Zechariah 10:2

Verse

For idols speak deceit and diviners see illusions; they tell false dreams and offer empty comfort. Therefore the people wander like sheep, oppressed for lack of a shepherd.

American Standard Version (1901)

For the teraphim have spoken vanity, and the diviners have seen a lie; and they have told false dreams, they comfort in vain: therefore they go their way like sheep, they are afflicted, because there is no shepherd.

Bible in Basic English

For the images have said what is not true, and the readers of signs have seen deceit; they have given accounts of false dreams, they give comfort to no purpose: so they go out of the way like sheep, they are troubled because they have no keeper.

Douay-Rheims 1899

For the idols have spoken what was unprofitable, and the diviners have seen a lie, and the dreamers have spoken vanity: they comforted in vain: therefore they were led away as a dock: they shall be afflicted, because they have no shepherd.

Free Bible Version

Household idols give worthless answers, fortune-tellers tell lies, while interpreters of dreams just make things up and offer only false hope. As a result, people wander aimlessly like sheep, suffering because there is no shepherd.

Geneva Bible 1599

Surely the idols haue spoken vanitie, and the southsayers haue seene a lye, and the dreamers haue tolde a vaine thing: they comfort in vaine: therefore they went away as sheepe: they were troubled, because there was no shepheard.

King James (Authorized) Version

For the idols have spoken vanity, and the diviners have seen a lie, and have told false dreams; they comfort in vain: therefore they went their way as a flock, they were troubled, because there was no shepherd.

Translation for Translators

What people think that the idols in their houses suggest is only nonsense, and people who say that they can interpret dreams tell only lies. When they tell people things to comfort them, what they say is useless, so the people who ◄consult/trust in► them are like lost sheep; they are attacked because they have no one to protect them like [MET] a shepherd protects his sheep.

Unlocked Literal Bible

For household idols speak falsely; the diviners envision a lie; they tell deceitful dreams and give empty comfort, so they wander like sheep and suffer because there is no shepherd.

Noah Webster Bible

For the idols have spoken vanity, and the diviners have seen a lie, and have told false dreams; they comfort in vain: therefore they went their way as a flock, they were troubled because there was no shepherd.

World English Bible

For the teraphim have spoken vanity, and the diviners have seen a lie; and they have told false dreams. They comfort in vain. Therefore they go their way like sheep. They are oppressed, because there is no shepherd.

Young's Literal Translation

Because the teraphim did speak iniquity, And the diviners have seen a falsehood, And dreams of the vanity they speak, [With] vanity they give comfort, Therefore they have journeyed as a flock, They are afflicted, for there is no shepherd.

Context

Judah and Israel Will Be Restored

¹Ask the LORD for rain in springtime; the LORD makes the storm clouds, and He will give everyone showers of rain and crops in the field. ²For idols speak deceit and diviners see illusions; they tell false dreams and offer empty comfort. Therefore the people wander like sheep, oppressed for lack of a shepherd.

Sermons

God's Calling for Us to Be Shepherds

Sanjay Poonen

1.1K

Summary

This verse highlights the importance of seeking the Lord for rain during the spring season, symbolizing the need for spiritual refreshment and blessings from God. It emphasizes that idols and diviners speak falsehood and give worthless dreams, contrasting them with the truth and reliability of the living God. The passage encourages turning to the Lord, who provides genuine guidance and sustenance, rather than relying on deceptive practices or false sources of wisdom. Ultimately, it underscores the faithfulness of God in fulfilling His promises and meeting the needs of His people when they seek Him wholeheartedly.

Commentary

Adam Clarke
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
John Gill
Tyndale

Adam Clarke Bible Commentary

The idols have spoken vanity - This is spoken of the Jews, and must refer to their idolatry practiced before the captivity, for there were no idols after. Therefore they went their way - They were like a flock that had no shepherd, shifting from place to place, and wandering about in the wilderness, seeking for pasture, wherever they might find it. Some think that the idols and diviners were those of the Seleucidae Greeks, who excited their masters with promises of success against the Maccabees. Others think that the Babylonish captivity is foretold; for a determined future event is frequently spoken of by the prophets as past.

John Gill Bible Commentary

For the idols have spoken vanity,.... The vanities of the Gentiles cannot give rain; if they promise it, they speak vain things; God only can give it, and therefore it must, be asked of him, Jer 14:22. The word for idols is "teraphim", the same as in Gen 31:19 and here signifies worshippers of idols, as the Targum interprets it; and may be understood of the idolatrous Papists who worship idols of gold, silver, brass, and wood, Rev 9:20 and who speak lies in hypocrisy, great swelling words of vanity, and even blasphemy against God, his name, his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven, Ti1 4:1. Jarchi on Kg2 23:24, says, the teraphim are images that speak by sorcerers or sorceries; and to such evils the followers of the man of sin are addicted, Rev 9:21 and the Jews (l) have a notion that those images were so formed, that they were capable of speaking and talking with men; see Hos 3:4 they seem to confound them with the "talisman": and the diviners have seen a lie; delivered it out, and others believed it, being given up to judicial blindness, because they received not the love of the truth, Th2 2:10. The Targum is, "the diviners prophesy falsehood;'' or preach false doctrine, as the Romish clergy do, who are meant by the diviners: and have told false dreams; about transubstantiation, purgatory, &c. which are visionary things; false doctrines are compared to dreams, Jer 23:25, they comfort in vain; by works of supererogation, by selling pardons, and praying souls out of purgatory: therefore they went their way as a flock; as a flock of sheep straying from the fold. The Targum is, "they are scattered as sheep are scattered;'' that is, the Jews, being hardened against the Christian religion, by the idolatry, lies, and dreams of the Papists, wander about in their mistakes and errors concerning the Messiah; which is their case to this day, and will be until the man of sin is destroyed: they were troubled, because there was no shepherd; or, "no king", as the Targum paraphrases it; that is, the King Messiah, according to them, is not yet come; which is their affliction and trouble, that they are as sheep without a shepherd: or, "they answered", that there "is no shepherd" (m); they replied to the diviners, the tellers of false dreams and idolaters, and affirmed that the Messiah is not come, and that the pope of Rome is not the shepherd and bishop of souls. (l) Targum Jon. in Gen. xxxi. 19. R. Eliezer Pirke, c. 36. fol. 40. 1. (m) "testificati sunt nullum fuisse pastorem", Junius & Tremellius, Heb.; "responderunt", Piscator; "respondebunt quod non sit pastor", Burkius.