Zechariah 10:4
King James Version (1769)
Other translations
| Verse | KJV | BSB | ASV |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | Out of him came forth the corner, out of him the nail, out of him the battle bow, out of him every oppressor together. | The cornerstone will come from Judah, the tent peg from him, as well as the battle bow and every ruler together. | From him shall come forth the corner-stone, from him the nail, from him the battle bow, from him every ruler together. |
In context
AI-assisted, sourcedGod has punished Judah's bad shepherds and now cares for his flock himself, making Judah like his goodly horse in battle (10:2-3). This verse says that out of Judah itself will come the corner, the nail, the battle bow, and every ruler. The next verses say they will fight and win because the LORD is with them (10:5-6). Zechariah 10:2Zechariah 10:3Zechariah 10:4Zechariah 10:5Zechariah 10:6
SpeakingThe LORD speaks through the prophet Zechariah. The chapter closes with "saith the LORD." Zechariah 10:12Zechariah overview
ToThe people of Judah who had come back from exile in Babylon. Zechariah overview
Also involvedThe house of Judah, called God's flock, from whom these come. The promise also reaches the house of Joseph, or Ephraim. Zechariah 10:3Zechariah 10:6Zechariah 10:7
Four pictures all come "out of him," that is, out of Judah. The corner can be used as a figure for a ruler or chief. The nail is a peg or tent stake. The bow can be a figure of might, and the last word means a ruler. Judah will no longer be a flock with no shepherd (10:2). Zechariah 10:2Zechariah 10:3Zechariah 10:4Strong's H6438HStrong's H3489Strong's H7198Strong's H5065
The message was given in Jerusalem to the returned exiles. The chapter looks ahead to God gathering his people from Egypt and Assyria into Gilead and Lebanon. Zechariah overviewZechariah 10:10
The eventsThis is a promise about the future. God says he will strengthen Judah, save Joseph, and gather his scattered people home from Egypt and Assyria. Zechariah 10:6Zechariah 10:8Zechariah 10:10
WrittenTraditional view: Zechariah wrote it around 520-518 BC. Scholarly view: chapters 9-14 carry no dates, and many scholars assign them to a later writer or writers, while others hold that Zechariah wrote the whole book. Zechariah overview
HereThe verse answers the problem of 10:2-3. False guides and bad shepherds had left the people scattered, so God promises that leaders and strength will come from Judah itself. Zechariah 10:2Zechariah 10:3Zechariah 10:4
In the whole of ScriptureIt fits the book's hope of God restoring his people and of Zion's coming king (9:9). In 9:8 God promises that "no oppressor shall pass through them any more." Judah's strength in 10:5 comes "because the LORD is with them." Zechariah overviewZechariah 9:8Zechariah 10:5
For readersGod answers bad leadership by providing leaders from among his own people, and their strength comes from him. Isaiah 22:23 uses the same picture of a nail, where God says, "I will fasten him as a nail in a sure place." Zechariah 10:4Zechariah 10:5Zechariah 10:12Isaiah 22:23
Christians read this differently
The verse does not say who the corner or the nail is, and no cited Scripture names them. Some Christians read these images as pointing to the coming Messiah, linking them with promises such as the Star out of Jacob (Numbers 24:17) and the stone of Israel (Genesis 49:24). Others read them as Judah's own leaders in general, following the plural "they" of 10:5. Zechariah 10:4Zechariah 10:5Numbers 24:17Genesis 49:24
- cornerפִּנָּה
The word means a corner. The lexicon also lists a figurative use for a ruler or chief, which fits a verse about what comes out of Judah after its bad shepherds are punished. Strong's H6438HZechariah 10:3
- nailיָתֵד
The word means a pin, stake, peg, or tent peg. Isaiah uses it of a man God will "fasten... as a nail in a sure place," who becomes "a glorious throne to his father's house." Strong's H3489Isaiah 22:23
- bowקֶ֫שֶׁת
The word means a bow for hunting or battle, and it is also used as a figure of might. Here it fits Judah fighting as mighty men in 10:5. Strong's H7198Zechariah 10:5
- oppressorנָגַשׂ
The word's meanings include driver, taskmaster, ruler, and oppressor, and the lexicon glosses it "ruler" here. In this verse it is one of the things that come out of Judah. Strong's H5065Zechariah 10:4
Takeaway
When God's people had no true shepherd, God promised to raise leaders and strength from among them, and their strength would come from the LORD. Zechariah 10:2Zechariah 10:4Zechariah 10:5Zechariah 10:12
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
- 539 BCWarBabylon 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
- 538 BCGod'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
- c. 536 BCGod'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
- 525 BCWarPersia 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
