Zechariah 14:17 (LSB)

Passage

And it will be that whichever of the families of the earth does not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, Yahweh of hosts, there will be no rain on them.

Nearby Context

Zechariah 14:15 And in the same way, the plague on the horse, the mule, the camel, the donkey, and all the cattle that will be in those camps will be like this plague.

Zechariah 14:16 Then it will be that any who are left of all the nations that went against Jerusalem will go up from year to year to worship the King, Yahweh of hosts, and to celebrate the Feast of Booths.

Zechariah 14:17 And it will be that whichever of the families of the earth does not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, Yahweh of hosts, there will be no rain on them.

Zechariah 14:18 And if the family of Egypt does not go up or enter, then no rain will fall on them; it will be the plague with which Yahweh plagues the nations who do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Booths.

Zechariah 14:19 This will be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all the nations who do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Booths.

Study Lenses

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

The nearby context moves from verse 16's "Then it will be that any who..." into verse 18's "And if the family of Egypt does...", so "whichever" and "families" 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 "whichever" and "families" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.