Zechariah 14:18

Verse

And if the people of Egypt will not go up and enter in, then the rain will not fall on them; this will be the plague with which the LORD strikes the nations who do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles.

American Standard Version (1901)

And if the family of Egypt go not up, and come not, neither shall it be upon them; there shall be the plague wherewith Jehovah will smite the nations that go not up to keep the feast of tabernacles.

Bible in Basic English

And if the family of Egypt does not go up or come there, they will be attacked by the disease which the Lord will send on the nations:

Douay-Rheims 1899

And if the family of Egypt go not up nor come: neither shall it be upon them, but there shall be destruction wherewith the Lord will strike all nations that will not go up to keep the feast of tabernacles.

Free Bible Version

If the Egyptian people refuse to go and attend, then the Lord will inflict on them the same plague as on the other nations who will not go celebrate the Festival of Shelters.

Geneva Bible 1599

And if the familie of Egypt goe not vp, and come not, it shall not raine vpon them. This shall be the plague wherewith the Lord will smite all the heathen, that come not vp to keepe the feast of Tabernacles.

King James (Authorized) Version

And if the family of Egypt go not up, and come not, that have no rain; there shall be the plague, wherewith the LORD will smite the heathen that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles.

Translation for Translators

If the people of Egypt or any other nation do not go to Jerusalem, they will not have any rain. And Yahweh will cause them to experience the same plague that afflicted the people of other nations that did not celebrate the Festival of Living in Temporary Shelters.

Unlocked Literal Bible

If the nation of Egypt does not go up, then they will not receive rain. A plague from Yahweh will attack the nations that do not go up to keep the Festival of Shelters.

Noah Webster Bible

And if the family of Egypt shall not go up, and shall not come, that have no rain ; there shall be the plague, with which the LORD will smite the heathen that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles.

World English Bible

If the family of Egypt doesn’t go up and doesn’t come, neither will it rain on them. This will be the plague with which Yahweh will strike the nations that don’t go up to keep the feast of booths.

Young's Literal Translation

And if the family of Egypt go not up, nor come in, Then not on them is the plague With which Jehovah doth plague the nations That go not up to celebrate the feast of booths.

Context

All Nations Will Worship the King

¹⁷And should any of the families of the earth not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of Hosts, then the rain will not fall on them.¹⁸And if the people of Egypt will not go up and enter in, then the rain will not fall on them; this will be the plague with which the LORD strikes the nations who do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles.¹⁹This will be the punishment of Egypt and of all the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles.

Summary

In Zechariah 14:18, the prophet describes the severe consequences that will befall nations who refuse to come to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord Almighty. This verse underscores the importance of honoring and acknowledging God's authority and sovereignty. It serves as a reminder that obedience and reverence towards God are essential aspects of faith and worship. The imagery of punishment for disobedience highlights the seriousness of rejecting God's call to worship and serve Him. Ultimately, Zechariah 14:18 emphasizes the significance of wholehearted devotion and submission to God as the rightful King.

Commentary

Adam Clarke
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
John Gill

Adam Clarke Bible Commentary

If the family of Egypt - This may allude to those Jews who, flying from the persecution of Antiochus Epiphanes, settled in Egypt, and built a temple at Heliopolis, under the direction of Onias, son of the high priest. Josephus Antiq. lib. xiii., c. 6, and War, lib. vii., c. 36. If these do not rejoin their brethren, they shall have no rain, no interest in the favor of God.

