Zechariah 10

Zechariah · Chapter 10

Zechariah 10:12

1Ask ye of the LORD rain in the time of the latter rain; so the LORD shall make bright clouds, and give them showers of rain, to every one grass in the field.2For the idols have spoken vanity, and the diviners have seen a lie, and have told false dreams; they comfort in vain: therefore they went their way as a flock, they were troubled, because there was no shepherd.3Mine anger was kindled against the shepherds, and I punished the goats: for the LORD of hosts hath visited his flock the house of Judah, and hath made them as his goodly horse in the battle.4Out of him came forth the corner, out of him the nail, out of him the battle bow, out of him every oppressor together.5And they shall be as mighty men, which tread down their enemies in the mire of the streets in the battle: and they shall fight, because the LORD is with them, and the riders on horses shall be confounded.6And I will strengthen the house of Judah, and I will save the house of Joseph, and I will bring them again to place them; for I have mercy upon them: and they shall be as though I had not cast them off: for I am the LORD their God, and will hear them.7And they of Ephraim shall be like a mighty man, and their heart shall rejoice as through wine: yea, their children shall see it, and be glad; their heart shall rejoice in the LORD.8I will hiss for them, and gather them; for I have redeemed them: and they shall increase as they have increased.9And I will sow them among the people: and they shall remember me in far countries; and they shall live with their children, and turn again.10I will bring them again also out of the land of Egypt, and gather them out of Assyria; and I will bring them into the land of Gilead and Lebanon; and place shall not be found for them.11And he shall pass through the sea with affliction, and shall smite the waves in the sea, and all the deeps of the river shall dry up: and the pride of Assyria shall be brought down, and the sceptre of Egypt shall depart away.12And I will strengthen them in the LORD; and they shall walk up and down in his name, saith the LORD.

King James Version (1769)

Other translations

VerseKJVBSBASV
12And I will strengthen them in the LORD; and they shall walk up and down in his name, saith the LORD.I will strengthen them in the LORD, and in His name they will walk,” declares the LORD.And I will strengthen them in Jehovah; and they shall walk up and down in his name, saith Jehovah.

In context

AI-assisted, sourced

This verse closes a chapter where the LORD promises to gather his scattered people, Judah and Joseph (Ephraim), from far countries such as Egypt and Assyria, and bring them home. It ends that promise by saying their strength will come from the LORD himself, and they will walk in his name. Zechariah 10:6Zechariah 10:8Zechariah 10:10Zechariah 10:12

SpeakingThe LORD is speaking, as the closing words "saith the LORD" show. The message comes through the prophet Zechariah, son of Berechiah. Zechariah 10:12Zechariah overviewStrong's H5002

ToThe people of Judah who had come back from exile in Babylon and were living in and around Jerusalem. Zechariah overview

Also involved"Them" means the people of God named in the chapter: the house of Judah and the house of Joseph, or Ephraim, including those still scattered in far countries. Zechariah 10:6Zechariah 10:7Zechariah 10:9Zechariah 10:10

God promises two things. He will make his people strong "in the LORD," and they will "walk up and down in his name," that is, go about in the name of the LORD. The same promise to "strengthen" opens this section in verse 6. Zechariah 10:12Zechariah 10:6Strong's H1396Strong's H1980IStrong's H8034

The message was given in Jerusalem among the returned exiles. The promise looks out to the lands where the people were scattered, Egypt and Assyria, and to the lands they would fill, Gilead and Lebanon. Zechariah overviewZechariah 10:10

JUDAHMediterranean SeaJerusalemTyreSidonDamascusHamath 1GazaAshdodMegiddo

The eventsThe verse is a promise about the future: a gathering of God's people still to come after the prophet spoke. The text does not give a date for it. Zechariah 10:8Zechariah 10:10Zechariah 10:12

WrittenTraditional: Zechariah wrote the whole book; his dated messages run from about 520 to 518 BC. Scholarly: most agree chapters 1-8 come from Zechariah then, but chapters 9-14, including this verse, carry no dates, and many assign them to a later writer, while others hold Zechariah wrote them. Zechariah overview

HereThe chapter begins with a people who wandered "as a flock" because idols and diviners lied and there was no shepherd. It ends with God himself giving them strength and his name to walk in, so the chapter moves from being lost to being led by the LORD. Zechariah 10:2Zechariah 10:3Zechariah 10:12

