Bible Strands
Zechariah 14:20
On that day, HOLY TO THE LORD will be inscribed on the bells of the horses, and the cooking pots in the house of the LORD will be like the sprinkling bowls before the altar.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The prophet addresses Judah and Jerusalem regarding the future day of the LORD when surviving nations will be compelled to attend the Feast of Tabernacles.
The words — קֹדֶשׁ (Ko.desh) = holiness; מְצִלּוֹת (me.tzi.Lot) = bells. The text declares that holiness to Yahweh will be physically marked on these everyday objects.
The thread — The exact phrase first appears inscribed on the high priest’s turban in Exodus 39:30. The motif of consecrated items and profits extends to Isaiah 23:18 and later applies to believers as God’s temple in 1 Corinthians 3:16.
Why it lands — The text states that ordinary cooking pots and horse bells will equal the holiness of altar sprinkling bowls, removing the boundary between sacred and common. It requires the reader to accept that God’s presence will fully sanctify daily life and eradicate all defiled worship.
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 shall there be upon the bells of the horses, HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD; and the pots in the Lord’s house shall be like the bowls before the altar.
Cross-references
- 1 Corinthians 3:16 Do you not know that you yourselves are God’s temple, and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?
- Exodus 39:30 They also made the plate of the holy crown of pure gold, and they engraved on it, like an inscription on a seal: HOLY TO THE LORD.
- Isaiah 23:18 Yet her profits and wages will be set apart to the LORD; they will not be stored or saved, for her profit will go to those who live before the LORD, for abundant food and fine clothing.
- 1 Peter 2:5 you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
- Leviticus 8:9 Moses also put the turban on Aaron’s head and set the gold plate, the holy diadem, on the front of the turban, as the LORD had commanded him.
- Exodus 28:33 Make pomegranates of blue, purple, and scarlet yarn all the way around the lower hem, with gold bells between them,
- Exodus 37:16 He also made the utensils for the table out of pure gold: its plates and dishes, as well as its bowls and pitchers for pouring drink offerings.
- Leviticus 6:28 The clay pot in which the sin offering is boiled must be broken; if it is boiled in a bronze pot, the pot must be scoured and rinsed with water.
- Numbers 4:7 Over the table of the Presence they are to spread a blue cloth and place the plates and cups on it, along with the bowls and pitchers for the drink offering. The regular bread offering is to remain on it.
- Numbers 4:14 and place on it all the vessels used to serve there: the firepans, meat forks, shovels, and sprinkling bowls—all the equipment of the altar. They are to spread over it a covering of fine leather and insert the poles.