The Meaning of Zechariah 9:10 Explained

Zechariah 9:10

KJV: And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem, and the battle bow shall be cut off: and he shall speak peace unto the heathen: and his dominion shall be from sea even to sea, and from the river even to the ends of the earth.

YLT: And I have cut off the chariot from Ephraim, And the horse from Jerusalem, Yea, cut off hath been the bow of battle, And he hath spoken peace to nations, And his rule is from sea unto sea, And from the river unto the ends of earth.

Darby: And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem; and the battle-bow shall be cut off. And he shall speak peace unto the nations; and his dominion shall be from sea to sea, and from the river to the ends of the earth.

ASV: And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem; and the battle bow shall be cut off; and he shall speak peace unto the nations: and his dominion shall be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And I will cut off  the chariot  from Ephraim,  and the horse  from Jerusalem,  and the battle  bow  shall be cut off:  and he shall speak  peace  unto the heathen:  and his dominion  [shall be] from sea  [even] to sea,  and from the river  [even] to the ends  of the earth. 

What does Zechariah 9:10 Mean?

Study Notes

And I will cut off
Having introduced the King in Zechariah 9:9 ,; Zechariah 9:10 and the verses which follow look forward to the end-time and kingdom. Except in Zechariah 9:9 , this present age is not seen in Zechariah.

Verse Meaning

This verse gives a second reason for rejoicing: the establishment of the King"s kingdom. The Gospel writers believed Jesus was the coming King, but they said He fulfilled only Zechariah 9:9, not Zechariah 9:10, during His past earthly ministry ( Matthew 21:5; John 12:15; cf. Revelation 19:11-16). The Lord would end war in Israel and would establish peace in the world with His sovereign proclamation (cf. Isaiah 2:4; Isaiah 9:5-7; Isaiah 11:1-10; Micah 5:10-15). Note the worldwide extent of Messiah"s kingdom predicted here.
"The chariot, the war-horse, and the battle bow represent the whole arsenal used in ancient warfare; so the passage implies the destruction of this whole arsenal." [1]
Yahweh would rule through this King over Israel, and His dominion would be worldwide, from the Euphrates River in the East to the ends of the earth (a merism; cf. Psalm 72:8-11; Isaiah 66:18). In both of these verses, Messiah contrasts with Alexander the Great, the king who initially fulfilled Zechariah 9:1-8.
"One clue to the anticipation of a twofold event-a Palm Sunday as well as eschatological procession-lies in the clear difference in tone or emphasis between Zechariah 9:9 and Zechariah 9:10. In Zechariah 9:9 the coming one, designated king to be sure, nevertheless is described as "humble" or "lowly," a most inappropriate way to speak of one whose triumph is complete in every respect. Only in Zechariah 9:10 is that triumph translated into universal dominion. The lowly one of Zechariah 9:9, though victorious in some sense, does not achieve the fruits of that victory until Zechariah 9:10.
"Admittedly, exegesis of the passage apart from NT considerations would never uncover the distinction just suggested between the verses." [2]
This ambiguity resulted in some pre-Christian sects of Judaism, including the Qumran community, expecting two Messiahs. [3]

Context Summary

Zechariah 9:9-17 - 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 9

1  God defends his church
9  Zion is exhorted to rejoice for the coming of Christ, and his peaceable kingdom
12  God's promises of victory and defense

What do the individual words in Zechariah 9:10 mean?

And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the horse from Jerusalem and shall be cut off the bow battle and He shall speak peace to the nations and His dominion [shall be] from sea to sea and from the River the ends of the earth
וְהִכְרַתִּי־ רֶ֣כֶב מֵאֶפְרַ֗יִם וְסוּס֙ מִיר֣וּשָׁלִַ֔ם וְנִכְרְתָה֙ קֶ֣שֶׁת מִלְחָמָ֔ה וְדִבֶּ֥ר שָׁל֖וֹם לַגּוֹיִ֑ם וּמָשְׁלוֹ֙ מִיָּ֣ם עַד־ יָ֔ם וּמִנָּהָ֖ר אַפְסֵי־ אָֽרֶץ

וְהִכְרַתִּי־  And  I  will  cut  off 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Hifil, Conjunctive perfect, first person common singular
Root: כָּרַת  
Sense: to cut, cut off, cut down, cut off a body part, cut out, eliminate, kill, cut a covenant.
רֶ֣כֶב  the  chariot 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: רֶכֶב  
Sense: a team, chariot, chariotry, mill-stone, riders.
מֵאֶפְרַ֗יִם  from  Ephraim 
Parse: Preposition-m, Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: אֶפְרַיִם  
Sense: second son of Joseph, blessed by him and given preference over first son, Manasseh.
וְסוּס֙  and  the  horse 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular
Root: סוּס 
Sense: swallow, swift.
מִיר֣וּשָׁלִַ֔ם  from  Jerusalem 
Parse: Preposition-m, Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: יְרוּשָׁלַםִ  
Sense: the chief city of Palestine and capital of the united kingdom and the nation of Judah after the split.
וְנִכְרְתָה֙  and  shall  be  cut  off 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Nifal, Conjunctive perfect, third person feminine singular
Root: כָּרַת  
Sense: to cut, cut off, cut down, cut off a body part, cut out, eliminate, kill, cut a covenant.
קֶ֣שֶׁת  the  bow 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: קֶשֶׁת  
Sense: bow.
מִלְחָמָ֔ה  battle 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: מִלְחָמָה  
Sense: battle, war.
וְדִבֶּ֥ר  and  He  shall  speak 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Piel, Conjunctive perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: דָּבַר 
Sense: to speak, declare, converse, command, promise, warn, threaten, sing.
שָׁל֖וֹם  peace 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: שָׁלֹום  
Sense: completeness, soundness, welfare, peace.
לַגּוֹיִ֑ם  to  the  nations 
Parse: Preposition-l, Article, Noun, masculine plural
Root: גֹּוי 
Sense: nation, people.
וּמָשְׁלוֹ֙  and  His  dominion  [shall  be] 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: מֹשֶׁל 
Sense: dominion.
מִיָּ֣ם  from  sea 
Parse: Preposition-m, Noun, masculine singular
Root: יָם  
Sense: sea.
יָ֔ם  sea 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: יָם  
Sense: sea.
וּמִנָּהָ֖ר  and  from  the  River 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition-m, Noun, masculine singular
Root: נָהָר  
Sense: stream, river.
אַפְסֵי־  the  ends 
Parse: Adverb
Root: אֶפֶס 
Sense: ceasing, end, finality.
אָֽרֶץ  of  the  earth 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: אֶרֶץ  
Sense: land, earth.