Zechariah 9:3
in Zechariah 9Tyre has built herself a fortress; she has heaped up silver like dust, and gold like the dirt of the streets.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Tyre did build herself a stronghold, and heaped up silver as the dust, and fine gold as the mire of the streets.
KJV
And Tyrus did build herself a strong hold, and heaped up silver as the dust, and fine gold as the mire of the streets.
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This verse in Zechariah 9
Commentary
7 notes on this verse(Vers. 2 seqq.) Emath quoque in terminis ejus, et Tyrus et Sidon: assumpserunt quippe sibi sapientiam valde. Et aedificavit Tyrus munitionem suam, et coacervavit argentum quasi humum, et aurum ut lutum platearum. Ecce Dominus possidebit eam, et percutiet in mari fortitudinem ejus, et haec igne devorabitur. LXX: Emath in finibus ejus Tyrus et Sidon: quoniam sapientes fuerunt nimis, et aedificavit Tyrus munitionem suam, et congregavit argentum ut humum, et aurum ut lutum viarum. Therefore the Lord will possess it, and strike its strength in the sea, and it will be consumed by fire.
This site's exposition
the land of Hadrach
on Zechariah 9:1-4
The burden moves down the map like a campaign: Hadrach and Damascus, Hamath, then Tyrus with her strong hold and silver heaped as the dust, and the sentence, the Lord will cast her out, and he will smite her power in the sea. The commentators set Alexander's march behind the itinerary, the siege that took island Tyre by causeway after centuries of failed attempts, and present it as the striking correspondence it is while the oracle's own claim stays larger than any one army. The eyes of man toward the Lord at verse 1 governs the whole: the campaign is watched from above.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Tyrus flourishing, thinking herself very safe, and ready to set God's judgments, not only at a distance, but at defiance: for, (1.) She is very wise. It is spoken ironically; she thinks herself very wise, and able to outwit even the wisdom of God. It is granted that her king is a great politician, and that her statesmen are so, Ezek. xxviii.
And Tyrus did build herself a strong hold,....
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
And Tyre did build herself a stronghold - She built it for herself, not for God, and trusted to it, not to God, and so its strength brought her the greater fall.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
As Isaiah's and Ezekiel's (Eze 27:1-36) prophecies were directed against Old Tyre on the mainland and were fulfilled by Nebuchadnezzar, so Zechariah's are against New Tyre, which was made seemingly impregnable by a double wall one hundred fifty feet high, as well as the sea on all sides.
And Tyrus did build herself - The rock on which Tyre was built was strongly fortified; and that she had abundance of riches has been already seen, Eze 28:1, etc.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַתִּ֥בֶן | vativen | and it built | H1129 → | 376 times |
| צֹ֛ר | tzor | Tyre | H6865 → | |
| מָצ֖וֹר | matzor | a fortification | H4692 → | |
| לָ֑הּ | lah | for itself | ||
| וַתִּצְבָּר־ | vatitzbor- | and it heaped up | H6651 → | |
| כֶּ֙סֶף֙ | kesef | silver | H3701 → | 403 times |
| כֶּֽעָפָ֔ר | keafar | like <the> dust | H6083 → | |
| וְחָר֖וּץ | vecharutz | and gold | H2742 → | |
| כְּטִ֥יט | ketit | like [the] mud of | H2916 → | |
| חוּצֽוֹת׃ | chutzot | [the] streets | H2351 → |
וַתִּ֥בֶןand it built
vativenH1129 →376 times
צֹ֛רTyre
tzorH6865 →
מָצ֖וֹרa fortification
matzorH4692 →
לָ֑הּfor itself
lah
וַתִּצְבָּר־and it heaped up
vatitzbor-H6651 →
כֶּ֙סֶף֙silver
kesefH3701 →403 times
כֶּֽעָפָ֔רlike <the> dust
keafarH6083 →
וְחָר֖וּץand gold
vecharutzH2742 →
כְּטִ֥יטlike [the] mud of
ketitH2916 →
חוּצֽוֹת׃[the] streets
chutzotH2351 →
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
Joshua 19:29The border then turned back toward Ramah as far as the fortified city of Tyre, turned toward Hosah, and came out at the Sea in the region of Achzib,
it leads to
- Judges 1:31
Asher failed to drive out the inhabitants of Acco, Sidon, Ahlab, Achzib, Helbah, Aphik, and Rehob.
- 2 Samuel 5:11
Now Hiram king of Tyre sent envoys to David, along with cedar logs, carpenters, and stonemasons, and they built a palace for David.
- Judges 1:31
Through
2 Samuel 24:7They went toward the fortress of Tyre and all the cities of the Hivites and Canaanites. Finally, they went on to the Negev of Judah, to Beersheba.
it leads to
- Joshua 19:29
The border then turned back toward Ramah as far as the fortified city of Tyre, turned toward Hosah, and came out at the Sea in the region of Achzib,
- Joshua 11:3
to the Canaanites in the east and west; to the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, and Jebusites in the hill country; and to the Hivites at the foot of Hermon in the land of Mizpah.
- Joshua 19:29
Through
Ezekiel 27:33When your wares went out to sea, you satisfied many nations. You enriched the kings of the earth with your abundant wealth and merchandise.
it leads to
- Revelation 18:19
Then they will throw dust on their heads as they weep and mourn and cry out: “Woe, woe to the great city, where all who had ships on the sea were enriched by her…
- Ezekiel 27:3
Tell Tyre, who dwells at the gateway to the sea, merchant of the peoples on many coasts, that this is what the Lord GOD says: You have said, O Tyre, ‘I am perfect in…
- Isaiah 23:3–8
On the great waters came the grain of Shihor; the harvest of the Nile was the revenue of Tyre; she was the merchant of the nations.
- Revelation 18:19
Through
Job 27:16Though he heaps up silver like dust and piles up a wardrobe like clay,
it leads to
- Matthew 6:19
Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.
- Matthew 6:19
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Zechariah
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
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; 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.