Zechariah 9 · Verse 12

Zechariah 9:12

Turn you to the strong hold, ye prisoners of hope: even to day do I declare that I will render double unto thee;
Zechariah 9:12, King James Version

Zechariah 9:12 in other translations

BSBReturn to your stronghold, O prisoners of hope; even today I declare that I will restore to you double.
WEBTurn to the stronghold, you prisoners of hope! Even today I declare that I will restore double to you.
ASVTurn you to the stronghold, ye prisoners of hope: even to-day do I declare that I will render double unto thee.
YLTTurn back to a fenced place, Ye prisoners of the hope, Even to-day a second announcer I restore to thee.
DARBYTurn again to the stronghold, prisoners of hope! even to-day do I declare I will render double unto thee.
BBEAnd they will come back to you, O daughter of Zion, as prisoners of hope: today I say to you that I will give you back twice as much;
WebsterTurn ye to the strong hold, ye prisoners of hope: even to-day do I declare that I will render double to thee;

What does Zechariah 9:12 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
12. stronghold--in contrast to the "pit" (Zec 9:11); literally, "a place cut off from access." Maurer thinks, "a height" (Psa 18:33). An image for the security which the returning Jews shall have in Messiah (Zec 9:8) encamped about His people (Psa 46:1, 5; compare Is 49:9; Pr 18:10). prisoners of hope--that is, who in spite of afflictions (Job 13:15; Psa 42:5, 11) maintain hope in the covenant-keeping God; in contrast to unbelievers, who say, "There is no hope" (Jr 2:25; 18:12). Especially those Jews who believe God's word to Israel (Jr 31:17), "there is hope in the end, that thy children shall come again to their own border," and do not say, as in Eze 37:11, "Our hope is lost." Primarily, the Jews of Zechariah's time are encouraged not to be dispirited in building by their trials; secondarily, the Jews before the coming restoration are encouraged to look to Messiah for deliverance from their last oppressors. even to-day--when your circumstances seem so unpromising; in contrast with the "day of the Lord," when Zion's King shall come to her deliverance (Zec 9:9). I will render double--Great as has been thy adversity, thy prosperity shall be doubly greater (Is 61:7).

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

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 12 Turn you to the strong hold - Ye who feel your sins, and are shut up under a sense of your guilt, look up to him who was delivered for your offenses, and rose again for your justification. Ye have hope, let that hope lead you to faith, and that faith to the blood of the covenant; and, through that blood, to God, the Father of all. I will render double unto thee - Give thee an abundance of peace and salvation.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Zechariah 9:9-17

The prophet breaks forth into a joyful representation of the coming of the Messiah, of whom the ancient Jews explained this prophecy. He took the character of their King, when he entered Jerusalem amidst the hosannas of the multitude. But his kingdom is a spiritual kingdom. It shall not be advanced by outward force or carnal weapons. His gospel shall be preached to the world, and be received among the heathen. A…

Read the full comment on Zechariah 9:9-17 →

Zechariah 9:12 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.

שׁ֚וּבוּShu.vureturnH7725
לְבִצָּר֔וֹןle.vi.tza.Ronto [the] strongholdH1225
אֲסִירֵ֖י'a.si.ReiO prisoners ofH615
הַתִּקְוָ֑הha.tik.Vah<the> hopeH8615
גַּם\־gam-alsoH1571
הַיּ֕וֹםhai.Yomthis dayH3117
מַגִּ֥ידma.Gid[I am] declaringH5046
מִשְׁנֶ֖הmish.NehdoubleH4932
אָשִׁ֥יב'a.ShivI will restoreH7725
לָֽךְ\׃Lakhto you

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

Cross references for Zechariah 9:12

  • Job 42:10

    And the Lord turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends: also the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before.

  • Isaiah 61:7

    For your shame ye shall have double; and for confusion they shall rejoice in their portion: therefore in their land they shall possess the double: everlasting joy shall be unto them.

  • Lamentations 3:21-22

    This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.

  • Hebrews 6:18

    That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us:

  • Isaiah 40:2

    Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.

  • Jeremiah 51:10

    The Lord hath brought forth our righteousness: come, and let us declare in Zion the work of the Lord our God.

  • Jeremiah 31:17

    And there is hope in thine end, saith the Lord, that thy children shall come again to their own border.

  • Nahum 1:7

    The Lord is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him.

  • Hosea 2:15

    And I will give her her vineyards from thence, and the valley of Achor for a door of hope: and she shall sing there, as in the days of her youth, and as in the day when she came up out of the land of Egypt.

  • Joel 3:16

    The Lord also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the Lord will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel.

  • Jeremiah 50:4-5

    In those days, and in that time, saith the Lord, the children of Israel shall come, they and the children of Judah together, going and weeping: they shall go, and seek the Lord their God. They shall ask the way to Zion with their faces thitherward, saying, Come, and let us join ourselves to the Lord in a perpetual covenant that shall not be forgotten.

  • Isaiah 38:18

    For the grave cannot praise thee, death can not celebrate thee: they that go down into the pit cannot hope for thy truth.

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Turn.
Isa 52:2; Jer 31:6; 50:4,5,28; 51:10; Mic 4:8; Na 1:7; Heb 6:18
even.
Isa 38:18; 49:9; Jer 31:17; La 3:21,22; Eze 37:11; Ho 2:15
I will.
Job 42:10; Isa 40:2; 61:7

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

Context

  • Zechariah 9:11

    As for thee also, by the blood of thy covenant I have sent forth thy prisoners out of the pit wherein is no water.

  • Zechariah 9:12

    Turn you to the strong hold, ye prisoners of hope: even to day do I declare that I will render double unto thee;

  • Zechariah 9:13

    When I have bent Judah for me, filled the bow with Ephraim, and raised up thy sons, O Zion, against thy sons, O Greece, and made thee as the sword of a mighty man.

Read all of Zechariah 9

Zechariah 9:12 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Tornaos á la fortaleza, oh presos de esperanza: hoy también os anuncio que os daré doblado.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Revenez à la place forte, prisonniers de l’espérance! Aujourd’hui même, je le déclare: Je te rendrai le double.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Kehret zur Festung zurück, ihr Gefangenen der Hoffnung Schon heute verkündige ich, daß ich dir das Doppelte erstatten werde -
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Convertimini ad munitionem, vincti spei: hodie quoque annuntians duplicia reddam tibi.