The Meaning of Zechariah 10:11 Explained

Zechariah 10:11

KJV: And 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.

YLT: And He hath passed over through the sea, And hath pressed and smitten billows in the sea, And dried up have been all depths of a flood, And brought down hath been the excellency of Asshur, And the rod of Egypt doth turn aside.

Darby: And he shall pass through the sea of affliction, and shall smite the billows in the sea, and all the depths of the Nile shall dry up; and the pride of Assyria shall be brought down, and the sceptre of Egypt shall depart away.

ASV: And he will pass through the sea of affliction, and will smite the waves in the sea, and all the depths of the Nile shall dry up; and the pride of Assyria shall be brought down, and the sceptre of Egypt shall depart.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And 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. 

What does Zechariah 10:11 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Yahweh"s representative, Messiah, would pass through the sea of His people"s distress and banish it, as He had done to the Red Sea when the Israelites left Egypt in the Exodus (and as Jesus did when He calmed the Sea of Galilee). He would humble all Israel"s enemies, of which Egypt and Assyria were only representatives. The Gentile leaders of the world, symbolized by Egypt"s scepter, would no longer hold sway over Israel in the world.

Context Summary

Zechariah 10:1-12 - A Lowly Deliverer Brings Peace
Jesus must be King first, then Savior. He is lowly; His steed is not the richly caparisoned warhorse, but the humble ass; He needs no weapon to overthrow His foes, because as Priest He speaks peace. The peasantry had taken shelter in the rock hewn mountain cisterns; but they might cherish hope, because they had been redeemed by the blood of the covenant, and God would see to it that that redemption was made effective. Before the advent of the King, the prison-doors would open, and at His word the imprisoned should go forth. How great are His goodness and beauty!
In Zechariah 10:1-12 we have a reference to the successful stand made by Judas Maccabaeus and his brethren against Antiochus. They were to tread them down as the mire of the streets; Joseph and Judah would be reunited and after their far-spread sowing over the world, the scattered tribes would ultimately return as bees to the call of the bee-farmer. [source]

Chapter Summary: Zechariah 10

1  God is to be sought unto, and not idols
3  As he visited his flock for sin, so he will save and restore them

What do the individual words in Zechariah 10:11 mean?

And He shall pass through the sea with affliction and strike the sea the waves and shall dry up all the depths of the Nile and shall be brought down the pride of Assyria and the scepter of Egypt shall depart
וְעָבַ֨ר בַּיָּ֜ם צָרָ֗ה וְהִכָּ֤ה בַיָּם֙ גַּלִּ֔ים וְהֹבִ֕ישׁוּ כֹּ֖ל מְצוּל֣וֹת יְאֹ֑ר וְהוּרַד֙ גְּא֣וֹן אַשּׁ֔וּר וְשֵׁ֥בֶט מִצְרַ֖יִם יָסֽוּר

וְעָבַ֨ר  And  He  shall  pass 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: עָבַר 
Sense: to pass over or by or through, alienate, bring, carry, do away, take, take away, transgress.
בַּיָּ֜ם  through  the  sea 
Parse: Preposition-b, Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: יָם  
Sense: sea.
צָרָ֗ה  with  affliction 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: צָרָה 
Sense: straits, distress, trouble.
וְהִכָּ֤ה  and  strike 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Hifil, Conjunctive perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: נָכָה  
Sense: to strike, smite, hit, beat, slay, kill.
בַיָּם֙  the  sea 
Parse: Preposition-b, Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: יָם  
Sense: sea.
גַּלִּ֔ים  the  waves 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: גַּל 
Sense: heap, spring, wave, billow.
וְהֹבִ֕ישׁוּ  and  shall  dry  up 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Hifil, Conjunctive perfect, third person common plural
Root: יָבֵשׁ  
Sense: to make dry, wither, be dry, become dry, be dried up, be withered.
מְצוּל֣וֹת  the  depths 
Parse: Noun, feminine plural construct
Root: מְצֹולָה 
Sense: depth, the deep, the deep sea.
יְאֹ֑ר  of  the  Nile 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: יְאֹר  
Sense: river, stream, canal, Nile, Nile-canal.
וְהוּרַד֙  and  shall  be  brought  down 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Hofal, Conjunctive perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: יָרַד  
Sense: to go down, descend, decline, march down, sink down.
גְּא֣וֹן  the  pride 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: גָּאֹון  
Sense: exaltation, majesty, pride.
אַשּׁ֔וּר  of  Assyria 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: אַשּׁוּר  
Sense: the second son of Shem, eponymous ancestor of the Assyrians.
וְשֵׁ֥בֶט  and  the  scepter 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: שֵׁבֶט  
Sense: rod, staff, branch, offshoot, club, sceptre, tribe.
מִצְרַ֖יִם  of  Egypt 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: מִצְרַיִם  
Sense: a country at the northeastern section of Africa, adjacent to Palestine, and through which the Nile flows adj Egyptians = “double straits”.
יָסֽוּר  shall  depart 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: סוּר 
Sense: to turn aside, depart.