On that day there will be no light, no cold or frost.
Parallel translations
- WEB It will happen in that day, that there will not be light, cold, or frost.
- KJV And it shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear, nor dark:
- NKJV It shall come to pass in that day That there will be no light; The lights will diminish.
- NASB On that day there will be no light; the luminaries will die out.
- NLT On that day the sources of light will no longer shine,
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
On that day there will be no ordinary light, cold, or frost—the normal order of things is altered. It matters because God's climactic day transcends the present created rhythms.
Overview
The verse describes a disruption of the familiar cycle of light and temperature, marking 'that day' as utterly unique. The Hebrew is difficult and translations vary, but the sense is of an extraordinary, God-determined condition unlike normal experience. It prepares for the next verse's promise of unfading light, picturing the new order God will establish.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 16
- John 12:46I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in Me should remain in darkness.
- Ps 112:4Light dawns in the darkness for the upright—for the gracious, compassionate, and righteous.
- Ps 97:10–11Hate evil, O you who love the LORD! He preserves the souls of His saints; He delivers them from the hand of the wicked.
- 2 Pet 1:19We also have the word of the prophets as confirmed beyond doubt. And you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.
- Prov 4:18–19The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining brighter and brighter until midday.
- Isa 60:1–3Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you.
- Rev 11:15Then the seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and loud voices called out in heaven: “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He will reign forever and ever.”
- Hos 6:3So let us know—let us press on to know the LORD. As surely as the sun rises, He will appear; He will come to us like the rain, like the spring showers that water the earth.
- Luke 1:78–79because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the Dawn will visit us from on high,
- John 1:5The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
- Isa 50:10Who among you fears the LORD and obeys the voice of His Servant? Who among you walks in darkness and has no light? Let him trust in the name of the LORD; let him lean on his God.
- Rev 11:3And I will empower my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.”
- Eph 5:8–14For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light,
- Jer 4:23I looked at the earth, and it was formless and void; I looked to the heavens, and they had no light.
- Col 1:12giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light.
- Isa 13:10For the stars of heaven and their constellations will not give their light. The rising sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light.
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
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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 14:6 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.