וְר֣וּחַwə·rū·aḥThen the SpiritH7307 √ rûwach — windConjunctive wawNouncommon singular construct
rûwach: wind, spirit Construct with ʼĕlôhîym, and the feminine verb that follows agrees with it. The Verifier finds this lexeme shared with Zechariah 13:2, where a rûwach of a very different kind is removed from the land along with the idols and the prophets.
אֱלֹהִ֗ים’ĕ·lō·hîmof GodH430 √ ʼĕlôhîym — gods in the ordinary senseNounmasculine plural
לָֽבְשָׁה֙lā·ḇə·šāhcame uponH3847 √ lâbash — properly, wrap around, iVerbQalPerfectthird person feminine singular
lâbash: properly to wrap around, i.e. to clothe The strongest grammatical statement in the unit. The Spirit is the actor and the prophet is what the Spirit puts on, the same idiom used of Gideon and of Amasai in 1 Chronicles 12:18 (Cambridge, K&D). Pulpit reaches for Revelation 1:10 as a parallel of total possession. Note what this does to the murder in v. 21: the stones are thrown at a garment God is wearing.
√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object marker
זְכַרְיָה֙zə·ḵar·yāhZechariahH2148 √ Zᵉkaryâh — Zecarjah, the name of twenty-nine IsraelitesNounpropermasculine singular
Zᵉkaryâh: Zecarjah, the name of twenty-nine Israelites The commonness of the name is exactly the problem. Cambridge, K&D, Ellicott, Geneva, Gill and Pulpit all connect this man with the Zechariah of Luke 11:51 and Matthew 23:35, but Matthew calls him “son of Barachiah”: Cambridge judges that a confusion with the postexilic Zechariah, Ellicott and Geneva instead make Barachiah the father and Jehoiada the grandfather, and Pulpit allows “grandson.” The identification is widely held; the genealogy is not settled.
√ bên — a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition, etcNounmasculine singular construct
יְהוֹיָדָ֣עyə·hō·w·yā·ḏā‘of JehoiadaH3077 √ Yᵉhôwyâdâʻ — Jehojada, the name of three IsraelitesNounpropermasculine singular
הַכֹּהֵ֔ןhak·kō·hênthe priestH3548 √ kôhên — literally one officiating, a priestArticleNounmasculine singular
kôhên: literally one officiating, a priest Ellicott argues the article attaches the title to Jehoiada, the high priest, not to Zechariah: “‘The priest,’ i.e., the high priest, is an epithet of Jehoiada, not of Zechariah.” JFB, reasoning from the absence of his name in the succession lists of 1 Chronicles 6, calls him a younger son. Either way the man killed in the priests' court is of the priestly house.
וַֽיַּעֲמֹ֖דway·ya·‘ă·mōḏwho stood upH5975 √ ʻâmad — to stand, in various relations (literal and figurative, intransitive and transitive)Conjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular
√ ʻal — above, over, upon, or against (yet always in this last relation with a downward aspect) in a great variety of applicationsPreposition-m
ʻal: above, over, upon With the preposition m prefixed: from above the people. K&D and JFB both locate him in the higher inner court, physically over the crowd in the outer court; Poole reduces it to acoustics, “in a higher place, that his voice and message might be the better heard.” The elevation is also the reason v. 21 can specify the court as the place of the stoning.
לָעָ֑םlā·‘āmthe peopleH5971 √ ʻam — a people (as a congregated unit)Preposition-l, ArticleNounmasculine singular
וַיֹּ֨אמֶרway·yō·merand saidH559 √ ʼâmar — to say (used with great latitude)Conjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular
לָהֶ֜םlā·hemto them
Prepositionthird person masculine plural
כֹּ֣ה׀kōhThis is whatH3541 √ kôh — properly, like this, iAdverb
kôh: properly like this, thus The prophetic formula. Note that the divine name in this oracle is ʼĕlôhîym, “thus says God,” while the charge inside it is against the commandments of YHWH.
הָאֱלֹהִ֗יםhā·’ĕ·lō·hîmGodH430 √ ʼĕlôhîym — gods in the ordinary senseArticleNounmasculine plural
√ ʼâmar — to say (used with great latitude)VerbQalPerfectthird person masculine singular
√ mâh — properly, interrogative what? (including how? why? when?)Interrogative
√ ʼattâh — thou and thee, or (plural) ye and youPronounsecond person masculine plural
עֹבְרִ֜ים‘ō·ḇə·rîmtransgressH5674 √ ʻâbar — to cross overVerbQalParticiplemasculine plural
ʻâbar: to cross over The commandment is pictured as a boundary, and sin as trespass over a line rather than failure to reach a standard. The participle keeps them mid-stride: they are crossing as he speaks.
√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object marker
מִצְוֺ֤תmiṣ·wōṯthe commandmentsH4687 √ mitsvâh — a command, whether human or divine (collectively, the Law)Nounfeminine plural construct
mitsvâh: a command, whether human or divine Hold this word: it returns in v. 21 as בְּמִצְוַ֣ת הַמֶּ֑לֶךְ, “by the commandment of the king.” The same noun names what they break and the authority by which they break it. Human mitsvâh is set directly against divine mitsvâh, and the prophet dies in the gap.
יְהוָה֙Yah·wehof the LORDH3068 √ Yᵉhôvâh — Jehovah, Jewish national name of GodNounpropermasculine singular
וְלֹ֣אwə·lōso that you cannotH3808 √ lôʼ — not (the simple or absConjunctive wawAdverbNegative particle
תַצְלִ֔יחוּṯaṣ·lî·ḥūprosperH6743 √ tsâlach — to push forward, in various senses (literal or figurative, transitive or intransitive)VerbHifilImperfectsecond person masculine plural
tsâlach: to push forward Not prosperity as accumulation but as advance. K&D draws the principle out: “Fidelity to the Lord is the condition of prosperity.” Pulpit suggests the tense may already be present rather than future, so that Judah is even now beginning to eat the fruit of its ways.
√ kîy — (by implication) very widely used as a relative conjunction or adverb (as below)Conjunction
עֲזַבְתֶּ֥ם‘ă·zaḇ·temyou have forsakenH5800 √ ʻâzab — to loosen, iVerbQalPerfectsecond person masculine plural
ʻâzab: to loosen, i.e. forsake Second person plural perfect: a completed act charged to them. Ellicott and K&D both hear the formula of 2 Chronicles 12:5 and 15:2 behind it, and Benson notes that Zechariah is in effect applying the general prediction of Deuteronomy 31:16 to 17 to his own hour rather than uttering a new oracle.
√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object marker
יְהוָ֖הYah·wehthe LORDH3068 √ Yᵉhôvâh — Jehovah, Jewish national name of GodNounpropermasculine singular
וַיַּֽעֲזֹ֥בway·ya·‘ă·zōḇHe has forsakenH5800 √ ʻâzab — to loosen, iConjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular
ʻâzab: to loosen, i.e. forsake The consecutive imperfect makes God's forsaking the answering move, not an independent decision. This is the chronicler's theology of retribution in its barest form, and it cuts both ways: the same verb that indicts Judah describes God, and the sentence is therefore reversible by the same road it came.
√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object markersecond person masculine plural