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Zechariah 10:11

in Zechariah 10

They will pass through the sea of distress and strike the waves of the sea; all the depths of the Nile will dry up. The pride of Assyria will be brought down, and the scepter of Egypt will depart.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And he will pass through the sea of affliction, and will smite the waves in the sea, and all the depths of the Nile shall dry up; and the pride of Assyria shall be brought down, and the sceptre of Egypt shall depart.

KJV

And he shall pass through the sea with affliction, and shall smite the waves in the sea, and all the deeps of the river shall dry up: and the pride of Assyria shall be brought down, and the sceptre of Egypt shall depart away.

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This verse in Zechariah 10

Commentary

8 notes on this verse
And He - that is, Almighty God, shall pass through the sea, affliction As He says, “When thou walkest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not oveflow thee. And shall smite the waves in the sea” Isa 43:2, as in Isaiah, “The Lord shall utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea” Isa 11:

This site's exposition

I will bring them back from Egypt

on Zechariah 10:10-11

The LORD will bring His people out of Egypt and Assyria to “Gilead and Lebanon until no more room is found for them”. Then the powers that held Israel lose their grip, as “The pride of Assyria will be brought down, and the scepter of Egypt will depart”.

This site's exposition

They will pass through the sea of distress

The Berean makes the people the subject of the crossing. Barnes read the one who passes through the sea as Almighty God himself. He set the line beside Isaiah 43:2, God with his people in the waters, and Isaiah 11, the Egyptian sea destroyed.

The record, by era

The Church Fathers1 voice

A commentator

Jerome

Commentary on Zechariah · Written before 420.

proposed

(Verse 11, 12) And it shall pass through the sea strait, and strike the waves in the sea; and all the deep waters of the river shall be confounded, and the pride of Assyria shall be humbled, and the scepter of Egypt shall depart. I will strengthen them in the Lord; and they shall walk in His name, says the Lord.

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

And he shall pass through the sea with affliction,....

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

Gracious things and glorious ones, very glorious and very gracious, were promised to this poor afflicted people in the foregoing chapter; now here God intimates to them that he will for these things be enquired of by them, and that he expects they should acknowledge him in all their ways and in all his ways towards them--and not idols that were rivals with him for their respects.

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

proposed

pass . . . sea with affliction--Personifying the "sea"; He shall afflict the sea, that is, cause it to cease to be an obstacle to Israel's return to Palestine (Isa 11:15, 16). Vulgate translates, "The strait of the sea." MAURER, "He shall cleave and smite." English Version is best (Ps 114:3).

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

proposed

And he shall pass through the sea - Here is an allusion to the passage of the Red Sea, on their coming out of Egypt, and to their crossing Jordan, when they went into the promised land; the waves or waters of both were dried up, thrown from side to side, till all the people passed safely through. When they shall return from the various countries in which they now sojourn, God will work, if necessary, similar miracles to those which he formerly worked for their forefathers; and the people shall be glad to let them go, however much they may be profited by their operations in the state. Those that oppose, as Assyria and Egypt formerly did, shall be brought down, and their scepter broken.

How the passage was read

What the Jewish commentators add

And trouble shall pass through the sea And the trouble shall pass through Tyre, which is situated in the midst of the sea, it is the head of Edom.
Rashi: France, 1040–1105 · Rashi on Zechariah 10:11:1, via Sefaria, The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg

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. 5 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 words

Every 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.

