Zechariah 14:8
in Zechariah 14And on that day living water will flow out from Jerusalem, half of it toward the Eastern Sea and the other half toward the Western Sea, in summer and winter alike.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And it shall come to pass in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the eastern sea, and half of them toward the western sea: in summer and in winter shall it be.
KJV
And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter shall it be.
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This verse in Zechariah 14
Commentary
9 notes on this verseLiving waters shall go out - There shall be a wide diffusion of Divine knowledge, and of the plan of human salvation, which shall go out by apostles and preachers, first from Jerusalem, then to Syria, Asia Minor, Greece, Italy, the isles of the sea, Britain, etc. The former sea, and - the hinder sea - The Dead Sea and the Mediterranean; see on Joe 2:20 (note). These are metaphors. In summer - In time of drought; or in the countries where there was no knowledge of God, there shall these waters flow.
This site's exposition
living water will flow out from Jerusalem
On that day “living water will flow out from Jerusalem”, and it flows “in summer and winter alike”. The older commentators set the verse beside Ezekiel's river from the temple threshold (Ezekiel 47:1-12). The river of the water of life in Revelation's last chapter carries the picture furthest.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
On that day living waters shall flow out from Jerusalem, half of them to the eastern sea and half of them to the western sea. After this, from Jerusalem the law of salvation will come. Indeed, as the Lord says, salvation is from the Jews, …
(Verse 8.) And it shall be in that day, living waters shall come out from Jerusalem, half of them toward the eastern sea, and half of them toward the western sea; in summer and in winter it shall be.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
In that day - When the days of ignorance, and idolatry shall end. Living waters - The quickening, saving truths of the gospel, with all its ordinances in purity. From Jerusalem - The church of Christ, the true Jerusalem.
Note, Where the gospel goes, and the graces of God's Spirit go along with it, there living waters go; those streams that make glad the city of our God make glad the country also, and make it like paradise, like the garden of the Lord, which was well watered. It was the honour of Jerusalem that thence the word of the Lord went forth ( Isa. ii.
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And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem,....
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
living waters-- (Eze 47:1; Joe 3:18). former sea--that is, the front, or east, which Orientalists face in taking the points of the compass; the Dead Sea. hinder sea--the west or Mediterranean. summer . . . winter--neither dried up by heat, nor frozen by cold; ever flowing.
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A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
And it shall be, that living waters - Kimchi: “This is what is said in the prophecy of Joel, ‘A fountain shall come forth from the house of the Lord’ Joe 3:18; and in that of Ezekiel, ‘And behold there ran out waters.’ Eze 47:2.” Zechariah leaves to the mind to supply what the former prophets had said of the fertilizing life-giving character of those waters. He adds that they should pervade the whole land, west as well as east; “to the former,” rather “the Eastern Sea” , into which they would by nature flow, and toward “the hinder,” that is, the Western Sea, the Mediterranean, which natural waters could not “reach.” This their flow, he adds, should be perpetual , “These streams shall not dry up and their waters shall not fail”; therefore drought shall not lessen them, nor winter-cold bind them. “From Jerusalem as from a fountain shall stream forth living waters of wisdom and grace to all nations” . Cyril: “Again he tells us, under a figure, that exceeding great and large shall be that outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the saints, especially when they shall be removed to that holy eternal life in the world to come. For now through faith in Christ we are enriched, as with an earnest, with the firstfruits of the Holy Spirit. But after the Resurrection, sin being wholly taken away, the Holy Spirit will be in us, not as an earnest or in a measure; but richly bounteously and perfectly shall we enjoy the grace through Christ. He calleth, then, ‘living water,’ the Spirit which, he says, will come forth from the Jerusalem which is from above. But that the Holy Scripture is accustomed to liken the Divine Spirit to ‘water,’ the Giver thereof, the Son, accredits, saying, ‘he that believeth on Me, as the Scripture hath said, Out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water’ Joh 7:38. […]
The words behind it
18 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְהָיָ֣ה׀ | vehayah | and it will be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| בַּיּ֣וֹם | baiyom | on the day | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| הַה֗וּא | hahu' | <the> that | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| יֵצְא֤וּ | yetzeu | they will go out | H3318 → | 1067 times |
| מַֽיִם־ | mayim- | waters | H4325 → | |
| חַיִּים֙ | chaiyim | living | H2416 → | |
| מִיר֣וּשָׁלִַ֔ם | mirushalim | from Jerusalem | H3389 → | 643 times |
| חֶצְיָ֗ם | chetzyam | half of them | H2677 → | 125 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| הַיָּם֙ | haiyam | the sea | H3220 → | 396 times |
| הַקַּדְמוֹנִ֔י | hakadmoni | <the> eastern | H6931 → | |
| וְחֶצְיָ֖ם | vechetzyam | and half of them | H2677 → | 125 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| הַיָּ֣ם | haiyam | the sea | H3220 → | 396 times |
| הָאַחֲר֑וֹן | haacharon | <the> western | H314 → | |
| בַּקַּ֥יִץ | bakayitz | in the summer | H7019 → | |
| וּבָחֹ֖רֶף | uvachoref | and in the winter | H2779 → | |
| יִֽהְיֶֽה׃ | yihyeh | it will be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
וְהָיָ֣ה׀and it will be
vehayahH1961 →3559 times
בַּיּ֣וֹםon the day
baiyomH3117 →2304 times
הַה֗וּא<the> that
hahu'H1931 →1879 times
יֵצְא֤וּthey will go out
yetzeuH3318 →1067 times
מַֽיִם־waters
mayim-H4325 →
חַיִּים֙living
chaiyimH2416 →
מִיר֣וּשָׁלִַ֔םfrom Jerusalem
mirushalimH3389 →643 times
חֶצְיָ֗םhalf of them
chetzyamH2677 →125 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
הַיָּם֙the sea
haiyamH3220 →396 times
הַקַּדְמוֹנִ֔י<the> eastern
hakadmoniH6931 →
וְחֶצְיָ֖םand half of them
vechetzyamH2677 →125 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
הַיָּ֣םthe sea
haiyamH3220 →396 times
הָאַחֲר֑וֹן<the> western
haacharonH314 →
בַּקַּ֥יִץin the summer
bakayitzH7019 →
וּבָחֹ֖רֶףand in the winter
uvachorefH2779 →
יִֽהְיֶֽה׃it will be
yihyehH1961 →3559 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
John 7:38Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said: ‘Streams of living water will flow from within him.’”
it leads to
- John 4:14
But whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a fount of water springing up to eternal life.”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Isaiah 44:3
For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and currents on the dry ground. I will pour out My Spirit on your descendants, and My blessing on your offspring.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Isaiah 58:11
The LORD will always guide you; He will satisfy you in a sun-scorched land and strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.
- Isaiah 12:3
With joy you will draw water from the springs of salvation,
- John 4:10
Jesus answered, “If you knew the gift of God and who is asking you for a drink, you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”
- John 4:14
Through
John 4:14But whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a fount of water springing up to eternal life.”
it leads to
- John 7:38–39
Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said: ‘Streams of living water will flow from within him.’”
- John 6:35
Jesus answered, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to Me will never hunger, and whoever believes in Me will never thirst.
- John 7:38–39
Through
John 4:10Jesus answered, “If you knew the gift of God and who is asking you for a drink, you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”
it leads to
- Revelation 7:17
For the Lamb in the center of the throne will be their shepherd. ‘He will lead them to springs of living water,’ and ‘God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’”
- Revelation 7:17
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 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; Ephrem the Syrian, COMMENTARY ON ZECHARIAH; 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.