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Be silent, all flesh, before the Lord, for He is aroused from His holy habitation!”
Zechariah 2:13 · New King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB Be silent, all flesh, before Yahweh; for he has roused himself from his holy habitation!”
  • KJV Be silent, O all flesh, before the LORD: for he is raised up out of his holy habitation.
  • BSB Be silent before the LORD, all people, for He has roused Himself from His holy dwelling.”
  • NASB “Be silent, all mankind, before the Lord; for He has roused Himself from His holy dwelling.”
  • NLT Be silent before the Lord, all humanity, for he is springing into action from his holy dwelling.”

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

All flesh is called to be silent before Yahweh, who has roused Himself to act from His holy dwelling. God is about to move in power.

Overview

The summons to silence is the proper response to God stirring to accomplish His purposes; human noise and self-assertion must cease before His majesty. This anticipates decisive divine action on behalf of His people. It calls every generation to reverent stillness as God works out His salvation, supremely in the coming of His Son.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 18

  • Hab 2:20But Yahweh is in his holy temple. Let all the earth be silent before him!”
  • Zeph 1:7Be silent at the presence of the Lord Yahweh, for the day of Yahweh is at hand. For Yahweh has prepared a sacrifice. He has consecrated his guests.
  • Ps 68:5A father of the fatherless, and a defender of the widows, is God in his holy habitation.
  • Ps 78:65Then the Lord awakened as one out of sleep, like a mighty man who shouts by reason of wine.
  • Ps 46:10“Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the earth.”
  • Zeph 3:8“Therefore wait for me”, says Yahweh, “until the day that I rise up to the prey, for my determination is to gather the nations, that I may assemble the kingdoms, to pour on them my indignation, even all my fierce anger, for all the earth will be devoured with the fire of my jealousy.
  • Isa 51:9Awake, awake, put on strength, arm of Yahweh! Awake, as in the days of old, the generations of ancient times. Isn’t it you who cut Rahab in pieces, who pierced the monster?
  • Rom 9:20But indeed, O man, who are you to reply against God? Will the thing formed ask him who formed it, “Why did you make me like this?”
  • Isa 26:20–21Come, my people, enter into your rooms, and shut your doors behind you. Hide yourself for a little moment, until the indignation is past.
  • Ps 11:4Yahweh is in his holy temple. Yahweh is on his throne in heaven. His eyes observe. His eyes examine the children of men.
  • Isa 57:15For thus says the high and lofty One who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also who is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite.
  • Isa 42:13–15Yahweh will go out like a mighty man. He will stir up zeal like a man of war. He will raise a war cry. Yes, he will shout aloud. He will triumph over his enemies.
  • Deut 26:15Look down from your holy habitation, from heaven, and bless your people Israel, and the ground which you have given us, as you swore to our fathers, a land flowing with milk and honey.”
  • Rom 3:19Now we know that whatever things the law says, it speaks to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be closed, and all the world may be brought under the judgment of God.
  • Jer 25:30“Therefore prophesy you against them all these words, and tell them, “‘Yahweh will roar from on high, and utter his voice from his holy habitation; he will mightily roar against his fold. He will give a shout, as those who tread grapes, against all the inhabitants of the earth.
  • 2 Chr 30:27Then the priests the Levites arose and blessed the people. Their voice was heard, and their prayer came up to his holy habitation, even to heaven.
  • Isa 63:15Look down from heaven, and see from the habitation of your holiness and of your glory. Where are your zeal and your mighty acts? The yearning of your heart and your compassion is restrained toward me.
  • Isa 57:5you who inflame yourselves among the oaks, under every green tree; who kill the children in the valleys, under the clefts of the rocks?

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 2:13YouTube · 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 2:13 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.