  • וְעָבַ֨רand he will pass

    veavarH5674 →556 times

  • בַּיָּ֜םin the sea

    baiyamH3220 →396 times

  • צָרָ֗הtrouble

    tzarahH6869 →

  • וְהִכָּ֤הand he will strike

    vehikahH5221 →499 times

  • בַיָּם֙in the sea

    vaiyamH3220 →396 times

  • גַּלִּ֔יםwaves

    galimH1530 →

  • וְהֹבִ֕ישׁוּand they will dry up

    vehovishuH3001 →59 times

  • כֹּ֖לall

    kolH3605 →5413 times

  • מְצוּל֣וֹת[the] depths of

    metzulotH4688 →

  • יְאֹ֑ר[the] River

    yeorH2975 →

  • וְהוּרַד֙and it will be brought down

    vehuradH3381 →

  • גְּא֣וֹן[the] pride of

    geonH1347 →49 times

  • אַשּׁ֔וּרAssyria

    ʾashurH804 →

  • וְשֵׁ֥בֶטand [the] scepter of

    veshevetH7626 →

  • מִצְרַ֖יִםEgypt

    mitzrayimH4714 →641 times

  • יָסֽוּר׃it will depart

    yasurH5493 →299 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

18 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Genesis 49:10The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the staff from between his feet, until Shiloh comes and the allegiance of the nations is his.7 worksIsaiah 11:15The LORD will devote to destruction the gulf of the Sea of Egypt; with a scorching wind He will sweep His hand over the Euphrates. He will split it into seven streams for men to cross with dry sandals.7 worksEzekiel 30:13This is what the Lord GOD says: I will destroy the idols and put an end to the images in Memphis. There will no longer be a prince in Egypt, and I will instill fear in that land.5 worksIsaiah 43:2When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you go through the rivers, they will not overwhelm you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched; the flames will not set you ablaze.4 worksMicah 5:5–6And He will be our peace when Assyria invades our land and tramples our citadels. We will raise against it seven shepherds, even eight leaders of men.4 worksHaggai 2:22I will overturn royal thrones and destroy the power of the kingdoms of the nations. I will overturn chariots and their riders; horses and their riders will fall, each by the sword of his brother.4 works
The other 12 cross-references, with their words ▾
Ezekiel 29:15Egypt will be the lowliest of kingdoms and will never again exalt itself above the nations. For I will diminish Egypt so that it will never again rule over the nations.4 worksRevelation 16:12And the sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up to prepare the way for the kings of the East.3 worksExodus 14:21–22Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the LORD drove back the sea with a strong east wind that turned it into dry land. So the waters were divided,3 worksZephaniah 2:13And He will stretch out His hand against the north and destroy Assyria; He will make Nineveh a desolation, as dry as a desert.3 worksPsalms 114:3The sea observed and fled; the Jordan turned back;3 worksPsalms 66:10–12For You, O God, have tested us; You have refined us like silver.3 worksIsaiah 51:10Was it not You who dried up the sea, the waters of the great deep, who made a road in the depths of the sea for the redeemed to cross over?3 worksEzekiel 29:14–16I will restore Egypt from captivity and bring them back to the land of Pathros, the land of their origin. There they will be a lowly kingdom.2 worksPsalms 77:16–20The waters saw You, O God; the waters saw You and swirled; even the depths were shaken.2 worksIsaiah 19:5–7The waters of the Nile will dry up, and the riverbed will be parched and empty.2 worksPsalms 114:5Why was it, O sea, that you fled, O Jordan, that you turned back,2 worksExodus 14:27–28So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the sea returned to its normal state. As the Egyptians were retreating, the LORD swept them into the sea.2 works

The walk

8 stops

Each 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 43:2

    When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you go through the rivers, they will not overwhelm you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched;…

    it leads to

    • Isaiah 41:10

      Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will surely help you; I will uphold you with My right hand…

    • Joshua 1:9

      Have I not commanded you to be strong and courageous? Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”

    • Psalms 66:12

      You let men ride over our heads; we went through fire and water, but You brought us into abundance.

    • Psalms 23:4

      Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

    • Daniel 3:25–27

      “Look!” he exclaimed. “I see four men, unbound and unharmed, walking around in the fire—and the fourth looks like a son of the gods!”

  • Through

    Revelation 16:12

    And the sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up to prepare the way for the kings of the East.

    it leads to

    • Revelation 9:14

      saying to the sixth angel with the trumpet, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.”

    • Jeremiah 51:36

      Therefore this is what the LORD says: “Behold, I will plead your case and take vengeance on your behalf; I will dry up her sea and make her springs run dry.

    • Isaiah 44:27

      who says to the depths of the sea, ‘Be dry, and I will dry up your currents,’

Where this verse is studied

On this page

Studies2

About Zechariah

Zechariah's Vision of Four Chariots, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
Zechariah's Vision of Four Chariots, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
Zechariah: the study guide →Read Zechariah 10 →

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 Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Read on in Zechariah 10 →