Zechariah 10:9

Zec 10:9 And I will sow them among the people: and they shall remember me in far countries; and they shall live with their children, and turn again.

Ver. 9. And I will sow them among the people] Scatter them indeed, but for an excellent purpose, that they may bring forth fruit to God; and be a blessed means of bringing in the fulness of the Gentiles’ harvest. Some kind of the knowledge of God was diffused by the Jews wherever they came, and when at length the gospel was preached by the apostles, they first dealt with the Jews (who had their synagogues in all places) as it was necessary, Act 13:46 that as they had been the only people of God, so now they might be the first invited guests. This invitation when they put from them and so judged themselves unworthy of eternal life, what remained but that the halt and the blind Gentiles should be fetched in from the highways and hedges, that so God s house might be full. So then their dispersion was a semination; and their exile opened a gate for the gospel. Hence also it is called διασπορα, a dissemination or scattering; as when a man soweth seed abroad, 1Pe 1:1 Jas 1:1.

And they shall remember me in far countries] Saint Paul testifieth that the twelve tribes instantly served God day and night, Act 26:7, a great deal better, doubtless, than they do at this day; being as reverend in their synagogues as grammar boys are at school when their master is absent, saith an eyewitness.

And they shall live with their children, and turn again] They or their posterity shall. God’s promises bear a long date many times, and the believing Hebrews are told that they had need of patience or tolerance (υπομονη), that, after they had done the will of God and suffered it too, if need be, they might receive the promise, Heb 10:36. And they are further exhorted to run with patience the race that is set before them, Heb 12:1, wherein he that believeth maketh not haste, but can want and wait for what he wisheth, till God please: being desirous rather that God may be glorified than himself gratified, if both may not stand together.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Zec_10:9

And I will sow them among the people

Gods sowings

At the end of the seventy years captivity the people of Gods ancient choice were distributed through Parthia, Media, Persia, Mesopotamia, Cappadocia, Pontus, Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, Libya and Rome, Crete and Arabia.

Everywhere, throughout the great Roman Empire, they fell into the ground to die. So far as their natural life was concerned, they seemed on the point of being obliterated among the nations of the world; but you might as well talk of the obliteration of the seed which the husbandman casts into the autumn furrows. They built their synagogues, throve in the quarters assigned to them in the great cities, and disseminated new conceptions of God, high ethical standards, a fresh religious speech, destined to be of incalculable service to the early preachers of Christs Evangel. It was thus with the first believers. By the rough hand of the persecutor, the rich wheat of Pentecost, which had lain too long in the bin of the mother Church, was scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria. They therefore that were scattered abroad went everywhere preaching the Word. They therefore that were scattered abroad, upon the tribulation that arose about Stephen, travelled as far as Phoenicia, and Cyprus, and Antioch. These spring sewings yielded a marvellous return. How many illustrations have existed, throughout the entire history of the Church, of the effect of Gods sowings! My Father is the Husbandman, said our Lord. With both hands He has prosecuted His work of sowing. There was a grand quality in the corn of the Waldensian Valleys, in the Paulicians, the Hussites, the Lollards, which was sown by the Master in the dungeons of the Inquisition, in mockings and scourgings, in bonds and imprisonment, in the fires of martyrdom, and in the current of swiftly flowing rivers. But what harvests it all yielded! There was, for instance, the harvest of the Reformation in Germany, of the Huguenots in France, and of the Puritans in England. (F. B. Meyer, B. A.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Though they shall yet be scattered and seem to be lost, yet it shall be profitable unto them: for there they shall come to the knowledge of my Name, which was accomplished under the Gospel, among whom it was first preached.

Not that they should return into their country, but be gathered and joined in one faith by the doctrine of the Gospel.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

sow them among . . . people--Their dispersion was with a special design. Like seed sown far and wide, they shall, when quickened themselves, be the fittest instruments for quickening others (compare Mic 5:7). The slight hold they have on every soil where they now live, as also the commercial and therefore cosmopolitan character of their pursuits, making a change of residence easy to them, fit them peculiarly for missionary work [MOORE]. The wide dispersion of the Jews just before Christ's coming prepared the way similarly for the apostles' preaching in the various Jewish synagogues throughout the world; everywhere some of the Old Testament seed previously sown was ready to germinate when the New Testament light and heat were brought to bear on it by Gospel preachers. Thus the way was opened for entrance among the Gentiles. "Will sow" is the Hebrew future, said of that which has been done, is being done, and may be done afterwards [MAURER], (compare Hos 2:23).

