Zacharias 14:6
And it shall come to pass in that day, that there shall be no light, but cold and frost.
The verse in its languages
- Vulgate (Clementine)
- Et erit in die illa : non erit lux, sed frigus et gelu.
- Septuagint (Swete)
- καὶ ἔσται ἐν ἐκείνῃ τῇ ἡμέρᾳ οὐκ ἔσται φῶς καὶ ψύχη καὶ πάγος·
- Hebrew (WLC)
- וְהָיָ֖ה בַּיּ֣וֹם הַה֑וּא לֹֽא יִהְיֶ֣ה א֔וֹר יְקָר֖וֹת יקפאון
Haydock's commentary
No light; viz., in that dismal time of the persecution of Antiochus, when it was neither day nor night, (ver. 7.) because they neither had the comfortable light of the day, nor the repose of the night. (Challoner)
Darkness denotes distress. The citizens shall be in despair, Matthew xxiv. 29., and Ezechiel xxii. 8., and Joel ii. 2., and Apocalypse ix. 2. Hebrew seems to be corrupt: "no precious light, but thick," or a cloud. (Calmet)
From Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary, 1859, in the transcription made by Todd Easton and kept online by John Paul Wohlschied at johnblood.gitlab.io/haydock.
The Fathers on this verse
Rufinus A Commentary on the Apostles' Creed, Section 24
24. It is written that in our Lord’s passion there was darkness over the earth from the sixth hour until the ninth. To this also you will find the Prophet witnessing, “Thy Sun shall go down at mid-day.” And again, the Prophet Zechariah, “In that day there shall be no more light. There shall be cold and frost in one day, and that day known to the Lord; and it shall be neither day nor night, but at evening time there shall be light.” What plainer language could the Prophet have used for his words to seem not so much a prophecy of the future as a narrative of the past? He foretold both the cold and the frost. For Peter was warming himself at the fire because it was cold: and he was suffering cold not only in respect of the time (the early hour), but also of his faith. …
St Cyril of Jerusalem On the words, Crucified and Buried
24. Christ then was crucified for us, who was judged in the night, when it was cold, and therefore a fire of coals was laid. He was crucified at the third hour; and from the sixth hour there was darkness until the ninth hour ; but from the ninth hour there was light again. Are these things also written? Let us inquire. Now the Prophet Zacharias says, And it shall come to pass in that day, that there shall not be light, and there shall be cold and frost one day; (the cold on account of which Peter warmed himself;) And that day shall be known unto the Lord ; (what, knew He not the other days? days are many, but this is the day of the Lord’s patience, which the Lord made ;), And that day shall be known unto the Lord, not day, and not night: what is this dark saying which the Prophet speaks? That day is neither day nor night? what then shall we name it? The Gospel interprets it, by relating …
St Ambrose On the Holy Spirit, Chapter XI. We shall follow the example of Abdemelech, if we believe that the Son and Holy Spirit know all things. This knowledge is attributed in Scripture to the Spirit, and also to the Son. The Son is glorified by the Spirit, as also the Spirit by the Son. Also, inasmuch as we read that the Father, the Son, and the Spirit say and reveal the same things, we must acknowledge in Them a oneness of nature and knowledge. Lastly, that the Spirit searcheth the deep things of God is not a mark of ignorance, since the Father and the Son are likewise said to search, and Paul, although chosen by Christ, yet was taught by the Spirit
119. Yet learn that the Son knows the day of judgment. We read in Zechariah: “And the Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with Him. In that day there shall not be light, but cold and frost, and it shall be one day, and that day is known unto the Lord.” This day, then, was known unto the Lord, Who shall come with His saints, to enlighten us by His second Advent.