Zechariah 7:14

Zec 7:14 But I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations whom they knew not. Thus the land was desolate after them, that no man passed through nor returned: for they laid the pleasant land desolate.

Ver. 14. But I scattered them with a whirlwind] This is the second part of their punishment. The first was no audience or help from heaven at their greatest need, Zec 7:13. This was the curse of Saul, 1Sa 28:15; of Moab, Isa 16:12; of David’s enemies, Psa 18:41. The next now is, they were dejected and dissipated, as the dust of the mountains before a whirlwind; cast out of their native soil, and carried, they knew not whither, with a great and fearful dispersion and discerption of the same body and nation.

Thus the land was desolate after them] This is the third degree of their grievous punishment, their land laid utterly waste and desolate; according to that, "God turneth a fruitful land into barrenness, for the wickedness of them that dwell therein," Psa 107:34. Here a learned expositor observeth a wonderful providence, that this pleasant country, left thus destitute of inhabitants, and compassed about with warlike nations, was not invaded and replanted by foreigners for seventy years’ time; but enjoyed her sabbaths, resting from tillage and all other employments.

For they laid the pleasant land desolate] They, by their sins, rather than the Babylonians by their armies, did all this spoil, as Daniel also confesseth, Dan 9:16, and Nehemiah, Neh 1:8. Sin is the great mischief-maker, hell-hag, {a} trouble maker, that hurled confusion over the world at first, and brings desolation still to pleasant countries. Palestine was very pleasant, not more by the nature of the soil than by God’s special blessing; a land that he had espied out for them, flowing with milk and honey, which was the glory of all lands, Eze 20:6. This land they had laid desolate, or for an astonishment, as some render it; or for an In qua quid? as Montanus reads it, What is here? Nothing of its old pleasantness.

{a} A diabolical or vile woman. ŒD

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.

7:14 As with a whirlwind, I scattered them: The scattering of the Hebrews among the nations was one of the curses for violating the Mosaic covenant (Deut 28:36-37, 64). • The pleasant land was the land of God’s covenant promise (Ps 106:24; Jer 3:19). • Their land became . . . desolate through divine judgment on their covenant unfaithfulness and idolatry (Jer 12:10).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

By their sins whereby they provoked God’s anger.

That is, after they were called captive.

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

whirlwind--of wrath (Nah 1:3).

nations whom they knew not--foreign and barbarous.

desolate after them--after their expulsion and exile. It was ordered remarkably by God's providence, that no occupants took possession of it, but that during the Jews' absence it was reserved for them against their return after seventy years.

they laid . . . desolate--The Jews did so by their sins. The blame of their destruction lay with themselves, rather than with the Babylonians (Ch2 36:21).

pleasant land--Canaan. Literally, "the land of desire" (Jer 3:19).

Next: Zechariah Chapter 8

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 14. I scattered them with a whirlwind] This refers to the swift victories and cruel conduct of the Chaldeans towards the Jews; they came upon them like a whirlwind; they were tossed to and fro, and up and down, everywhere scattered and confounded.

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

Here the Prophet concludes what he had been speaking of God’s vengeance, by which he had fully proved, that the sins of that nation had arrived to such a pitch, that there was no room for pardon. Hence he says, that they had been dispersed; for so I prefer to render the word, and the context seems to require this. Interpreters vary as to its meaning; and, indeed, the Hebrews themselves say, that this is a difficult passage, for, according to the rules of grammar, the word can hardly be made suitable to the context. But let us first see what the Prophet treats of; and secondly, what meaning, as the word signifies various things, is the most suitable.

The Prophet no doubt refers here to God’s vengeance, as evidenced by the dispersion of the Jews among many nations, not only when they were driven into exile, but also when scattered in various parts of the world. The verb, taken transitively, is by no means doubtful in its meaning, for סער, sor, means to move one from a place, or to expel, and that by force, inasmuch as it is derived from whirlwind. As it may therefore be here a transitive verb, I see no reason why we should seek other meanings at variance with the design and object of the Prophet. He then says, that the Jews had been dispersed — how? among all nations, that is, through all parts of the world; and then among unknown nations. Now we know, that the farther the exile, the more severe it is, for neighbors for the most part are the most humane; and when one is removed far to a barbarous nation, he would rather a hundred times to die on his journey than to live at a great distance from his country, and among a people of new and strange habits. The meaning is, that the Jews had been severely visited by God, not only because they had departed from his true worship and holy fear, but because they had been perverse, had rejected all sound doctrine, and had been deaf and indifferent to all admonitions. It was then for this reason that they had been dispersed among all nations

He afterwards adds, that the land after them became desolate that no one passed through it. This circumstance also, that God devoted the land to desolation, proved more fully his wrath: for when God imprints marks of his vengeance on the land, and on other harmless things, necessary for man’s support, it becomes evident that he is not lightly displeased with men. He then intimates, that God was not satisfied with the exile and dispersion of that people, but that he intended that there should be also visible marks of their wickedness in the sterility and desolation of the land itself: and that land, we know, was very fruitful, both by nature and by God’s blessing; for he had promised to give to the Israelites a land flowing with milk and honey. When this fruitfulness was turned to sterility, such a change ought to have roused the minds of all to consider the dreadful judgment of God. We now then see why the Prophet says, that the land after them, that is, after their departure, became desolate; for they had polluted the land so far as to constrain it, though innocent, to bear the judgment of God.

And he says further, that the desirable land became a waste, even through their fault. God was indeed the author of that waste, but Zechariah imputes this calamity to the people, because they had provoked God’s wrath, and procured this evil for themselves; yea, they had involved the land itself as it were in the same guilt, for it was cursed by God, though they had been driven hence to another country. Desirable land was a name often given to Judea, not only on account of its fruitfulness, and the abundance of its produce, but because God had chosen it for himself: for though that land excelled other lands in many respects, it is yet certain that its chief excellency consisted in this, — that God honored it with peculiar favor.