shall remember me in far countries-- (Deu 30:1; Ch2 6:37). Implying the Jews return to a right mind in "all the nations" where they are scattered simultaneously. Compare Luk 15:17-18, with Psa 22:27, "All the ends of the world remembering and turning unto the Lord," preceded by the "seed of Jacob . . . Israel . . . fearing and glorifying Him"; also Psa 102:13-15.

live--in political and spiritual life.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 9. I will sow them among the people] Wherever they have been dispersed, my voice in the preaching of the Gospel shall reach them. And they shall remember me, and they and their children shall turn again to the Lord, through Messiah their King.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

He continues the same subject, and employs here a most suitable metaphor — that the dispersion of the people would have a better issue than what any one then could have conceived, for it would be like sowing. The verb for scattering or sowing is often taken in a bad sense; for when people rested in their country, they ought then to have considered that they were living under God’s protection. Dispersion, then, was an evidence of a curse, and it is often so taken by Moses. Now God uses it here in an opposite meaning, as though he had said, that he would at his pleasure turn darkness into light. The meaning then is, that the people had been dispersed through God being angry with them, but that the issue of this dispersion would be joyful; for the Jews would dwell everywhere, and be God’s seed, and thus be made to produce abundant fruit. We then see that the meaning is, that God’s favor would surpass the wickedness of the people; for those would bear fruit who had been scattered, and scattered because God would no longer exercise care over them, and defend them in the promised land. As God then had so often threatened by Moses that he would scatter the Jews, he now says in another sense, that he would sow them, and for this ends that they might everywhere produce fruit.

It was an instance of the wonderful grace of God, that he so ordered his dreadful judgment as to make the dispersion, as it has been said, a sowing of the people; for it hence happened, that the knowledge of celestial truth shone everywhere; and at length when the gospel was proclaimed, a freer access was had to the Gentiles, because Jews were dispersed through all lands. The first receptacles (Hospitia) of the gospel were the synagogues. We see that the apostles everywhere went first to the Jews, and when a few were converted, the door was now opened that more might come, and Gentiles were also added to the Jews. Thus the punishment of exile, which had been inflicted on them, was the means of opening the door for the gospel; and God thus scattered his seed here and there, that it might in due time produce fruit beyond the expectation of all; and this consideration availed not a little to moderate the impatient desires of the people; for the Prophet intimates that this alone ought to have satisfied them — that their exile would be productive of good, for the Lord would thereby gather much people to himself. Had the Jews been confined within their own borders, the name of the God of Israel would not have been heard of elsewhere; but as there was no part of the East, no part of Asia and of Greece, which had not some Jews — and they inhabited many cities of Italy — hence it was that the Apostles found, as we have said, wherever they came, some already prepared to embrace the gospel.

He afterwards adds, They shall remember me in distant lands. He shows the manner how the memory of God would be preserved: though the Jews sacrificed not in the temple, though they dwelt not in the holy land, they would yet ever worship the only true God; as then the seed cast on the ground, though it may not appear, and seem even to be wholly lost, being apparently consumed by rottenness, does yet germinate in its season, and produces fruit; so God teaches us, that the memory of his name will occasion this people to fructify in their dispersion. But as God promises this, we hence learn that it is through his singular kindness that we cherish piety in our hearts, when he sharply and severely chastises us. When therefore we cease not to worship God, it is certain that we are kept by his Spirit; for were this in the power of man, this promise would be useless, and even absurd.

He says further, They shall live with their sons, and shall return. He again speaks of sons, that the Jews might not make too much haste; for we know that men, having strong desires, hurry on immoderately. That they might not then prescribe time to God, the Prophet reminds them that it ought to have been enough for them that the Lord would quicken them as it were from the dead, together with their children. He however promises them a return, not that they would return to their own country, but that they would be all united by the faith of the gospel. Though then they changed not their place, nor moved a foot from the lands where they sojourned, yet a return to their country would be that gathering which would be made by the truth of the gospel, as it is well known, according to the common mode of speaking adopted by all the Prophets. It follows —

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(9) Sow is never used in a bad sense, i.e., “to scatter,” but rather means to spread and multiply (Hos. 2:25; Jer_31:27). There is, therefore, no word here of a new dispersion of the people, but rather of an increasing and in-gathering.

