Bible Strands
Zechariah 14:17
And should any of the families of the earth not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of Hosts, then the rain will not fall on them.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The prophet addresses the nations and families of the earth regarding a future gathering in Jerusalem after the Lord's victory over attacking kingdoms.
The words — The verb יַעֲלֶ֜ה (ya'a.Leh) literally means "he will go up," and מִשְׁפְּח֤וֹת (mish.pe.Chot) translates to "the clans of" or families.
The thread — The text links disobedience to drought, echoing Jeremiah 14:4 and Amos 4:7, while Isaiah 60:12 parallels the consequence of refusing to serve the designated recipient.
Why it lands — The passage states that any family refusing to go up to Jerusalem to worship the King will receive no rain, requiring the reader to recognize worship as a non-negotiable condition for sustenance.
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
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.
Cross-references
- Isaiah 60:12 For the nation or kingdom that will not serve you will perish; it will be utterly destroyed.
- Jeremiah 14:4 The ground is cracked because no rain has fallen on the land. The farmers are ashamed; they cover their heads.
- Amos 4:7 “I also withheld the rain from you when the harvest was three months away. I sent rain on one city but withheld it from another. One field received rain; another without rain withered.
- James 5:17 Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years.
- Revelation 11:6 These witnesses have power to shut the sky so that no rain will fall during the days of their prophecy, and power to turn the waters into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague as often as they wish.
- Genesis 12:3 I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you; and all the families of the earth will be blessed through you.”
- Deuteronomy 11:17 or the anger of the LORD will be kindled against you. He will shut the heavens so that there will be no rain, nor will the land yield its produce, and you will soon perish from the good land that the LORD is giving you.
- Genesis 10:32 All these are the clans of Noah’s sons, according to their generations and nations. From these the nations of the earth spread out after the flood.
- Genesis 28:14 Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and east and north and south. All the families of the earth will be blessed through you and your offspring.
- Deuteronomy 28:23 The sky over your head will be bronze, and the earth beneath you iron.