Zechariah 12:4

The Holy Bible, Berean Study Bible

Contextual Overview

¹An oracle of the word of the LORD concerning Israel. Thus declares the LORD, who stretches out the heavens and lays the foundation of the earth, who forms the spirit of man within him: ²"Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of drunkenness to all the surrounding peoples. Judah will be besieged, as well as Jerusalem. ³On that day, when all the nations of the earth gather against her, I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples; all who would heave it away will be severely injured. ⁴On that day," declares the LORD, "I will strike every horse with panic, and every rider with madness. I will keep a watchful eye on the house of Judah, but I will strike all the horses of the nations with blindness.⁵Then the leaders of Judah will say in their hearts: 'The people of Jerusalem are my strength, for the LORD of Hosts is their God.' ⁶On that day I will make the clans of Judah like a firepot in a woodpile, like a flaming torch among the sheaves; they will consume all the peoples around them on the right and on the left, while the residents of Jerusalem remain secure in Jerusalem. ⁷The LORD will save the tents of Judah first, so that the glory of the house of David and of the residents of Jerusalem may not be greater than that of Judah. ⁸On that day the LORD will defend the residents of Jerusalem, so that the weakest among them will be like David, and the house of David will be like God, like the Angel of the LORD going before them.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

that day: Zechariah 12:3, Zechariah 12:6, Zechariah 12:8, Zechariah 12:9, Zechariah 12:11, Isaiah 24:21

I will smite: Zechariah 10:5, Zechariah 14:15, Deuteronomy 28:28, 2 Kings 6:14, 2 Kings 6:18, Psalms 76:5-7, Ezekiel 38:4, Ezekiel 39:20

I will open: Zechariah 9:8, 1 Kings 8:29, 2 Chronicles 6:20, 2 Chronicles 6:40, 2 Chronicles 7:15, Nehemiah 1:6, Isaiah 37:17, Jeremiah 24:6, Daniel 9:18, Acts 17:30

Reciprocal: Psalms 76:6 - both Jeremiah 51:21 - General Joel 3:2 - will plead Zephaniah 3:19 - I will undo Zechariah 14:13 - a great

Cross-References

Genesis 11:27
This is the account of Terah. Terah became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran. And Haran became the father of Lot.

Genesis 11:31
And Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai the wife of Abram, and they set out from Ur of the Chaldeans for the land of Canaan. But when they arrived in Haran, they settled there.

Hebrews 11:8
By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, without knowing where he was going.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

In that day, saith the Lord, I will smite every horse with astonishment, and his rider with madness,.... The meaning is, the enemies of God's people shall be astonished at the failure of their attempts, and be filled with fury and madness because they cannot accomplish their designs; and shall be at their wits' end, not knowing what course to take: perhaps reference is had to the Turkish armies, that shall be brought against Jerusalem to recover it into their possession, which generally consist of a large cavalry; see Revelation 9:16:

and I will open mine eyes upon the house of Judah; which phrase is sometimes used, as expressive of the wrath of God against his enemies, Amos 9:4 and, if the house of Judah signifies the same as Judah, joined with the nations of the earth in the siege, Zechariah 12:2, it must be so understood here; but rather it seems to be different, and to intend those who will inhabit other parts of Judea, and who will be truly the people of God, Jews not only literally, but spiritually; and so is to be interpreted in a good sense, of the divine love to them, care of them, and protection over them; see Job 14:13 and so the Targum paraphrases it,

"and upon those of the house of Judah, I will reveal my power to do them good:''

and will smite every horse of the people with blindness: that is, every rider of them, either with blindness of mind or body, or both. It may be, as the former smiting, mentioned in the beginning of the verse, respects the mind, this may regard the body; so that they shall not see their way, and their hands shall not perform their enterprise.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

In that day, saith the Lord, I will smite every horse with astonishment, stupefying - Zechariah revives the words concentrated by Moses, to express the stupefaction at their ills, which God would accumulate upon His people, if they perseveringly rebelled against Him. Each expresses the intensity of the visitation. “The horse and his rider” Deut. 27:28 had, through Moses’ song at the Red Sea, become the emblem of worldly power, overthrown. That song opens; “I will sing unto the Lord; for He hath triumphed gloriously: the horse and his rider hath He cast into the sea” Exodus 15:1. The scared cavalry throws into confusion the ranks, of which it was the boast and strength.

And on the house of Judah I will open My eyes - In pity and love and guidance, as the Psalmist says, “I will counsel, with Mine eye upon thee” Psalms 32:8, in contrast with “the blindness” with which God would smite the powers arrayed against them.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Zechariah 12:4. I will smite every horse — Some apply this to the wars of the Maccabees with the Syrians; but it is more likely to be a prophecy not yet accomplished. The terms are too strong for such petty and evanescent victories as those of the Maccabees.