John Gill Bible Commentary

And if the family of Egypt go not up, and come not,.... To Jerusalem, the church of God; do not go thither to worship the Lord, attend his ordinances, and keep them in their purity; nor walk as becomes the people of God: by "the family of Egypt" are meant the Papists, so called for their tyranny, cruelty, and idolatry, Rev 11:8, that have no rain; have not the pure word of God, and the ordinances thereof, only the traditions of men; yea, the doctrines of devils, and lies in hypocrisy: the allusion is to the land of Egypt, which was watered, not so much by rain as by the overflowing of the river Nile: or it may be rendered, "and upon them there shall be no rain" (w); or that which is equivalent to it. So the Targum paraphrases it, "the Nile shall not ascend unto them.'' The sense is, as they are without the pure Gospel of Christ, they shall continue so, and be punished with, that sore judgment of a famine of hearing the word of the Lord. There shall be the plague, wherewith the Lord will smite the heathen that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles; they shall have the same plague of want of water, a famine; for it is a vulgar mistake that there is no rain in Egypt; it rains indeed but seldom, and only in some places, but it does rain. Monsieur Thevenot (x) says, "it rains much at Alexandria, and Rosetta also; but at Cairo, which stands higher, it rains less; and yet (says he) I have seen it rain very hard every year, for two days together in the month of December.'' And Mr. Fuller (y) says that Sir William Paston, a patron of his, and a well accomplished traveller, was "an eye witness of much and violent rain at Grand Cairo, but such as presaged a great mortality, which ensued, not long after.'' But it should be observed that this is only true of the lower part of Egypt, for in the upper parts it rains not, at least not very commonly: for Herodotus (z) reports that "in the times of Psammenitus, the son of Amasis, king of Egypt, a very wonderful thing happened to the Egyptians; it rained at Thebes in Egypt, which it never had before, nor has ever since, as the Thebans say; for it never rains in the upper part of Egypt; but then it rained at Thebes in drops.'' Yet Mr. Norden (a), a late traveller in those parts, says he "experienced at Meschie (a city in his travels to upper Egypt) a very violent rain, accompanied with thunder, for the space of a whole hour;'' though in the same place he says, at Feschna, and beyond, in the upper Egypt, the sky is always serene and clear. And in his travels from Cairo to Girge, capital of the upper Egypt, he relates, that at a certain place, as he went thither, they had little wind, and a great deal of rain (b). And in another place (c) he observes, at Menie (a place in upper Egypt) there was so thick a fog that we could perceive nothing at thirty paces distant: wherefore, since it does rain at times in some places, the same plague as before may be here meant; or want of provisions, as others, through a defect of rain; or the Nile not overflowing and watering the land, as Jarchi interprets it: but Kimchi gives another sense, and so Aben Ezra, which is, that instead of having no rain, which they need not and do not desire, they shall be smitten with the plague that the Lord will smite all the nations with that fight against Jerusalem, namely, their flesh shall consume away, &c. Zac 14:12. (w) "super quos non est imber", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Drusius; "et non super illos, scil. erit imber", Burkius. (x) Travels, part 1. c. 72. p. 247. (y) Pisgah-Sight, B. 4. c. 5. p. 80. (z) Thalia, sive l. 3. c. 10. (a) Travels in Egypt and Nubia, vol. 1. p. 140. (b) Ib. vol. 2. p. 20. (c) Ib. p. 209.

Zechariah 14:18

All Nations Will Worship the King

Scripture
Sermons
Commentary

Berean Standard Bible

American Standard Version (1901)

And if the family of Egypt go not up, and come not, neither shall it be upon them; there shall be the plague wherewith Jehovah will smite the nations that go not up to keep the feast of tabernacles.

Bible in Basic English

And if the family of Egypt does not go up or come there, they will be attacked by the disease which the Lord will send on the nations:

Douay-Rheims 1899

Free Bible Version

If the Egyptian people refuse to go and attend, then the Lord will inflict on them the same plague as on the other nations who will not go celebrate the Festival of Shelters.

Geneva Bible 1599

King James (Authorized) Version

And if the family of Egypt go not up, and come not, that have no rain; there shall be the plague, wherewith the LORD will smite the heathen that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles.

Translation for Translators

Unlocked Literal Bible

If the nation of Egypt does not go up, then they will not receive rain. A plague from Yahweh will attack the nations that do not go up to keep the Festival of Shelters.

Noah Webster Bible

World English Bible

Young's Literal Translation

And if the family of Egypt go not up, nor come in, Then not on them is the plague With which Jehovah doth plague the nations That go not up to celebrate the feast of booths.

Adam Clarke
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
John Gill

Adam Clarke Bible Commentary

John Gill Bible Commentary

Zechariah 14:18

Verse

Context

All Nations Will Worship the King

Summary

Commentary

Adam Clarke Bible Commentary

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

John Gill Bible Commentary

Zechariah 14:18

All Nations Will Worship the King

Adam Clarke Bible Commentary

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

John Gill Bible Commentary