Albert Barnes Commentary Zechariah 7:14

"but I will scatter them with a whirlwind among all the nations which they have not known. Thus the land was desolate after them, so that no man passed through nor returned: for they laid the pleasant land desolate." — Zechariah 7:14 (ASV)

But I scattered them - Rather, “And I will scatter them.” The saying continues what God had said that He had said, and which had come to pass. Among all nations whom they did not know. So God had repeatedly said by Jeremiah, “I will cast you out of this land into a land that ye know not, ye nor your fathers; where I will not show you favor” (Jeremiah 16:13; Jeremiah 17:4). This was the aggravation of the original woe in the law: “The Lord shall bring a nation against thee from far, from the end of the earth, a nation whose tongue thou shalt not understand, a nation of fierce countenance” (Deuteronomy 28:49–50). There was no mitigation of suffering when the common bond between man and man, mutual speech, was lacking.

That no man passed through nor returned - Literally, “from passer through and from returner;” as in the prophecy of Alexander’s march and return, “because of him that passeth by and of him that returneth” (Zechariah 9:8); and of Seir God says, “I will cut off from him, passer-through and returner.” As we say, there shall be no more traffic through her.

And they made the pleasant land desolate - They were the doers of what they caused by their sins, by bringing down the judgments of God. Previously, the land which God had given them had been, in our language, “the envy” of all who knew it; now they had made it into a desolation, one wide waste (Joel 1:7; Isaiah 13:9; Jeremiah 2:15; Jeremiah 4:7; Jeremiah 18:16; Jeremiah 19:8; Jeremiah 25:9; Jeremiah 50:3; Jeremiah 51:29).

Dionysius: “What is said in the beginning of the chapter against Jews who abstained indiscreetly, applies mystically to all, not inward, but superficial Christians, who, not being diligent enough but rather negligent about acts of piety, inward prayer, and reformation of the powers of the soul, highly value bodily exercises and outward observances. They show considerable scrupulosity about things of lesser importance and do not attend to the chief things: charity, humility, patience, meekness.

“It must be impressed upon them that if they wish their fasts and other outward exercises to please God, they must judge true judgment, be compassionate, kind, and liberal to their neighbors, keep their mind always steadfast in God, completely cast away all hardness of heart, and be soft and open to receive within them the word of God.

“Otherwise, their land will be desolate, that is, deprived of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, and they will be scattered among various vices.” Jerome: “What was formerly a pleasant land, and the hospice of the Trinity, is turned into a desert and dwelling-place of dragons.”