Bible Strands
Zechariah 14:19
This will be the punishment of Egypt and of all the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The prophet Zechariah addresses post-exilic Israel regarding the eschatological day of the Lord’s coming to Jerusalem. He declares a divine decree concerning the nations’ required pilgrimage to Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles.
The words — The Hebrew חַטָּאת (ḥattat) literally denotes a purification offering or penalty for sin, applied here to the consequence falling on Egypt and the nations. This term anchors the verse’s declaration that noncompliance results in a divinely appointed penalty.
The thread — The requirement for nations to pilgrimage to Jerusalem for a feast appears in Zechariah 14:16–19, while the motif of divine judgment for rejecting light echoes in John 3:19. Both passages frame the rejection of God’s revealed presence or commands as the basis for condemnation.
Why it lands — The text demands a clear choice between participating in the prescribed worship or facing the stated penalty. It requires the reader to acknowledge that covenant participation is nonnegotiable for those under this decree.
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
This shall be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all nations that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles.
Cross-references
- John 3:19 And this is the verdict: The Light has come into the world, but men loved the darkness rather than the Light because their deeds were evil.