Zechariah 14:17 (ASV)

Passage

And it shall be, that whoso of [all] the families of the earth goeth not up unto Jerusalem to worship the King, Jehovah of hosts, upon them there shall be no rain.

Nearby Context

Zechariah 14:15 And so shall be the plague of the horse, of the mule, of the camel, and of the ass, and of all the beasts that shall be in those camps, as that plague.

Zechariah 14:16 And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations that came against Jerusalem shall go up from year to year to worship the King, Jehovah of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles.

Zechariah 14:17 And it shall be, that whoso of [all] the families of the earth goeth not up unto Jerusalem to worship the King, Jehovah of hosts, upon them there shall be no rain.

Zechariah 14:18 And if the family of Egypt go not up, and come not, neither [shall it be] upon them; there shall be the plague wherewith Jehovah will smite the nations that go not up to keep the feast of tabernacles.

Zechariah 14:19 This shall be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all the nations that go not up to keep the feast of tabernacles.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "shall", "whoso", "families", "earth", "goeth", "jerusalem", "worship", and "king". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "shall" and "whoso", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 16's "And it shall come to pass that..." into verse 18's "And if the family of Egypt go...", so "shall" and "whoso" belong inside that flow. In Zechariah context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "shall" and "whoso" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.