- 522-521 BCWarDarius 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
- 520 BCGod'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
- c. 520-519 BCRulersDarius 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
- 515 BCBuildingThe 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
- 490-479 BCWarPersia'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
- 445 BCBuildingNehemiah 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
- 332 BCWarAlexander 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
| English | Hebrew | Say it | Strong's | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| from it | מִמֶּ֤נּוּ | mi-ME-nu | H4480A | fromמִן־ (min) prep 1) from, out of, on account of, off, on the side of, since, above, than, so that not, more than 1a) from (expressing separation), off, on the side of 1b) out of 1b1) (with verbs of proceeding, removing, expelling) 1b2) (of material from which something is made) 1b3) (of source or origin) 1c) out of, some of, from (partitively) 1d) from, since, after (of time) 1e) than, more than (in comparison) 1f) from...even to, both...and, either...or 1g) than, more than, too much for (in comparisons) 1h) from, on account of, through, because (with infinitive) conj 2) that … |
| a corner | פִנָּה֙ | fi-NAH | H6438H | cornerפִּנָּה (pin.nah) 1) corner 1a) corner (of square objects) 1b) corner (of ruler or chief-fig.) Also means: pen (פֵּן "Corner" H6434) |
| from it | מִמֶּ֣נּוּ | mi-ME-nu | H4480A | fromמִן־ (min) prep 1) from, out of, on account of, off, on the side of, since, above, than, so that not, more than 1a) from (expressing separation), off, on the side of 1b) out of 1b1) (with verbs of proceeding, removing, expelling) 1b2) (of material from which something is made) 1b3) (of source or origin) 1c) out of, some of, from (partitively) 1d) from, since, after (of time) 1e) than, more than (in comparison) 1f) from...even to, both...and, either...or 1g) than, more than, too much for (in comparisons) 1h) from, on account of, through, because (with infinitive) conj 2) that … |
| a peg | יָתֵ֔ד | ya-TED | H3489 | pegיָתֵד (ya.ted) 1) pin, stake, peg, nail 1a) pin, peg, tent pin, tent stake 1b) nail, pin (fig.) 1c) pin (used in weaving) |
| from it | מִמֶּ֖נּוּ | mi-ME-nu | H4480A | fromמִן־ (min) prep 1) from, out of, on account of, off, on the side of, since, above, than, so that not, more than 1a) from (expressing separation), off, on the side of 1b) out of 1b1) (with verbs of proceeding, removing, expelling) 1b2) (of material from which something is made) 1b3) (of source or origin) 1c) out of, some of, from (partitively) 1d) from, since, after (of time) 1e) than, more than (in comparison) 1f) from...even to, both...and, either...or 1g) than, more than, too much for (in comparisons) 1h) from, on account of, through, because (with infinitive) conj 2) that … |
| a bow of | קֶ֣שֶׁת | KE-shet | H7198 | bowקֶ֫שֶׁת (qe.shet) 1) bow 1a) bow (for hunting, battle) 1b) bowmen, archers 1c) bow (fig. of might) 1d) rainbow |
| war | מִלְחָמָ֑ה | mil-cha-MAH | H4421 | battleמִלְחָמָה (mil.cha.mah) battle, war |
| from it | מִמֶּ֛נּוּ | mi-ME-nu | H4480A | fromמִן־ (min) prep 1) from, out of, on account of, off, on the side of, since, above, than, so that not, more than 1a) from (expressing separation), off, on the side of 1b) out of 1b1) (with verbs of proceeding, removing, expelling) 1b2) (of material from which something is made) 1b3) (of source or origin) 1c) out of, some of, from (partitively) 1d) from, since, after (of time) 1e) than, more than (in comparison) 1f) from...even to, both...and, either...or 1g) than, more than, too much for (in comparisons) 1h) from, on account of, through, because (with infinitive) conj 2) that … |
| he will come forth | יֵצֵ֥א | ye-TZE' | H3318M | to come out: comeיָצָא (ya.tsa) : come/go_out/escape 1) to go out, come out, exit, go forth 1a) (Qal) 1a1) to go or come out or forth, depart 1a2) to go forth (to a place) 1a3) to go forward, proceed to (to or toward something) 1a4) to come or go forth (with purpose or for result) 1a5) to come out of 1b) (Hiphil) 1b1) to cause to go or come out, bring out, lead out 1b2) to bring out of 1b3) to lead out 1b4) to deliver 1c) (Hophal) to be brought out or forth |
| every | כָל־ | khol- | H3605 | allכֹּל (kol) 1) all, the whole 1a) all, the whole of 1b) any, each, every, anything 1c) totality, everything Aramaic equivalent: kol (כֹּל "all" H3606) |
| ruler | נוֹגֵ֖שׂ | no-GES | H5065 | to oppressנָגַשׂ (na.ga.s) 1) to press, drive, oppress, exact, exert demanding pressure 1a) (Qal) 1a1) to press, drive 1a2) to exact 1a3) driver, taskmaster, ruler, oppressor, tyrant, lord, exactor of tribute (participle) 1b) (Niphal) to be hard pressed |
| together | יַחְדָּֽו׃ | yach-DAV | H3162B | togetherיָחְדָּו (yach.dav) adv together |
Words and meanings from STEPBible data (Tyndale House, Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). The capitalized syllable is the stressed one.