Bible Strands
Zechariah 12:6
On 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 people of Jerusalem remain secure there.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The LORD addresses the clans of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem through Zechariah regarding a specified future day of judgment. The speech occurs in the immediate aftermath of the leaders of Judah recognizing Jerusalem's people as their strength because of Yahweh.
The words — The phrase כִּיּוֹר אֵשׁ (khi.Yor 'esh) translates literally as "pot of fire," denoting the instrument that will burn the surrounding peoples. The verb אָשׂים ('a.Sim) means "I will make," establishing Yahweh as the direct cause of Judah's transformation into that consuming force.
The thread — The fire imagery against neighboring nations parallels the judgment motif in Obadiah 1:18, where the house of Jacob becomes a blazing fire that devours the house of Esau. The guarantee of enduring divine preservation also corresponds to Daniel 2:44, which describes a kingdom set up by God that will never be destroyed or left to another people.
Why it lands — The text requires the reader to accept that Judah's survival and victory are mechanically produced by Yahweh's action, not by their own martial capacity. It demands acknowledgment that Jerusalem's security is maintained precisely while the surrounding hostile forces are systematically consumed.
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
In that day will I make the governors of Judah like an hearth of fire among the wood, and like a torch of fire in a sheaf; and they shall devour all the people round about, on the right hand and on the left: and Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place, even in Jerusalem.
Cross-references
- Obadiah 1:18 Then the house of Jacob will be a blazing fire, and the house of Joseph a burning flame; but the house of Esau will be stubble—Jacob will set it ablaze and consume it. Therefore no survivor will remain from the house of Esau.” For the LORD has spoken.
- Psalms 149:6 May the high praises of God be in their mouths, and a double-edged sword in their hands,
- Daniel 2:44 In the days of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will shatter all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, but will itself stand forever.
- Micah 5:5 And He will be our peace when Assyria invades our land and tramples our citadels. We will raise against it seven shepherds, even eight leaders of men.
- Zechariah 2:4 and said to him, “Run and tell that young man: ‘Jerusalem will be a city without walls because of the multitude of men and livestock within it.
- Nehemiah 11:1 Now the leaders of the people settled in Jerusalem, and the rest of the people cast lots to bring one out of ten to live in the holy city of Jerusalem, while the remaining nine were to dwell in their own towns.
- Isaiah 9:20 They carve out what is on the right, but they are still hungry; they eat what is on the left, but they are still not satisfied. Each one devours the flesh of his own offspring.
- Isaiah 10:16 Therefore the Lord GOD of Hosts will send a wasting disease among Assyria’s stout warriors, and under his pomp will be kindled a fire like a burning flame.
- Isaiah 41:15 Behold, I will make you into a threshing sledge, new and sharp, with many teeth. You will thresh the mountains and crush them, and reduce the hills to chaff.
- Isaiah 54:3 For you will spread out to the right and left; your descendants will dispossess the nations and inhabit the desolate cities.