Zechariah 10 2

Zechariah 10:2 kjv

For the idols have spoken vanity, and the diviners have seen a lie, and have told false dreams; they comfort in vain: therefore they went their way as a flock, they were troubled, because there was no shepherd.

Zechariah 10:2 nkjv

For the idols speak delusion; The diviners envision lies, And tell false dreams; They comfort in vain. Therefore the people wend their way like sheep; They are in trouble because there is no shepherd.

Zechariah 10:2 niv

The idols speak deceitfully, diviners see visions that lie; they tell dreams that are false, they give comfort in vain. Therefore the people wander like sheep oppressed for lack of a shepherd.

Zechariah 10:2 esv

For the household gods utter nonsense, and the diviners see lies; they tell false dreams and give empty consolation. Therefore the people wander like sheep; they are afflicted for lack of a shepherd.

Zechariah 10:2 nlt

Household gods give worthless advice,
fortune-tellers predict only lies,
and interpreters of dreams pronounce
falsehoods that give no comfort.
So my people are wandering like lost sheep;
they are attacked because they have no shepherd.

Zechariah 10 verses

Zechariah 10 2 Meaning

Zechariah 10:2 explains the profound suffering and aimless state of the people as a direct consequence of their reliance on false spiritual guides. It reveals that household idols (teraphim) offer nothing but futility and deception, while diviners and dream-tellers present fabricated visions and offer only empty comfort. This misplaced trust leads to the people wandering lost and afflicted, like sheep without a proper shepherd to lead and protect them.

Zechariah 10 2 Context

Zechariah 10 is situated within the latter section of the book, often called the "Burden of the Word of the Lord" (chapters 9-14). While chapter 9 primarily deals with God's judgment and promised Messiah, chapter 10 focuses on the restoration of Israel and Judah. Verse 1 offers a promise of rain and flourishing, indicating God's readiness to bless His people. However, verse 2 immediately provides a critical explanation for why such blessings have been hindered or why the people continue to suffer: their persistent turn to illegitimate sources of guidance. The historical context is post-exilic, where the returning community, though having experienced divine judgment, still faced the temptation of syncretism. Pagan practices like household idolatry and various forms of divination were pervasive among neighboring cultures, appealing to those seeking immediate answers or protection outside of the Mosaic Law. This verse stands as a lament for the past and a clear diagnosis of Israel's recurring spiritual problem – a failure to rely solely on Yahweh and His true prophets. It sets a foundation for understanding the need for divine intervention and true leadership, directly contrasting the "worthless shepherds" denounced in chapter 11 with the coming true Shepherd (Messiah).

Zechariah 10 2 Word analysis

• כִּי (kî): "For" or "Because." This particle introduces the reason or explanation for the plight of the people described later in the verse. It establishes a cause-and-effect relationship.
• הַתְּרָפִים (hattĕrāphîm): "The teraphim." These were specific types of household idols or cultic images, whose functions included protection, fertility, and crucially, divination. While some suggest they represented ancestors, their role here is clearly as a false source of supernatural communication, explicitly condemned in biblical law as idolatry (cf. Deut 18:10).
• דִּבְּרוּ (dibbĕrû): "They utter" or "They speak." This verb implies conveying a message, highlighting the deceptive nature of these idols purporting to offer guidance.
• אָוֶן (ʾāwen): "Futility," "iniquity," "evil," "vanity," "worthlessness." This word emphasizes the empty, non-substantive, and morally corrupt nature of the teraphim's supposed pronouncements. They offer no truth or benefit, only spiritual harm.
• וְהַקֹּסְמִים (wəhaqqōsmîm): "And the diviners." These are individuals who practice various forbidden methods of seeking knowledge from the supernatural, distinct from prophetic revelation. Their methods were often associated with omens, magic, or communication with spirits.
• חָזוּ (ḥāzû): "They see" or "They envision." This verb, often used for true prophetic vision (חָזָה), is here applied ironically to the diviners, emphasizing that their "sight" is fraudulent and not from God.
• שֶׁקֶר (šeqer): "False," "lie," "deception." The visions reported by diviners are fundamentally untrue, deliberate deceptions that mislead.
• וַחֲלֹמוֹת הַשָּׁוְא (waḥălōmôt haššāwʾ): "And false dreams" or "dreams of worthlessness/vanity." Dreams, which God sometimes used for revelation, are here counterfeit. The term šāwʾ (שָׁוְא) echoes ʾāwen, emphasizing the emptiness, pointlessness, and deceit of these dreams.
• יְדַבֵּרוּ (yĕdabbērû): "They speak/tell." Repeated, emphasizing the act of communication of these empty messages.
• וַהֶבֶל (wahebel): "And empty/vain." Hevel (הֶבֶל) implies something fleeting, transient, and utterly without substance, like a vapor or breath. It's often translated as "vanity" in Ecclesiastes, signifying the ultimate pointlessness of human endeavors apart from God.
• יְנַחֵמוּן (yĕnaḥēmûn): "They comfort." While comfort is usually positive, here it's offered by false sources and is thus hollow, transient, and ultimately unfulfilling.
• עַל־כֵּן (ʿal-kēn): "Therefore," "For this reason." This strong logical connector establishes the direct consequence stemming from the practices detailed previously.
• נָסְעוּ כַּצֹּאן (nāsaʿû kaṣṣōʾn): "They wander like sheep" or "They journey like sheep without direction." The verb nāsaʿ can mean to pull up stakes, journey, or wander. The simile of "sheep" evokes their helplessness, vulnerability, and utter need for guidance.
• יַעֲנוּ (yaʿănû): "They are afflicted," "they suffer," "they are brought low." This word vividly portrays the suffering and oppression experienced by the people due to their misguided spiritual paths.
• כִּי אֵין רֹעֶה (kî ʾên rōʿeh): "Because there is no shepherd" or "for lack of a shepherd." This final clause identifies the ultimate root cause of the people's plight. A "shepherd" symbolizes true spiritual and physical leadership, care, and provision, its absence leads to disarray and suffering.

