The Meaning of Zechariah 10:9 Explained

Zechariah 10:9

KJV: 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.

YLT: And I sow them among peoples, And in far-off places they remember Me, And they have lived with their sons, And they have turned back.

Darby: And I will sow them among the peoples, and they shall remember me in far countries; and they shall live with their children and return.

ASV: And I will sow them among the peoples; and they shall remember me in far countries; and they shall live with their children, and shall return.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

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. 

What does Zechariah 10:9 Mean?

Verse Meaning

When the Lord scattered His people like seed among the other peoples of the world, they would remember Him even though they lived far from the Promised Land (cf. John 12:24; 1 Corinthians 15:36). Not only would the Lord remember them (the meaning of Zechariah"s name), but they would remember Him. They and their children would enter into new life and return to the land. Sowing anticipates reaping a harvest and so connotes hope.
". . . even after Israel had been restored to the land after the Babylonian exile, the prospect of a regathered, reunited nation still appeared in Zechariah 10:9-12. The importance of this passage and its late postexilic date should not be lost by those who interpret the promise of the land spiritually or as a temporal blessing which has since been forfeited by a rebellious nation due to her failure to keep her part of the conditional (?) covenant. On the contrary, this hope burned brighter as Israel became more and more hopelessly scattered." [1]

Context Summary

Zechariah 10:1-12 - A Lowly Deliverer Brings Peace
Jesus must be King first, then Savior. He is lowly; His steed is not the richly caparisoned warhorse, but the humble ass; He needs no weapon to overthrow His foes, because as Priest He speaks peace. The peasantry had taken shelter in the rock hewn mountain cisterns; but they might cherish hope, because they had been redeemed by the blood of the covenant, and God would see to it that that redemption was made effective. Before the advent of the King, the prison-doors would open, and at His word the imprisoned should go forth. How great are His goodness and beauty!
In Zechariah 10:1-12 we have a reference to the successful stand made by Judas Maccabaeus and his brethren against Antiochus. They were to tread them down as the mire of the streets; Joseph and Judah would be reunited and after their far-spread sowing over the world, the scattered tribes would ultimately return as bees to the call of the bee-farmer. [source]

Chapter Summary: Zechariah 10

1  God is to be sought unto, and not idols
3  As he visited his flock for sin, so he will save and restore them

What do the individual words in Zechariah 10:9 mean?

And I will sow them among the peoples and in far countries they shall remember Me and they shall live together with their children and they shall return
וְאֶזְרָעֵם֙ בָּֽעַמִּ֔ים וּבַמֶּרְחַקִּ֖ים יִזְכְּר֑וּנִי וְחָי֥וּ אֶת־ בְּנֵיהֶ֖ם וָשָֽׁבוּ

וְאֶזְרָעֵם֙  And  I  will  sow  them 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive imperfect, first person common singular, third person masculine plural
Root: זָרַע  
Sense: to sow, scatter seed.
בָּֽעַמִּ֔ים  among  the  peoples 
Parse: Preposition-b, Article, Noun, masculine plural
Root: עַם 
Sense: nation, people.
וּבַמֶּרְחַקִּ֖ים  and  in  far  countries 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition-b, Article, Noun, masculine plural
Root: מֶרְחָק  
Sense: distant place, distance, far country.
יִזְכְּר֑וּנִי  they  shall  remember  Me 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine plural, first person common singular
Root: זָכַר 
Sense: to remember, recall, call to mind.
וְחָי֥וּ  and  they  shall  live 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, third person common plural
Root: חָיָה  
Sense: to live, have life, remain alive, sustain life, live prosperously, live for ever, be quickened, be alive, be restored to life or health.
אֶת־  together  with 
Parse: Preposition
Root: אֵת 
Sense: with, near, together with.
בְּנֵיהֶ֖ם  their  children 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, third person masculine plural
Root: בֵּן 
Sense: son, grandson, child, member of a group.
וָשָֽׁבוּ  and  they  shall  return 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, third person common plural
Root: שׁוּב  
Sense: to return, turn back.