I will hiss for them, and gather them; for I have redeemed them: and they shall increase as they have increased.
Parallel translations
- WEB I will signal for them, and gather them; for I have redeemed them; and they will increase as they have increased.
- BSB I will whistle for them to gather, for I have redeemed them; and they will be as numerous as they once were.
- NKJV I will whistle for them and gather them, For I will redeem them; And they shall increase as they once increased.
- NASB “I will whistle for them and gather them together, For I have redeemed them; And they will be as numerous as they were before.
- NLT When I whistle to them, they will come running, for I have redeemed them. From the few who are left, they will grow as numerous as they were before.
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 will whistle or signal to gather His redeemed people, and they will multiply as before. It matters because God Himself initiates the ingathering of those He has bought back.
Overview
The image of God 'signaling' (as a shepherd calls his flock) underscores that restoration begins with His summons, not human effort. The basis is redemption—'for I have redeemed them'—and the promise of increase recalls the fruitfulness pledged to the patriarchs. This gathering of the redeemed foreshadows Christ gathering His people from every nation by His voice (John 10:16).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 21
- Isa 5:26And he will lift up an ensign to the nations from far, and will hiss unto them from the end of the earth: and, behold, they shall come with speed swiftly:
- Isa 7:18And it shall come to pass in that day, that the LORD shall hiss for the fly that is in the uttermost part of the rivers of Egypt, and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria.
- Jer 33:22As the host of heaven cannot be numbered, neither the sand of the sea measured: so will I multiply the seed of David my servant, and the Levites that minister unto me.
- Matt 11:28Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
- Ezek 36:10–11And I will multiply men upon you, all the house of Israel, even all of it: and the cities shall be inhabited, and the wastes shall be builded:
- Hos 1:10Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered; and it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people, there it shall be said unto them, Ye are the sons of the living God.
- Isa 55:1–3Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.
- Rev 22:17And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.
- Jer 31:10–11Hear the word of the LORD, O ye nations, and declare it in the isles afar off, and say, He that scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him, as a shepherd doth his flock.
- Isa 27:12–13And it shall come to pass in that day, that the LORD shall beat off from the channel of the river unto the stream of Egypt, and ye shall be gathered one by one, O ye children of Israel.
- Isa 44:22I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and, as a cloud, thy sins: return unto me; for I have redeemed thee.
- Isa 11:11–12And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea.
- 1 Kgs 4:20Judah and Israel were many, as the sand which is by the sea in multitude, eating and drinking, and making merry.
- Zech 9:11As for thee also, by the blood of thy covenant I have sent forth thy prisoners out of the pit wherein is no water.
- Isa 52:1–3Awake, awake; put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city: for henceforth there shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean.
- Jer 30:19–20And out of them shall proceed thanksgiving and the voice of them that make merry: and I will multiply them, and they shall not be few; I will also glorify them, and they shall not be small.
- Isa 51:11Therefore the redeemed of the LORD shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their head: they shall obtain gladness and joy; and sorrow and mourning shall flee away.
- Exod 1:7And the children of Israel were fruitful, and increased abundantly, and multiplied, and waxed exceeding mighty; and the land was filled with them.
- Ezek 36:37–38Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will yet for this be enquired of by the house of Israel, to do it for them; I will increase them with men like a flock.
- Isa 49:19–22For thy waste and thy desolate places, and the land of thy destruction, shall even now be too narrow by reason of the inhabitants, and they that swallowed thee up shall be far away.
- 1 Tim 2:4–6Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.
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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 10:8 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.