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It will be a day known only to the LORD, without day or night; but when evening comes, there will be light.
Zechariah 14:7 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB It will be a unique day which is known to Yahweh; not day, and not night; but it will come to pass, that at evening time there will be light.
  • KJV But it shall be one day which shall be known to the LORD, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light.
  • NKJV It shall be one day Which is known to the Lord— Neither day nor night. But at evening time it shall happen That it will be light.
  • NASB For it will be a unique day which is known to the Lord, neither day nor night, but it will come about that at the time of evening there will be light.
  • NLT yet there will be continuous day! Only the Lord knows how this could happen. There will be no normal day and night, for at evening time it will still be light.

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

It will be a unique day, known only to the LORD—neither day nor night—yet at evening there will be light. It matters because it promises that God's day ends in light, not darkness.

Overview

This singular day, fully known to God alone, defies the normal pattern of day and night, and instead of darkness falling at evening, light breaks forth. The reversal signals hope: God's purposes culminate in light dispelling darkness. It anticipates the eternal day of God's presence where there is no night and the Lamb is the light (Rev. 21:23-25; 22:5).

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 22

  • Rev 22:5There will be no more night in the city, and they will have no need for the light of a lamp or of the sun. For the Lord God will shine on them, and they will reign forever and ever.
  • Rev 21:23And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, because the glory of God illuminates the city, and the Lamb is its lamp.
  • Dan 12:4But you, Daniel, shut up these words and seal the book until the time of the end. Many will roam to and fro, and knowledge will increase.”
  • Isa 30:26The light of the moon will be as bright as the sun, and the light of the sun will be seven times brighter—like the light of seven days—on the day that the LORD binds up the brokenness of His people and heals the wounds He has inflicted.
  • 1 Th 5:2For you are fully aware that the Day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.
  • Acts 15:18that have been known for ages.’
  • Ps 37:18The LORD knows the days of the blameless, and their inheritance will last forever.
  • Matt 24:36No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.
  • Isa 60:19–20No longer will the sun be your light by day, nor the brightness of the moon shine on your night; for the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your splendor.
  • Jer 30:7How awful that day will be! None will be like it! It is the time of Jacob’s distress, but he will be saved out of it.
  • Acts 1:7Jesus replied, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by His own authority.
  • Mark 13:32No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.
  • Acts 17:31For He has set a day when He will judge the world with justice by the Man He has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising Him from the dead.”
  • Isa 11:9They will neither harm nor destroy on all My holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the sea is full of water.
  • Rev 21:3And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying: “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man, and He will dwell with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them as their God.
  • Isa 9:7Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish and sustain it with justice and righteousness from that time and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of Hosts will accomplish this.
  • Hos 3:5Afterward, the people of Israel will return and seek the LORD their God and David their king. They will come trembling to the LORD and to His goodness in the last days.
  • Rev 14:6Then I saw another angel flying overhead, with the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on the earth—to every nation and tribe and tongue and people.
  • Acts 17:26From one man He made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and He determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their lands.
  • Rev 21:25Its gates will never be shut at the end of the day, because there will be no night there.
  • 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.”
  • Rev 20:2–4He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years.

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 14:7YouTube · 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 14:7 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.