The Meaning of Zechariah 14:17 Explained

Zechariah 14:17

KJV: And it shall be, that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain.

YLT: And it hath come to pass, That he who doth not go up of the families of the land unto Jerusalem, To bow himself to the King, Jehovah of Hosts, Even on them there is no shower.

Darby: And it shall be, that whoso goeth not up of the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, Jehovah of hosts, upon them shall be no rain.

ASV: And it shall be, that whoso of all the families of the earth goeth not up unto Jerusalem to worship the King, Jehovah of hosts, upon them there shall be no rain.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And it shall be, [that] whoso will not come up  of [all] the families  of the earth  unto Jerusalem  to worship  the King,  the LORD  of hosts,  even upon them shall be no rain. 

What does Zechariah 14:17 Mean?

Context Summary

Zechariah 14:1-21 - "at Evening Time It Shall Be Light"
We can hardly doubt that in Zechariah 14:1-21, Zechariah is anticipating the same events as Ezekiel describes in Ezekiel 38:1-23; Ezekiel 39:1-29 of his remarkable book. At first the attack of the enemies of God's people will be entirely successful, then Jesus will appear to them and for them. There will be a literal fulfillment of Acts 1:11 and Isaiah 25:9-10. It was when his brethren were in their greatest straits that Joseph made himself known to them, and when the Jews are in dire extremity, they will hear Him say, "I am Jesus your Brother." See Genesis 45:1-15. Finally the long stormy days of Israel's history will be over forever, and "at evening time it shall be light." It is clear that Paul's vision in Romans 11:1-36 is to be gloriously realized [source]

Chapter Summary: Zechariah 14

1  The destroyers of Jerusalem destroyed
3  The coming of Christ, and the graces of his kingdom
12  The plague of Jerusalem's enemies
16  The remnant shall turn to the Lord;
20  and their spoils shall be holy

What do the individual words in Zechariah 14:17 mean?

And it shall be [that] whichever not do come up of the families of the earth to Jerusalem to worship the King Yahweh of hosts and no on them there will be rain
וְ֠הָיָה אֲשֶׁ֨ר לֹֽא־ יַעֲלֶ֜ה מֵאֵ֨ת מִשְׁפְּח֤וֹת הָאָ֙רֶץ֙ אֶל־ יְר֣וּשָׁלִַ֔ם לְהִֽשְׁתַּחֲוֺ֔ת לְמֶ֖לֶךְ יְהוָ֣ה צְבָא֑וֹת וְלֹ֥א עֲלֵיהֶ֖ם יִהְיֶ֥ה הַגָּֽשֶׁם

וְ֠הָיָה  And  it  shall  be 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אֶהְיֶה 
Sense: to be, become, come to pass, exist, happen, fall out.
אֲשֶׁ֨ר  [that]  whichever 
Parse: Pronoun, relative
Root: אֲשֶׁר 
Sense: (relative part.).
יַעֲלֶ֜ה  do  come  up 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: סָלַק 
Sense: to go up, ascend, climb.
מִשְׁפְּח֤וֹת  the  families 
Parse: Noun, feminine plural construct
Root: מִשְׁפָּחָה  
Sense: clan, family.
הָאָ֙רֶץ֙  of  the  earth 
Parse: Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: אֶרֶץ  
Sense: land, earth.
יְר֣וּשָׁלִַ֔ם  Jerusalem 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: יְרוּשָׁלַםִ  
Sense: the chief city of Palestine and capital of the united kingdom and the nation of Judah after the split.
לְהִֽשְׁתַּחֲוֺ֔ת  to  worship 
Parse: Preposition-l, Verb, Hitpael, Infinitive construct
Root: שָׁחָה  
Sense: to bow down.
לְמֶ֖לֶךְ  the  King 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, masculine singular
Root: מֶלֶךְ 
Sense: king.
יְהוָ֣ה  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
צְבָא֑וֹת  of  hosts 
Parse: Noun, common plural
Root: צָבָא 
Sense: that which goes forth, army, war, warfare, host.
וְלֹ֥א  and  no 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Adverb, Negative particle
Root: הֲלֹא 
Sense: not, no.
עֲלֵיהֶ֖ם  on  them 
Parse: Preposition, third person masculine plural
Root: עַל 
Sense: upon, on the ground of, according to, on account of, on behalf of, concerning, beside, in addition to, together with, beyond, above, over, by, on to, towards, to, against.
יִהְיֶ֥ה  there  will  be 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אֶהְיֶה 
Sense: to be, become, come to pass, exist, happen, fall out.
הַגָּֽשֶׁם  rain 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: גֶּשֶׁם  
Sense: rain, shower.