Shall live with.—Comp. Eze_37:14.—i.e., survive with. They will “turn again,” because they “remember” God in the land of their captivity, and feel a yearning for the place where He hath set His name again.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

9. I will sow them among the people] peoples, R. V. Their dispersion among the nations of the earth shall not be for their destruction, but like the sowing of corn, which is scattered broad-cast, not that it may be lost and perish, but that it may bring forth much fruit. Comp. Hos_2:23. “Ego eos multiplicabo, ut dispersio in populis non videatur esse divisio, sed sementis operatio, et liberorum et nepotum segete multiplicata vivant cum filiis suis.” Hieron.

they shall live] Comp. Eze_37:14.

turn again] or, return to God. Jer_3:12; Jer_3:14; Isa_10:21. The consequent return to their own land is promised in the next verse.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And I will sow them among the people, The people of God in the Gentile world: this is to be understood of the conversion of the Jews, when they will become the good seed that hear the word, and understand it, and bring forth fruit; and of their being known, acknowledged, and reckoned among the people of God, who now are not; and of their being planted in Gospel churches, where the word is truly preached; the ordinances are faithfully administered; the Lord grants his presence, and saints have communion one with another; to be in such a fruitful soil, and in such sacred enclosures, fenced by the power and grace of God, is a great happiness:

and they shall remember me in far countries; they shall call to mind what their ancestors did to Christ, and mourn on account of a pierced Saviour; they shall remember him in the ordinance of the supper, being in a Gospel church state; they shall remember what he did and suffered for them, and his love to them in all, and that with faith, affection, and thankfulness:

and they shall live with their children; a very happy, comfortable, temporal life; and they shall live a spiritual life; a life of faith on Christ; of communion with him, and of holiness from him, and to his glory: and their children also shall live the same life, being regenerated and quickened by the same grace; these are the church's children:

and turn again; that is, when they shall turn again, either to the Lord, shall be converted unto him; or return to their own land.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

And I will sow them among the nations - Such had been the prophecy of Hosea; “I will sow her unto Me in the earth,” as the prelude of spiritual mercies, “and I will have mercy on her that had not obtained mercy, and I will say to not-my-people, Thou art My people, and they shall say, my God” . Hosea’s saying, “I will sow her in the earth” that is, the whole earth and that “to Me,” corresponds to, and explains Zechariah’s brief saying, “I will sow them among the nations.” The sowing, which was future to Hosea, had begun; but the purpose of the sowing, the harvest, was wholly to come; when it should be seen, that they were indeed sown by God, that “great” should “be the day of Jezreel” (Hos 1:11. See vol. i. p. 25). And Jeremiah said, “Behold the days come, saith the Lord, that I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah, with the seed of man and with the seed of beast” Jer 31:27. The word is used of sowing to multiply, never of mere scattering .

And they shall remember Me in far countries - So Ezekiel had said, “And they that escape of you shall remember Me among the nations, whither they shall be carried captive - and they shall loath themselves for the evils which they have committed in all their abominations, and they shall know that I am the Lord” Eze 6:9.

And shall live - As Ezekiel again says, “Ye shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and bring you up out of your graves, O My people, and shall put My Spirit in you, and ye shall live” Eze 37:13-14. “With their children.” A continuous gift, as Ezekiel, “they and their children, and their children’s children forever: and My servant David shall be their prince forever.” Eze 37:25.

And turn again - To God, being converted, as Jeremiah had been bidden to exhort them; “Go and proclaim these words toward the north” Jer 3:12, the cities of the Medes whither they were carried captive, “and say, Return, thou backsliding Israel, and I will not cause Mine anger to fall upon you;” “Turn, O backsliding children - and I with take you, one of a city, and two of a family, and will bring you to Zion, and I will give you pastors according to Mine heart” Jer 3:14-15. “Return, ye backsliding children; I will heal your backslidings.” And they answer, “Behold, we come unto Thee; for Thou art the Lord our God” Jer 3:22. So Isaiah had said, “A remnant shall return, the remnant of Jacob, unto the mighty God” . Dionysius: “They shall return by recollection of mind and adunation and simplification of the affections toward God so as ultimately to intend that one thing, which alone is necessary.”

