Zechariah 8:9

9 "Thus says Yahweh of hosts: 'Let your hands be strong, you who are hearing in these days these words from the mouth of the prophets who [were present] on [the] day {the foundation was laid for the rebuilding of the temple, the house of Yahweh of hosts}.

Zechariah 8:9 Meaning and Commentary

Zechariah 8:9

Thus saith the Lord of hosts, Let your hands be strong,
&c.] In going on with the building of the temple, which was typical of the church of God, since so many great and good things were promised by the Lord, ( Haggai 2:4 ) : ye that hear in these days;
such as Zerubbabel the ruler, Joshua the high priest, and the rest of the people of the land: these words by the mouth of the prophets;
that is, these prophecies of future good things, which were delivered by Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi; who were the prophets, which [were] in the day [that] the foundation of the house of the
Lord of hosts was laid;
which was in the second year of Darius, on the twenty fourth day of the ninth month, ( Haggai 2:10 Haggai 2:18 ) : that the temple might be built;
in order to the rebuilding of it, the foundation was laid; and from that time it was to continue building, till it was finished ^F13.

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FOOTNOTES:

F13 The true reading of these words, according to the accents, is, "Thus saith the Lord [of hosts:] let your hands be strong, that hear in those days these words: [out of] the prophets, [I say, ye have heard], that, from the day the house of the Lord of hosts shall be founded, the temple [should be continued] to be built." So Reinbeck. De Accent. Heb. p. 453.

Zechariah 8:9 In-Context

7 Thus says Yahweh of hosts: 'Look! I [am] going to save my people from the land of the east, and from the land of the west,

8 and I will bring them and they will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. They will be my people and I will be their God in faithfulness and in righteousness.'

9 "Thus says Yahweh of hosts: 'Let your hands be strong, you who are hearing in these days these words from the mouth of the prophets who [were present] on [the] day {the foundation was laid for the rebuilding of the temple, the house of Yahweh of hosts}.

10 For before those days there was no wage for people or for animals, and there was no safety from the enemy for those who went out or those who came in, and I sent each person against {one another}.

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

Footnotes

• [a]. Hebrew "the [ones]"
• [b]. Literally "the temple, the house of Yahweh of hosts, was founded to be built"