Bible Strands
Zechariah 12:1
This is the burden 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:
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The LORD delivers a message concerning Israel, speaking as Judah and Jerusalem face siege from surrounding nations.
The words — מַשָּׂ֥א (ma.Sa') renders literally as "oracle" or "burden," while נֹטֶ֤ה (no.Teh) means "who stretches out," describing God's action over the heavens.
The thread — This creator motif appears in Isaiah 42:5 and Jeremiah 51:15, where Yahweh is similarly identified as the one who formed the earth and stretched out the heavens.
Why it lands — The text demands recognition that the God who designed creation is the same authority directing Israel's historical trials.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
The burden of the word of the Lord for Israel, saith the Lord, which stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him.
Cross-references
- Isaiah 42:5 This is what God the LORD says—He who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and its offspring, who gives breath to the people on it and life to those who walk in it:
- Jeremiah 51:15 The LORD made the earth by His power; He established the world by His wisdom and stretched out the heavens by His understanding.
- Isaiah 57:16 For I will not accuse you forever, nor will I always be angry; for then the spirit of man would grow weak before Me—the breath of life I have made.
- Psalms 102:25 In the beginning You laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands.
- Isaiah 44:24 Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer who formed you from the womb: “I am the LORD, who has made all things, who alone stretched out the heavens, who by Myself spread out the earth,
- Isaiah 48:13 Surely My own hand founded the earth, and My right hand spread out the heavens; when I summon them, they stand up together.
- Hebrews 1:10 And: “In the beginning, O Lord, You laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands.
- Hebrews 12:9 Furthermore, we have all had earthly fathers who disciplined us, and we respected them. Should we not much more submit to the Father of our spirits and live?
- Genesis 2:7 Then the LORD God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed the breath of life into his nostrils, and the man became a living being.
- Numbers 16:22 But Moses and Aaron fell facedown and said, “O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, when one man sins, will You be angry with the whole congregation?”