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Me. The Jews were spread throughout the world, and adhered to their own customs. (Philo) See Acts ii. 8. --- While they enjoyed the greatest prosperity, they kept together in a small territory. It is wonderful how they have since increased.

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

I will sow them: it might seem impossible the Jews should so increase, but to satisfy us herein God promiseth to sow them, so their increase should be like the increase of rich soil that hath much seed cast on it, Jer 31:27; Hos 2:23; that land shall soon be full of men and cattle, when God sows both.

Among the people; the heathen; where dispersed, there they should multiply.

They shall remember me; there they shall think of me, and long for me, and desire to return to Jerusalem, and to my temple.

In far countries; whithersoever they were driven in the farthest parts of the Persian empire.

They shall live with their children; though captives and poor, yet they nor their children shall starve; nay, their children born to them shall live, and grow up with them; this young fry shall fill the earth.

Turn again to me, my temple, their city, and country. That this may also refer somewhat to the conversion of the Jews to the gospel, and to their spreading the gospel unto others for multiplying of the seed of Israel according to the faith, as I doubt not, so neither shall I particularly inquire, since the letter so fairly suits with history and matter of fact, as is evident from the multitudes that were gathered to the passover, when Titus Vespasianus cooped them up in a close siege.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

I will sow them among the people (peoples). The "sowing" here does not mean scattering, but increase, and this was to go on while they were dispersed among the nations. The word is used in the same sense in Hos_2:23 Jer_31:27. This continued dispersion was a part of their discipline, a test of their loyalty to God. They shall remember me. In the countries where they are living they shall worship the Lord and observe his Law, and be a witness for him among the heathen. They shall live with their children. (Eze_37:14) The promised blessing is not for a time only, but perpetual. Turn again; i.e. return to their own land. (Isa_35:10) It cannot mean, "turn to the Lord," for they are said already to remember the Lord, and their "conversion must precede the promise of life." The next verse describes the return more particularly.

The hand of God in Jewish history.

I IN THEIR LONG DESCENT. Origin of nations is generally obscure. As difficult to find as the source of the Nile. The Jews are like their own Jordan. They are the only people that can trace their descent. "Children of Abraham." Two friends were visiting the museum at Berlin. One said how strange it was to look at the intellectual features of Julius Caesar, and to think of his triumphal march northward when the Britons were but roving barbarians. "Speak for your own ancestors," answered the other, who was a Jew; "as for mine, they were singing the psalms of David, and worshipping God as members of his true Church on earth, centuries before Julius Caesar was born!

II IN THE VICISSITUDES OF THEIR HISTORY. "As the modern traveller surveys the remains of the arch of Titus at Rome, he feels bewildered in endeavouring to realize the distant date of its erection; and yet it commemorates only the last of a long series of Jewish dispersions. You read of the fragments of antiquity dug up from the ruins of Babylon, and your mind is carried still further back than by the Roman arch; but the Jew possibly formed that Babylonian brick, and imprinted on it those arrow-hearted characters. The pyramids of Egypt take your imagination still further back; the Jew not improbably helped to build the oldest of them. Time was young when God said to Abram, "I will make of thee a great nation (Dr. Harris). In the various dispersions we see the fulfilment of Scripture (Deu_28:64-67) and the preparation for the gospel of Christ. (Act_2:5, Act_2:9-11)

III IN THE PERMANENCY OF THEIR CHARACTER. From Jacob down to our own day we see the same prevailing elements of character. Their very physiognomy is that painted on the walls of Thebes. They are still a separate people. Their purity of blood, their education and training throughout the ages, have raised them high physically and intellectually. In the struggle for existence, they seem an instance of the survival of the fittest.

IV IS THE GREATNESS OF THEIR DESTINY. Preserved but why? Surely for some great purpose. Witnesses for God. Servants of righteousness. Ministers of the cross. F. (Rom_11:1-27)

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

I will sow them - Their increase shall be like the increase of rich soil that hath much seed cast on it. The people - The Heathen. In far countries - Whithersoever they were driven. With their children - The children born to them shall live, and grow up with them. Turn again - To their city and country.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

And I will sow them first among the peoples, as a person sows a seah to bring in many korim.

And they shall live with their children אֶת-בְנֵיהֶם

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.