In the whole of ScriptureThis fits the book's theme that God's work is done "not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit." The people's strength is not their own but comes "in the LORD." Micah 4:5 speaks the same way: "we will walk in the name of the LORD our God for ever and ever." Zechariah overviewZechariah 10:12Micah 4:5

For readersGod strengthens the people he gathers, as Isaiah 41:10 also promises: "I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee." The New Testament uses the same language for believers: "be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus," "so walk ye in him," and "do all in the name of the Lord Jesus." Isaiah 41:102 Timothy 2:1Colossians 2:6Colossians 3:17

  • strengthenגָּבַר
    Hebrew · ga.var · H1396

    The word means to be strong or to prevail; in this form it means to make strong. God is the one who makes his people strong. The same promise opens the section in verse 6: "I will strengthen the house of Judah." Strong's H1396Zechariah 10:6

  • nameשֵׁם
    Hebrew · shem · H8034

    "Name" can mean a name, or reputation, fame, or glory, and is also used as a designation for God himself. Here the people walk in the LORD's name, as Micah 4:5 also says: "we will walk in the name of the LORD our God." Strong's H8034Micah 4:5

  • walk up and downהוּךְ
    Hebrew · hukh · H1980I

    The word means to go, come, or walk, and is glossed here "they will go about." Isaiah 2:5 uses walking language for God's people too: "let us walk in the light of the LORD." Strong's H1980IIsaiah 2:5

Takeaway

God promises to gather his scattered people, make them strong in himself, and have them walk in his name. Their strength is the LORD's gift, not their own. Zechariah 10:12Zechariah 10:6Isaiah 41:10Zechariah overview

Drafted by AI from the Scripture and data shown under “Show sources,” then checked automatically and by a second AI pass. Updated 2026-10-28.

The world around the text

About 520-518 BC. King of Persia: Darius I (522-486 BC). Where Zechariah prophesied. A small, poor community was rebuilding the temple among the ruins of the city Babylon had burned.

Who ruled
  • King of PersiaDarius I522-486 BC

    Zechariah dates his messages by the years of Darius. Darius confirmed Cyrus's decree and ordered the temple work to go on at royal expense. Zechariah 1:1Zechariah 7:1Ezra 6:1-12Haggai 1:1Behistun Inscription

  • Governor of JudahZerubbabelc. 520 BC

    A descendant of David who led the rebuilding. "The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also finish it." Zechariah 4:6-10Haggai 1:1Ezra 3:8

  • High priestJoshua the high priestc. 520 BC

    Called Jeshua in Ezra. He stands in Zechariah's vision clothed in filthy garments, which are taken away, and later receives crowns as a sign. Zechariah 3:1-10Zechariah 6:11Haggai 1:1Ezra 3:2

  • Persian governor "on this side the river"Tattenaic. 520 BC

    The governor of the province west of the Euphrates. He asked who had allowed the building, wrote to Darius, and was told to let the work go on. Ezra 5:3-6Ezra 6:6-13

What was happening, 539 BC to 332 BC
  1. 539 BC
    WarBabylon falls to Cyrus

    Cyrus king of Persia took Babylon, ending the empire that had destroyed Jerusalem. Daniel 5:30-31Nabonidus Chronicle (ABC 7)Cyrus Cylinder

  2. 538 BC
    God's peopleThe first return

    Cyrus let the exiles go home to build the LORD's house. About fifty thousand returned with Zerubbabel and Jeshua. Ezra 1:1-4Ezra 2:1-2Ezra 2:64-65

  3. c. 536 BC
    God's peopleThe foundation is laid, then the work stops

    The returned exiles laid the temple's foundation with shouting and weeping. Opposition from their neighbors stopped the work until the second year of Darius. Ezra 3:10-13Ezra 4:4-5Ezra 4:24

  4. 525 BC
    WarPersia conquers Egypt

    Cyrus's son Cambyses invaded and took Egypt, bringing the whole region from the Nile to the Indus under one king. Herodotus, Histories 3.1-16

