Zechariah 14 · Verse 18

Zechariah 14:18

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.
Zechariah 14:18, King James Version

Zechariah 14:18 in other translations

BSBAnd 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.
WEBIf 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 the LORD will strike the nations that don’t go up to keep the feast of booths.
ASVAnd 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.
YLTAnd 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.
DARBYAnd 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 celebrate the feast of tabernacles.
BBEAnd 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:
WebsterAnd 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.

What does Zechariah 14:18 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
18. if ... Egypt go not up--specified as Israel's ancient foe. If Egypt go not up, and so there be no rain on them (a judgment which Egypt would condemn, as depending on the Nile's overflow, not on rain), there shall be the plague ... . Because the guilty are not affected by one judgment, let them not think to escape, for God has other judgments which shall plague them. Maurer translates, "If Egypt go not up, upon them also there shall be none" (no rain). Psa 105:32 mentions "rain" in Egypt. But it is not their main source of fertility.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 18 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.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Zechariah 14:16-21

As it is impossible for all nations literally to come to Jerusalem once a year, to keep a feast, it is evident that a figurative meaning must here be applied. Gospel worship is represented by the keeping of the feast of tabernacles. Every day of a Christian's life is a day of the feast of tabernacles; every Lord's day especially is the great day of the feast; therefore every day let us worship the Lord of hosts, and…

Read the full comment on Zechariah 14:16-21 →

Zechariah 14:18 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וְאִם\־ve.'im-and ifH518
מִשְׁפַּ֨חַתmish.Pa.chat[the] clan ofH4940
מִצְרַ֧יִםmitz.Ra.yimEgyptH4714
לֹֽא\־lo'-notH3808
תַעֲלֶ֛הta.'a.Lehit will go upH5927
וְלֹ֥אve.Lo'and notH3808
בָאָ֖הva.'Ah[is] goingH935
וְלֹ֣אve.Lo'and notH3808
עֲלֵיהֶ֑ם'a.lei.Hemon themH5921
תִּֽהְיֶ֣הtih.Yehit will beH1961
הַמַּגֵּפָ֗הha.ma.ge.Fahthe plagueH4046
אֲשֶׁ֨ר'a.SherwhichH834
יִגֹּ֤ףyi.Gofhe will strikeH5062
יְהוָה֙Yah.wehYahwehH3068
אֶת\־'et-<obj.>H853
הַגּוֹיִ֔םha.go.Yimthe nationsH1471
אֲשֶׁר֙'a.SherwhichH834
לֹ֣אlo'notH3808
יַֽעֲל֔וּya.'a.Luthey will go upH5927
לָחֹ֖גla.Chogto celebrate a festivalH2287
אֶת\־'et-<obj.>H853
חַ֥גchag[the] festival ofH2282
הַסֻּכּֽוֹת\׃ha.su.Kot<the> TabernaclesH5521

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Zechariah 14:18

  • Deuteronomy 11:10-11

    For the land, whither thou goest in to possess it, is not as the land of Egypt, from whence ye came out, where thou sowedst thy seed, and wateredst it with thy foot, as a garden of herbs: But the land, whither ye go to possess it, is a land of hills and valleys, and drinketh water of the rain of heaven:

  • Zechariah 14:15

    And so shall be the plague of the horse, of the mule, of the camel, and of the ass, and of all the beasts that shall be in these tents, as this plague.

  • Zechariah 14:12

    And this shall be the plague wherewith the Lord will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
that have no. Heb. upon whom there is not.
De 11:10,11

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Zechariah 14:17

    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.

  • Zechariah 14:18

    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.

  • Zechariah 14:19

    This shall be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all nations that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles.

Read all of Zechariah 14

Zechariah 14:18 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Y si la familia de Egipto no subiere, y no viniere, sobre ellos no habrá lluvia; vendrá la plaga con que Jehová herirá las gentes que no subieren á celebrar la fiesta de las Cabañas.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		et si la famille d’Égypte ne monte pas et ne vient pas, il n’y en aura pas sur elle: ce sera la plaie dont l’ Éternel frappera les nations qui ne monteront pas pour célébrer la fête des tabernacles.
German
Elberfelder 1871		und wenn das Geschlecht Ägyptens nicht hinaufzieht und nicht kommt, so wird der Regen auch nicht über dieses kommen. Das wird die Plage sein, womit Jehova die Nationen plagen wird, welche nicht hinaufziehen werden, um das Laubhüttenfest zu feiern.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Quod etsi familia Ægypti non ascenderit et non venerit, nec super eos erit: sed erit ruina, qua percutiet Dominus omnes gentes quæ non ascenderint ad celebrandam festivitatem tabernaculorum.