Zechariah then condemns the Jews, not only because they had by their own fault extinguished the favor as to the produce of the land, but because they had corrupted the land itself, which had been so singularly favored as to have become the habitation of God. And hence we more fully learn how great was the enormity of their sins, which caused God to devote to desolation a land chosen by himself; for, as we have said, it was no common honor for that land, in which God designed to be worshipped by his chosen and holy people, to have been destined by him to be made like Paradise. But when such an honor was turned to shame and perpetual reproach, it was clearly a remarkable sign of God’s wrath: and hence also becomes evident the impiety of that people who, as it had been said, turned aside God’s favor from the land, that not only it did not bring forth its usual produce, but that it also became, as it were, a disgraceful spectacle, and filled all with horror on seeing it so desolate, where was previously seen the temple and the worship of God.

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.

14. with a whirlwind] Amo_1:14; Job_27:21.

whom they knew not] Deu_28:33; Jer_16:13.

after them] i.e. after they are removed from it.

passed through nor returned] as we say, went backward and forward. Eze_35:7. See note on Zec_9:8.

they laid] Either to be taken impersonally, it was laid; or they (the Jews) by their sins.

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.

But I scattered them - Rather, “And I will scatter them.” The saying continues what God had said that he had said, and which had come to pass. Among all nations whom they knew not. So God had repeatedly said by Jeremiah, “I will cast you out of this land into a land that ye know not, ye nor your fathers; where I will not show you favor” (Jer 16:13; add Jer 15:14; Jer 17:4). This was the aggravation of the original woe in the law: “The Lord shall bring a nation against thee from far, from the end of the earth, a nation whose tongue thou shalt not understand, a nation of fierce countenance” Deu 28:49-50. There was no mitigation of suffering, when the common bond between man and man, mutual speech, was wanting.

That no man passed through nor returned - Literally, “from passer through and from returner;” as in the prophecy of Alexander’s march and return, “because of him that passeth by and of him that returneth” Zec 9:8; and of Seir God saith, “I will cut off from him, passer-through and returner” . As we say, there shall be no traffic more through her.

And they made the pleasant land desolate - They were the doers of what they by their sins caused, by bringing down the judgments of God. Heretofore the land which God had given them, had been in our language “the envy” of all who knew it now they had made it into a desolation, one wide waste Joe 1:7; Isa 13:9; Jer 2:15; Jer 4:7; Jer 18:16; Jer 19:8; Jer 25:9; Jer 50:3; Jer 51:29.

Dionysius: “What is said in the beginning of the chapter against Jews who abstained indiscreetly, applies mystically to all, not inward, but rude Christians, who not being diligent enough but rather negligent about acts of piety and inward prayer and reformation of the powers of the soul, account highly of bodily exercises and outward observances, and use no slight scrupulosity as to things of less moment, and do not attend to the chief things, charity, humility, patience meekness. On these it must be inculcated, that if they wish their fasts and other outward exercises to please God, they must judge true judgment, and be compassionate, kind, liberal to their neighbors, keep their mind ever steadfast in God, cast away wholly all hardness of heart, and be soft and open to receive within them the word of God. Otherwise their land will be desolate, that is, deprived of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, and they scattered amid various vices.” Jerome: “That which was formerly a pleasant land, and the hospice of the Trinity, is turned into a desert and dwelling-place of dragons.”

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

But I scattered them; when they had so provoked me, I cast them out of their habitations, pursued them with the tempest of wrath that scattered them as I threatened.

With a whirlwind; irresistibly, suddenly, and tearing all into pieces, as whirlwinds do.

Among all the nations; all the heathen, that hated them and their ways.

Whom they know not; where they could have no pity, nor any relief, nor common commerce; but as barbarous usage as fierce and unintelligible enemies can give them.

Thus the land, once flowing with milk and honey, once full of cities, men, and cattle, now waste as a wilderness,

was desolate after them; either the Jews cast out, or the Chaldeans who cast them out.

No man passed through nor returned: it was not fit to make a road through a land so void of all necessaries, so full of wild and ravenous beasts, so unwholesome as to the air, &c.

For they, sinful Jews by their sins, fierce Chaldeans by their sword, and God by his just displeasure, laid the pleasant land most desolate and waste.

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

I scattered them; I will scatter them. What had happened in the past is a sign of what shall befall them in the future in punishment of like obduracy. The form of the sentence denotes that God is recounting what he had said to the people in past time; hence it is best to translate the verbs in the future tense. Scattered them with a whirlwind; Septuagint, ekbalw autouv , "I will cast them out;" Vulgate, dispersi eos. (comp. Job_27:21 Amo_1:14) Nations whom they knew not. This is the usual phrase for people of strange tongue. (Deu_28:33 Jer_16:13) Thus the land was desolate. This was the result of God"s threatenings. Some make the words of Jehovah continue to "nor returned," but the punctuation is against them. After them; i.e. after they were carried away in captivity. No man passed through nor returned. No one went to and fro a picture of extreme desolation. (comp. Isa_33:8 Jer_9:12; and for the phrase, see Zec_9:8 Eze_35:7) For they laid the pleasant land desolate. The pronoun refers to the disobedient Jews, their sin being the cause of the desolation; or the verb may be taken impersonally, "So the pleasant land was made desolate." "The pleasant land" is literally, "the land of desire." Septuagint, ghn eklekthn . (Psa_106:24 Jer_3:19)

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

They laid the land desolate - By their sins.

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

I will scatter them in exile. And so I did.

they made with their iniquity.

desolation And that brought about the fast (and the mourning), but now [I am jealous for Zion, etc.]

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.