ESV Global Study Bible :: Footnotes for Zechariah 14

Zech. 14:1–11 Terrible times are yet in store for the people of Jerusalem, but God will visit them and make Jerusalem secure and prominent.

Zech. 14:4 In a future time that Zechariah does not identify, enemies will divide Judah’s possessions before her very eyes. Jerusalem will again be captured and will endure great hardship (vv. 1–2). Yet at the height of her distress, the Lord will go out once more as a warrior. He will follow the same route by which he abandoned the Jerusalem temple in Ezek. 11:23. God’s appearance will shake the natural order (compare Ps. 29:1–11; Isa. 29:6; Mic. 1:3–4; Habakkuk 3). It will split the Mount of Olives in two, creating a valley aligned from east to west near the temple. Zechariah’s vision thus echoes the upheaval of the earth at the coming of the Lord described in Isa. 40:4 and Ezek. 43:2.

Zech. 14:5 This valley will provide an escape route for Jerusalem’s inhabi­tants to Azal, an unknown location. It will also provide a road for the Divine Warrior to return to his city. He will be accompanied by all the holy ones, which are either his angelic army or the exiles who return under his protection.

Zech. 14:6 On that day. It is difficult to determine what period of time is indicated by this chapter’s remarkable prophecies (see 1 Pet. 1:10–11).

Zech. 14:7 The natural order’s transformation at the Lord’s coming continues. That day will be like the first day of history (literally, “day one,” see esv footnote), a unique day, which is known to the Lord. Just as on the first day, before light and darkness had been separated (Gen. 1:3–4), so on that day there will be neither day nor night, but at evening time there shall be light. Permanent light will prevail.

Zech. 14:8 The living waters that flow from Jerusalem will reach the Dead Sea and the Mediterranean. Life-giving rivers are a common feature in descriptions of sanctuaries (see Gen. 2:10; Ps. 46:4; Ezek. 47:1–12; Joel 3:18; Rev. 22:1).

Zech. 14:9 the Lord will be king over all the earth. This far exceeds the idea of a Messiah who will deliver Israel, for this predicts a worldwide earthly reign of the Lord himself. The Lord will be one echoes the fundamental confession of the OT, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one” (Deut. 6:4). As the Lord’s sole kingship is established, he becomes the sole object of worship (compare Zech. 8:20–23).

Zech. 14:10 The territory of Judah will be turned into a flat plain so that Jerusalem can tower over its surrounding countryside (compare Isa. 2:2–4).

Zech. 14:11 Jerusalem will be fully inhabited and secure, without fear of a further decree of utter destruction from the Lord because of its sins.

Zech. 14:12–21 After the nations have suffered a gruesome defeat, they will dedicate themselves to worshiping the true God in Jerusalem.

Zech. 14:16 The nations that once came up against Jerusalem for war will now come to the city for the three annual festivals, especially the Feast of Booths in the fall. Like Ezekiel before him (Ezek. 46:9–12), Zechariah writes of ongoing festival worship in a renewed Israel, but he broadens this vision to include the nations.

Zech. 14:17 And if any of the families of the earth do not go up. This requirement will be enforced by the threat of a lack of rain, which will cripple their harvests.

Zech. 14:20 Holiness will affect everything within Jerusalem, down to the most humble objects. Even the bells of the horses will now be inscribed with the phrase Holy to the Lord, which was previously inscribed on a plate on the high priest’s turban (Ex. 28:36–38). The whole city will become a temple, the place where the Lord dwells among his people (compare Rev. 21:22–23).

Zech. 14:21 On that day there will no longer be a trader (or a “Canaanite”; see esv footnote) in the Lord’s house. No longer will Gentiles enter the temple for business reasons, thus defiling the holiness of the Lord’s house (see Ezek. 44:9). The temple will finally become a fit place for the Lord to dwell among his people.