shall make . . . to grow." Corn and wine abundant indicate peace and plenty.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
How great is his goodness - In himself and towards them. And how great is his beauty! - His comeliness, holiness, and purity, put in and upon them. Corn shall make the young men cheerful - They shall be gladdened and strengthened by plenty of food; and they shall speak aloud of God’s mercies in their harvest home. And new wine the maids - Who shall prepare the wine from an abundant vintage.
The words behind it
10 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כִּ֥י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| מַה־ | mah- | how! | H4100 → | 752 times |
| טּוּב֖וֹ | tuvo | [will be] goodness its | H2898 → | |
| וּמַה־ | umah- | and how! | H4100 → | 752 times |
| יָפְי֑וֹ | yafeyo | [will be] beauty its | H3308 → | |
| דָּגָן֙ | dagan | grain | H1715 → | |
| בַּֽחוּרִ֔ים | bachurim | young men | H970 → | |
| וְתִיר֖וֹשׁ | vetiroosh | and new wine | H8492 → | |
| יְנוֹבֵ֥ב | yenovev | it will cause to thrive | H5107 → | |
| בְּתֻלֽוֹת׃ | betulot | young women | H1330 → |
כִּ֥יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
מַה־how!
mah-H4100 →752 times
טּוּב֖וֹ[will be] goodness its
tuvoH2898 →
וּמַה־and how!
umah-H4100 →752 times
יָפְי֑וֹ[will be] beauty its
yafeyoH3308 →
דָּגָן֙grain
daganH1715 →
בַּֽחוּרִ֔יםyoung men
bachurimH970 →
וְתִיר֖וֹשׁand new wine
vetirooshH8492 →
יְנוֹבֵ֥בit will cause to thrive
yenovevH5107 →
בְּתֻלֽוֹת׃young women
betulotH1330 →
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
Psalms 31:19How great is Your goodness which You have laid up for those who fear You, which You have bestowed before the sons of men on those who take refuge in You!
it leads to
- 1 Corinthians 2:9
Rather, as it is written: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no heart has imagined, what God has prepared for those who love Him.”
- Isaiah 64:4
From ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides You, who acts on behalf of those who wait for Him.
- Lamentations 3:23–25
They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness!
- 1 Peter 1:4–5
and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, reserved in heaven for you,
- Colossians 3:2–4
Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.
- 1 Corinthians 2:9
Through
Psalms 90:17May the favor of the Lord our God rest upon us; establish for us the work of our hands— yes, establish the work of our hands!
it leads to
- Proverbs 16:3
Commit your works to the LORD and your plans will be achieved.
- 1 Corinthians 3:7
So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.
- 2 Thessalonians 2:16
Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who by grace has loved us and given us eternal comfort and good hope,
- Proverbs 16:3
Where this verse is studied
On this page
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); Apostolic Constitutions, CONSTITUTIONS OF THE HOLY APOSTLES 7:2.20; Carl Friedrich Keil, The Twelve Minor Prophets; 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); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.