Zechariah 8:1-17

The Coming Peace and Prosperity of Zion

1 And the word of the LORD of hosts came, saying,

2 "Thus says the LORD of hosts: ¹I am jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I am jealous for her with great wrath.

3 Thus says the LORD: ²I have returned to Zion and ³will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem, ⁴and Jerusalem shall be called the faithful city, ⁵and the mountain of the LORD of hosts, the holy mountain.

4 Thus says the LORD of hosts: ⁶Old men and old women shall again sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each with staff in hand because of great age.

5 And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in its streets.

6 Thus says the LORD of hosts: ⁷If it is marvelous in the sight of the remnant of this people in those days, ⁸should it also be marvelous in my sight, declares the LORD of hosts?

7 Thus says the LORD of hosts: behold, ⁹I will save my people ¹⁰from the east country and from the west country,

8 and I will bring them to dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. ¹¹And they shall be my people, and I will be their God, ¹²in faithfulness and in righteousness."

9 Thus says the LORD of hosts: ¹³"Let your hands be strong, you who in these days have been hearing these words from the mouth of ¹⁴the prophets who were present on ¹⁵the day that the foundation of the house of the LORD of hosts was laid, that the temple might be built.

10 For before those days ¹⁶there was no wage for man or any wage for beast, neither was there any safety from the foe for him who went out or came in, for I set every man against his neighbor.

11 But now I will not deal with the remnant of this people as in the former days, declares the LORD of hosts.

12 ¹⁷For there shall be a sowing of peace. The vine shall give its fruit, and the ground shall give its produce, ¹⁸and the heavens shall give their dew. ¹⁹And I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these things.

13 And as ²⁰you have been a byword of cursing among the nations, O house of Judah and house of Israel, ²¹so will I save you, and ²²you shall be a blessing. ²³Fear not, but ²⁴let your hands be strong."

14 For thus says the LORD of hosts: ²⁵"As I purposed to bring disaster to you when your fathers provoked me to wrath, and I did not relent, says the LORD of hosts,

15 so again have I purposed in these days to bring good to Jerusalem and to the house of Judah; ²⁶fear not.

16 These are the things that you shall do: ²⁷Speak the truth to one another; ²⁸render in your gates judgments ²⁹that are true and make for peace;

17 ³⁰do not devise evil in your hearts against one another, and ³¹love no false oath, for all these things I hate, declares the LORD."

Zechariah 8:1-17 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO ZECHARIAH 8

This chapter contains promises of various blessings to the people of the Jews; and exhortations to each of the duties incumbent on them; and is concluded with a prophecy of the calling of the Gentiles. The cause of all the blessings promised is the love of God to them, signified by zeal, or jealousy for them, Zec 8:1,2. The blessings promised are the Lord's return to dwell in Jerusalem, and the integrity and holiness of that city, Zec 8:3. The long life of the inhabitants of it, and the plenty of children that should be born in it, Zec 8:4,5 and, however wonderful and incredible this might seem to some, it was not to the Lord, who was determined to bring his people that were in various distant countries to Jerusalem, and settle them there; and renew and reestablish his covenant with them, Zec 8:6-8 wherefore the Lord encourages them to go on in rebuilding the temple, Zec 8:9 and promises them that things would be better with them than in times past; that whereas there had been nothing but penury, affliction, and distress, now there should be great affluence and prosperity, Zec 8:10-12 and though before they were a curse among the nations, now they should be a blessing; and though their fathers were punished, they should be dealt well with, Zec 8:13-15 and then they are exhorted to the discharge of several duties mentioned, to which they are induced by the Lord's hatred of that which is evil, and by his turning their fasts into cheerful feasts. Zec 8:16-19 to which is added a prophecy of the calling and conversion of the Gentiles, which would make for the glory of the Jewish church; who are described by their numbers, being many people, and the inhabitants of many cities; by their association together, to pray to the Lord, and worship him; by their coming up to Jerusalem for that purpose; and by their junction with the Jews, to which they will be encouraged by having heard that God is with them, Zec 8:20-23.

Cross References

• 1. Zechariah 1:14
• 2. Zechariah 1:16
• 3. See Zechariah 2:10
• 4. [Isaiah 1:26]
• 5. See Isaiah 2:3
• 6. [Psalms 128:6; Proverbs 10:27]
• 7. [Psalms 118:23]
• 8. See Genesis 18:14
• 9. Zechariah 10:6
• 10. Psalms 107:3; Isaiah 43:5; [Isaiah 49:12; Ezekiel 37:21]
• 11. Zechariah 13:9; See Jeremiah 31:33
• 12. Jeremiah 4:2
• 13. 2 Samuel 16:21; [Haggai 2:4]
• 14. Zechariah 7:3; Ezra 5:1, 2
• 15. Haggai 2:18
• 16. [Haggai 1:6]
• 17. Hosea 2:21, 22; Haggai 2:19
• 18. [Haggai 1:10]
• 19. See Jeremiah 3:18
• 20. [Isaiah 43:28; Isaiah 65:15]
• 21. Zechariah 10:6
• 22. See Genesis 12:2, 3
• 23. Haggai 2:5
• 24. [See ver. 9 above]
• 25. [Jeremiah 31:28; Jeremiah 32:42]
• 26. [See ver. 13 above]
• 27. Cited Ephesians 4:25; See Psalms 15:2
• 28. See Zechariah 7:9
• 29. ver. 19
• 30. Zechariah 7:10
• 31. See Zechariah 5:4