Words-group by words-group analysis:

• "For the teraphim utter futility, and the diviners see false visions; they tell false dreams and give empty comfort.": This extended initial statement meticulously catalogs the various forms of forbidden, deceitful guidance. It builds an escalating indictment, each phrase reiterating the theme of worthlessness and falsehood (futility, false, empty/worthless, empty/vain comfort). This demonstrates a comprehensive rejection of anything that purports to speak on behalf of the divine but originates outside of God's true revelation, showcasing the spiritual vacuum such practices create.
• "Therefore the people wander like sheep; they are afflicted": This powerful transitional clause underscores the dire consequences of the previous practices. The "therefore" makes the cause-and-effect relationship inescapable. The metaphor of "sheep wandering" vividly communicates a profound sense of aimlessness, vulnerability, and exposure to danger, highlighting the inherent need for leadership that these false sources fail to provide. The resulting "affliction" signifies tangible suffering directly attributable to this lack of direction.
• "for lack of a shepherd.": This concluding phrase provides the central diagnosis for Israel's condition. It’s not just the presence of evil; it’s the absence of what should be there: a true shepherd. This shepherd could be God's direct guidance, faithful human leaders (priests, prophets, kings), or ultimately the Messianic figure. This sets up a crucial theological problem that only God Himself, or the Shepherd He provides, can adequately address.

Zechariah 10 2 Bonus section

• The practice of consulting teraphim varied historically, sometimes indicating a claim to a family inheritance, or even functioning in ancestor veneration or as a general oracle. Regardless of its specific function, in all biblical contexts where it’s found among Israelites, it represents a departure from monotheistic worship of Yahweh and reliance on forbidden supernatural means.
• The "sheep without a shepherd" motif is not merely a metaphor for physical wandering but deeply spiritual. It signifies a people who lack moral direction, are prone to spiritual error, and are vulnerable to external pressures and internal corruption without faithful, God-appointed leadership.
• This verse provides theological background for the subsequent prophecies concerning shepherds in Zechariah (Zech 11), ultimately foreshadowing the necessity of a good shepherd—a Messiah—to genuinely gather and lead God's scattered and suffering flock, in stark contrast to the worthless and negligent shepherds who precede Him.
• The repetitive use of terms like ʾāwen, šeqer, šāwʾ, and hevel forms a powerful rhetorical chiasm (ABB'A' pattern of related terms for futility/falsehood), reinforcing the utter worthlessness of all human attempts at divination and self-comfort outside of God.

Zechariah 10 2 Commentary

Zechariah 10:2 offers a concise yet devastating critique of spiritual substitutes. It vividly portrays the deception inherent in relying on teraphim and various forms of divination, practices universally forbidden in the Torah (Deut 18). These methods, while promising insight or comfort, deliver only emptiness (אֶוֶן, שֶׁקֶר, שָׁוְא, הֶבֶל), leaving their adherents deluded and ultimately abandoned. The consistent use of terms signifying falsehood and futility underscores that nothing of substance or truth can emerge from these sources. The consequence is immediate and severe: the people are compared to sheep lost without a shepherd, a profound image of helplessness and vulnerability often used in prophetic literature to lament failed leadership (Ezek 34). This suffering—their wandering and affliction—is thus a direct result of their misguided search for guidance from idols rather than from the Lord Himself. The verse serves as both a historical diagnostic of Israel's spiritual failures and a timeless warning against seeking truth, comfort, or direction outside of God's revealed will. It implies that true leadership, provision, and peace are found only when the flock submits to the True Shepherd.