  5. 522-521 BC
    WarDarius crushes the revolts

    When Darius took the throne, provinces across the empire rebelled, Babylon twice. By 520 he had put them all down. Compare the riders' report in Zechariah's first vision: "all the earth sitteth still, and is at rest." Behistun InscriptionHerodotus, Histories 3.150-159Zechariah 1:11

  6. 520 BC
    God's peopleHaggai and Zechariah stir the people to build

    In Darius's second year the two prophets urged the people to take up the temple work again, and Zerubbabel and Jeshua began to build. Ezra 5:1-2Haggai 1:1-15Zechariah 1:1

  7. c. 520-519 BC
    RulersDarius confirms Cyrus's decree

    Tattenai questioned the building. A search found Cyrus's decree at Achmetha, and Darius ordered the work to continue and be paid for from royal taxes. Ezra 5:3-6:12

  8. 515 BC
    BuildingThe second temple is finished

    The temple was finished on the third day of Adar in Darius's sixth year and dedicated with joy. Ezra 6:14-18Zechariah 4:9

  9. 490-479 BC
    WarPersia's wars with Greece

    Persia invaded Greece twice and was turned back at Marathon (490), Salamis (480) and Plataea (479). Greece, which Zechariah names in 9:13, was becoming Persia's great rival. Herodotus, Histories 6.102-117Herodotus, Histories 8.40-96Herodotus, Histories 9.1-89Zechariah 9:13

  10. 445 BC
    BuildingNehemiah rebuilds Jerusalem's walls

    Under the Persian king Artaxerxes, Nehemiah came from Shushan and rebuilt the walls in fifty-two days. Nehemiah 2:1-8Nehemiah 6:15

  11. 332 BC
    WarAlexander takes Tyre and Gaza

    Alexander the Great besieged island Tyre for seven months and then Gaza for two, on his way to Egypt. Zechariah 9 speaks of Tyre's "strong hold" and of Gaza, Ashkelon, Ekron and Ashdod. Arrian, Anabasis of Alexander 2.15-27Zechariah 9:3-7

The full picture: places, culture and daily life. Scripture first, then ancient records (the Behistun Inscription, the Cyrus Cylinder, the Babylonian Chronicles) and ancient writers (Herodotus, Arrian, Josephus). Drafted by Claude and not yet reviewed by a person.

Original Hebrew words

EnglishHebrewSay itStrong'sMeaning
and I will make strong themוְגִבַּרְתִּים֙ve-gi-bar-TIMH1396
to prevail

גָּבַר (ga.var) 1) to prevail, have strength, be strong, be powerful, be mighty, be great 1a) (Qal) 1a1) to be strong, mighty 1a2) to prevail 1b) (Piel) to make strong, strengthen 1c) (Hiphil) 1c1) to confirm, give strength 1c2) to confirm (a covenant) 1d) (Hithpael) 1d1) to show oneself mighty 1d2) to act proudly (toward God)

by Yahwehבַּֽיהוָ֔הba-YAH-wehH3068G
Lord

אֲדֹנָי (a.do.nai) Lord - a title, spoken in place of Yahweh in Jewish display of reverence Another name of ye.ho.vah (יהוה "LORD" H3068G)

and in name hisוּבִשְׁמ֖וֹu-vish-MOH8034
name

שֵׁם (shem) 1) name 1a) name 1b) reputation, fame, glory 1c) the Name (as designation of God) 1d) memorial, monument Aramaic equivalent: shum (שֻׁם "name" H8036)

they will go aboutיִתְהַלָּ֑כוּyit-ha-LA-khuH1980I
to go

הוּךְ (hukh) (P'al) to go, come, walk, be brought Aramaic of ha.lakh (הָלַךְ ": walk" H1980)

[the] utterance ofנְאֻ֖םne-'UMH5002
utterance

נְאֻם (ne.um) 1) (Qal) utterance, declaration (of prophet) 1a) utterance, declaration, revelation (of prophet in ecstatic state) 1b) utterance, declaration (elsewhere always preceding divine name)

Yahwehיְהוָֽה׃ סYAH-wehH3068G
Lord

אֲדֹנָי (a.do.nai) Lord - a title, spoken in place of Yahweh in Jewish display of reverence Another name of ye.ho.vah (יהוה "LORD" H3068G)

Words and meanings from STEPBible data (Tyndale House, Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). The capitalized syllable is the stressed one.