Context at a Glance
Author:Traditional Attribution
Topic:zechariah Chapter 14 Study
This chapter provides a foundational look at the theological themes of zechariah, analyzed across multiple historic translations for maximum scholarly depth.
Zechariah 14
New Revised Standard Version
1See, a day is coming for the LORD, when the plunder taken from you will be divided in your midst.
2For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city shall be taken and the houses looted and the women raped; half the city shall go into exile, but the rest of the people shall not be cut off from the city.
3Then the LORD will go forth and fight against those nations as when he fights on a day of battle.
4On that day his feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives, which lies before Jerusalem on the east; and the Mount of Olives shall be split in two from east to west by a very wide valley; so that one half of the Mount shall withdraw northward, and the other half southward.
5And you shall flee by the valley of the LORD's mountain, for the valley between the mountains shall reach to Azal; and you shall flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of King Uzziah of Judah. Then the LORD my God will come, and all the holy ones with him.
6On that day there shall not be either cold or frost.
7And there shall be continuous day (it is known to the LORD), not day and not night, for at evening time there shall be light.
8On that day living waters shall flow out from Jerusalem, half of them to the eastern sea and half of them to the western sea; it shall continue in summer as in winter.
9And the LORD will become king over all the earth; on that day the LORD will be one and his name one.
10The whole land shall be turned into a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem. But Jerusalem shall remain aloft on its site from the Gate of Benjamin to the place of the former gate, to the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the king's wine presses.
11And it shall be inhabited, for never again shall it be doomed to destruction; Jerusalem shall abide in security.
12This shall be the plague with which the LORD will strike all the peoples that wage war against Jerusalem: their flesh shall rot while they are still on their feet; their eyes shall rot in their sockets, and their tongues shall rot in their mouths.
13On that day a great panic from the LORD shall fall on them, so that each will seize the hand of a neighbor, and the hand of the one will be raised against the hand of the other;
14even Judah will fight at Jerusalem. And the wealth of all the surrounding nations shall be collected — gold, silver, and garments in great abundance.
15And a plague like this plague shall fall on the horses, the mules, the camels, the donkeys, and whatever animals may be in those camps.
16Then all who survive of the nations that have come against Jerusalem shall go up year after year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the festival of booths.
17If any of the families of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, there will be no rain upon them.
18And if the family of Egypt do not go up and present themselves, then on them shall come the plague that the LORD inflicts on the nations that do not go up to keep the festival of booths.
19Such shall be the punishment of Egypt and the punishment of all the nations that do not go up to keep the festival of booths.
20On that day there shall be inscribed on the bells of the horses, "Holy to the LORD." And the cooking pots in the house of the LORD shall be as holy as the bowls in front of the altar;
21and every cooking pot in Jerusalem and Judah shall be sacred to the LORD of hosts, so that all who sacrifice may come and use them to boil the flesh of the sacrifice. And there shall no longer be traders in the house of the LORD of hosts on that day. MALACHI
1925MALACHI Introduction The final book of the Minor Prophets is Malachi, whose placement following Haggai and Zechariah is probably based on a chronological principle, since the frequent allusions to Temple activity in the book presume the success of those prophets (e.g., Hag 1.7; Zech 6.15) in the restoration of the Temple. The superscription to Malachi ("an oracle," 1.1) further binds the book to its predecessor (cf. Zech 9.1; 12.1). Nothing is known about the person of Malachi. Even his name, which means "my messenger," may be only an appellation, based on 3.1 (cf. 2.7). Though the book neither alludes to historical events nor includes date formulas, it seems to reflect the period of the fifth century BCE, since it presumes a completed Temple (which occurred in
515BCE) and also shared many of the concerns with Ezra and Nehemiah, normally dated to the second half of the fifth century, including tithing (3.8-12; Neh 10.37-39; 13.10-14) and mixed marriages (2.10-12; Ezra 9-10; Neh 11.23-27). This prophetic voice was devoted to the Temple and held a high view of the priesthood and its responsibilities. he speaks frequently of the covenant (2.4, 5, 8, 10, 14; 3.1) and shows great respect for the priestly "instruction" (torah, 2.6-9). Instead of adopting the poetic style used by earlier prophets, Malachi speaks in a more prosaic voice and adopts a question-and-answer method of stating his argument. Nevertheless, his emphases upon sin, judgment, and repentance, and upon an imminent day of reckoning (3.1-5,7; 4.1-3, 6) mark him as a prophet, and he may be best understood as a "cultic prophet," like Joel. The extravagant hopes of the restoration prophets had not materialized (Hag 2.6-9; Zech 8.1-5, 20-23). The Temple had been rebuilt but the ideal age had not begun. Malachi probably spoke to a MALACHI
1926disheartened audience which questioned both the love (1.2) and justice (2.17) of God. Malachi reversed the discussion: God, he avers, has been faithful to the covenant (1.2; 2.5-7; and esp. 3.6, "For I the Lord do not change"); it is Judah that has been faithless (1.6; 2.8, 14; 3.8). Furthermore, any lingering doubts about divine justice will be addressed and overcome, the prophet states, soon enough when the Lord comes in judgment (2.17-3.5; 3.16-4.6). Following the superscription (1.1), the book contains six units that follow a similar pattern. The pattern is argumentative and disputational. The prophet makes a statement (e.g., "I have love you, says the Lord," 1.2a), followed by a question voiced by the prophet but attributed to the audience (e.g., "But you say, 'How have you loved us?'" 1.2b), followed by the prophet's response. The six units are 1.2-5; 1.6-2.9; 2.10-16; 2.17-3.5; 3.6-12; 3.13-4.3. Two appendices (4.4; 4.5-6), probably added later, complete the book. Overall, the book can be read as a single argument. Against a background of ennui (see the "weariness" of the people in 1.13; of God in 3.17), the prophet emphasizes God's reliability (1.2-5) and countercharges that it is the priests (1.6-2.9) and the larger society (2.1016) who have been unfaithful. Nevertheless, divine judgment is imminent (2.17-3.5), so the people should return to God 3.6-12). In the end, the faithful remnant in the community will be vindicated (3.134.3). In Jewish Bibles, Malachi ends the Book of the Twelve and the entire prophetic collection which, in Hebrew, began with Joshua 1.1-2 (see Mal 4.4-6). In Christian Bibles it ends the Old Testament; its final words about Elijah as messenger, already in the Gospels and subsequently in Christian tradition, are traditionally interpreted to foreshadow Jesus as the Christ. For an expansion of this in early Christian tradition, see Mt 11.7-15; 17.10-13; Mk 6.14-16; Lk 1.17; cf. Sir 48.10. MALACHI 1927