Zechariah 7:14

But I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations that they had not known, and the land was left desolate behind them so that no one could come or go. Thus they turned the pleasant land into a desolation.”

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — God addresses the returned exiles through Zechariah, explaining the historical judgment that fell on their ancestors for ignoring divine warning.

The words — The Hebrew verb אֵסָעַרְם (es'ar'am) literally means "I will storm away" or scatter them, while אָרֶץ (aretz) denotes the land left empty and inaccessible.

The thread — The text parallels Deuteronomy 28:33, where unknown nations consume the land's produce; Deuteronomy 28:64, which predicts global scattering among unfamiliar peoples; and Jeremiah 23:19, where a divine whirlwind sweeps down on the wicked.

Why it lands — It requires the reader to acknowledge that deliberate rejection of prophetic warning produces irreversible displacement and the forfeiture of inherited blessing.

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

וְאֵ֣סָעֲרֵ֗םve./'E.sa.'a.Re/mand/ I will storm away/ them עַ֤ל'alto כָּל־kol-all הַגּוֹיִם֙ha./go.Yimthe/ nations אֲשֶׁ֣ר'a.Sherwhich לֹֽא־lo'-not יְדָע֔וּםye.da.'U/mthey have known/ them וְהָאָ֙רֶץ֙ve./ha./'A.retzand/ the/ land נָשַׁ֣מָּהna.Sha.mahit was desolate אַֽחֲרֵיהֶ֔ם'a.cha.rei./Hembehind/ them מֵֽעֹבֵ֖רme./'o.Verfrom/ [one who] passes by וּמִשָּׁ֑בu./mi./Shavand/ from/ [one who] returns וַיָּשִׂ֥ימוּva/i.ya.Si.muand/ they made אֶֽרֶץ־'e.retz-a land of חֶמְדָּ֖הchem.Dahdesire לְשַׁמָּֽה׃ פle./sha.Mahinto/ a waste

King James Version

But I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations whom they knew not. Thus the land was desolate after them, that no man passed through nor returned: for they laid the pleasant land desolate.

Cross-references

Deuteronomy 28:33 A people you do not know will eat the produce of your land and of all your toil. All your days you will be oppressed and crushed.
Deuteronomy 28:64 Then the LORD will scatter you among all the nations, from one end of the earth to the other, and there you will worship other gods, gods of wood and stone, which neither you nor your fathers have known.
Jeremiah 23:19 Behold, the storm of the LORD has gone out with fury, a whirlwind swirling down upon the heads of the wicked.
Deuteronomy 4:27 Then the LORD will scatter you among the peoples, and only a few of you will survive among the nations to which the LORD will drive you.
Jeremiah 5:15 Behold, I am bringing a distant nation against you, O house of Israel,” declares the LORD. “It is an established nation, an ancient nation, a nation whose language you do not know and whose speech you do not understand.
Deuteronomy 28:49 The LORD will bring a nation from afar, from the ends of the earth, to swoop down upon you like an eagle—a nation whose language you will not understand,
Zechariah 2:6 “Get up! Get up! Flee from the land of the north,” declares the LORD, “for I have scattered you like the four winds of heaven,” declares the LORD.
Leviticus 26:22 I will send wild animals against you to rob you of your children, destroy your livestock, and reduce your numbers, until your roads lie desolate.
Leviticus 26:33 But I will scatter you among the nations and will draw out a sword after you as your land becomes desolate and your cities are laid waste.
2 Chronicles 36:21 So the land enjoyed its Sabbath rest all the days of the desolation, until seventy years were completed, in fulfillment of the word of the LORD spoken through Jeremiah.