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.
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.
- BSB It will be a day known only to the LORD, without day or night; but when evening comes, there will 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 22:5And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.
- Rev 21:23And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.
- Dan 12:4But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.
- Isa 30:26Moreover the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, in the day that the LORD bindeth up the breach of his people, and healeth the stroke of their wound.
- 1 Th 5:2For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.
- Acts 15:18Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world.
- Ps 37:18The LORD knoweth the days of the upright: and their inheritance shall be for ever.
- Matt 24:36But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.
- Isa 60:19–20The sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee: but the LORD shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory.
- Jer 30:7Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble, but he shall be saved out of it.
- Acts 1:7And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.
- Mark 13:32But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.
- Acts 17:31Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.
- Isa 11:9They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.
- Rev 21:3And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.
- Isa 9:7Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.
- Hos 3:5Afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek the LORD their God, and David their king; and shall fear the LORD and his goodness in the latter days.
- Rev 14:6And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people,
- Acts 17:26And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;
- Rev 21:25And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there.
- Rev 11:15And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.
- Rev 20:2–4And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,
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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 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
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