Limitless Word
They shall be as mighty men, treading down muddy streets in the battle; and they shall fight, because Yahweh is with them; and the riders on horses will be confounded.
Zechariah 10:5 · World English Bible
Parallel translations
  • KJV And they shall be as mighty men, which tread down their enemies in the mire of the streets in the battle: and they shall fight, because the LORD is with them, and the riders on horses shall be confounded.
  • BSB They will be like mighty men in battle, trampling the enemy in the mire of the streets. They will fight because the LORD is with them, and they will put the horsemen to shame.
  • NKJV They shall be like mighty men, Who tread down their enemies In the mire of the streets in the battle. They shall fight because the Lord is with them, And the riders on horses shall be put to shame.
  • NASB “And they will be like warriors, Trampling down the enemy in the mud of the streets in battle; And they will fight, because the Lord will be with them; And the riders on horses will be put to shame.
  • NLT They will be like mighty warriors in battle, trampling their enemies in the mud under their feet. Since the Lord is with them as they fight, they will overthrow even the enemy’s horsemen.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

God's people will fight like mighty men and prevail, not by their own power but because the LORD is with them. It matters because victory belongs to those in whom God dwells, not the strongest army.

Overview

The picture is of soldiers trampling their enemies like mud in the streets, confident not in cavalry but in God's presence. The decisive factor is 'because Yahweh is with them,' so that even the proud riders on horses are put to shame. This anticipates the gospel pattern in which God's people overcome 'not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit' (Zech. 4:6) and finally conquer through the Lamb (Rev. 12:11).

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 35

  • Hag 2:22I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms. I will destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the nations. I will overthrow the chariots, and those who ride in them. The horses and their riders will come down, everyone by the sword of his brother.
  • Zech 12:8In that day Yahweh will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem. He who is feeble among them at that day will be like David, and David’s house will be like God, like Yahweh’s angel before them.
  • Ps 20:7Some trust in chariots, and some in horses, but we trust the name of Yahweh our God.
  • Rom 8:31–37What then shall we say about these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
  • Zech 9:13For indeed I bend Judah as a bow for me. I have filled the bow with Ephraim; and I will stir up your sons, Zion, against your sons, Greece, and will make you like the sword of a mighty man.
  • 1 Sam 16:18Then one of the young men answered, and said, “Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite who is skillful in playing, a mighty man of valor, a man of war, prudent in speech, and a handsome person; and Yahweh is with him.”
  • Zech 14:3Then Yahweh will go out and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.
  • Isa 8:9Make an uproar, you peoples, and be broken in pieces! Listen, all you from far countries: dress for battle, and be shattered! Dress for battle, and be shattered!
  • Josh 10:14There was no day like that before it or after it, that Yahweh listened to the voice of a man; for Yahweh fought for Israel.
  • Amos 2:15neither shall he stand who handles the bow; and he who is swift of foot won’t escape; neither shall he who rides the horse deliver himself;
  • Zech 12:4In that day,” says Yahweh, “I will strike every horse with terror, and his rider with madness; and I will open my eyes on the house of Judah, and will strike every horse of the peoples with blindness.
  • 2 Tim 4:7I have fought the good fight. I have finished the course. I have kept the faith.
  • Isa 41:12You will seek them, and won’t find them, even those who contend with you. Those who war against you will be as nothing, as a non-existent thing.
  • Ezek 38:15You shall come from your place out of the uttermost parts of the north, you, and many peoples with you, all of them riding on horses, a great company and a mighty army;
  • Josh 10:42Joshua took all these kings and their land at one time, because Yahweh, the God of Israel, fought for Israel.
  • Ps 45:3Strap your sword on your thigh, mighty one: your splendor and your majesty.
  • Matt 28:20teaching them to observe all things that I commanded you. Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.
  • Mic 7:10Then my enemy will see it, and shame will cover her who said to me, where is Yahweh your God? Then my enemy will see me and will cover her shame. Now she will be trodden down like the mire of the streets.
  • Joel 3:12–17“Let the nations arouse themselves, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat; for there will I sit to judge all the surrounding nations.
  • Isa 10:6I will send him against a profane nation, and against the people who anger me will I give him a command to take the plunder and to take the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets.
  • Matt 4:3The tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”
  • Luke 24:19He said to them, “What things?” They said to him, “The things concerning Jesus, the Nazarene, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people;
  • 2 Cor 10:4for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but mighty before God to the throwing down of strongholds,
  • Isa 25:10For in this mountain Yahweh’s hand will rest. Moab will be trodden down in his place, even like straw is trodden down in the water of the dunghill.
  • 2 Sam 22:43Then I beat them as small as the dust of the earth. I crushed them as the mire of the streets, and spread them abroad.
  • Ps 18:42Then I beat them small as the dust before the wind. I cast them out as the mire of the streets.
  • Zech 14:13It will happen in that day, that a great panic from Yahweh will be among them; and they will lay hold everyone on the hand of his neighbor, and his hand will rise up against the hand of his neighbor.
  • 2 Sam 22:8Then the earth shook and trembled. The foundations of heaven quaked and were shaken, because he was angry.
  • Ps 33:16There is no king saved by the multitude of an army. A mighty man is not delivered by great strength.
  • Acts 7:22Moses was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians. He was mighty in his words and works.
  • Deut 20:1When you go out to battle against your enemies, and see horses, chariots, and a people more than you, you shall not be afraid of them; for Yahweh your God is with you, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.
  • Rev 19:13–15He is clothed in a garment sprinkled with blood. His name is called “The Word of God.”
  • Acts 18:24Now a certain Jew named Apollos, an Alexandrian by race, an eloquent man, came to Ephesus. He was mighty in the Scriptures.
  • Rev 19:17I saw an angel standing in the sun. He cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in the sky, “Come! Be gathered together to the great supper of God,
  • 2 Tim 4:17But the Lord stood by me, and strengthened me, that through me the message might be fully proclaimed, and that all the Gentiles might hear; and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (2)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Zechariah videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Zechariah 10:5YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on ZechariahMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

The Branch who is both priest and king, the shepherd struck and the flock scattered, the king coming humble on a donkey, the one they pierced, the fountain opened for sin — Zechariah is dense with Christ.

How Zechariah 10:5 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.