Zechariah 8:1-Zechariah 9:17 - Yahweh's Promise To Jerusalem

¹ Then the word of the Lord of hosts came [to me], saying, ² “Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘I am jealous for Zion with great jealousy [demanding what is rightfully and uniquely mine], and I am jealous for her with great wrath [against her enemies].’ ³ Thus says the Lord, ‘I shall return to Zion and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem, and Jerusalem shall be called the [faithful] City of Truth, and the mountain of the Lord of hosts will be called the Holy Mountain.’ ⁴ Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘Old men and old women will again sit in the streets (public places) of Jerusalem, each man with his staff in his hand because of his advanced age. ⁵ And the streets of the city will be filled with boys and girls playing in its streets.’ ⁶ Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘If it is difficult in the eyes of the remnant of this people in those days [in which this comes to pass], will it also be difficult in My sight?’ declares the Lord of hosts. ⁷ Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘Behold, I am going to save My people from the east country and from the west, ⁸ and I will bring them home and they will live in the midst of Jerusalem; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God in truth (faithfulness) and in righteousness.’

⁹ “Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘Let your hands be strong, you who in these days hear these words from the mouths of the prophets who, on the day that the foundation of the house of the Lord of hosts was laid, foretold that the temple might be rebuilt. ¹⁰ For before those days there were no wages for man or animal; nor was there any peace or success for him who went out or came in because of his enemies, for I set all men against one another. ¹¹ But now [in this time since you began to build] I will not treat the remnant of this people as in the former days,’ declares the Lord of hosts. ¹² ‘For there the seed will produce peace and prosperity; the vine will yield its fruit, and the ground will produce its increase, and the heavens will give their dew. And I will cause the remnant of this people to inherit and possess all these things. ¹³ And as you have been a curse among the nations, O house of Judah (Southern Kingdom) and house of Israel (Northern Kingdom), so I will save you, that you may be a blessing. Fear not; let your hands be strong.’ ¹⁴ “For thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘Just as I planned to do harm to you when your fathers provoked Me to wrath,’ says the Lord of hosts, ‘and I did not relent, ¹⁵ so I have again planned in these days to do good to Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. Do not fear! ¹⁶ These are the things which you should do: speak the truth with one another; judge with truth and pronounce the judgment that brings peace in [the courts at] your gates. ¹⁷ And let none of you devise or even imagine evil in your heart against another, and do not love lying or half-truths; for all these things I hate,’ declares the Lord.”

¹⁸ Then the word of the Lord of hosts came to me (Zechariah), saying, ¹⁹ “Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘The fast of the fourth [month to mourn the breaching of Jerusalem’s walls], the fast of the fifth [month to mourn the temple’s destruction], the fast of the seventh [month to mourn Gedaliah’s assassination], and the fast of the tenth [month to mourn the siege of Jerusalem] will become times of joy and gladness and cheerful feasts for the house of Judah; so [to bring this about] love truth and peace.’ ²⁰ “Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘It will come to pass that peoples and the inhabitants of many cities will come [to Jerusalem]. ²¹ The inhabitants of one [city] will go to another, saying, “Let us go at once to ask the favor of the Lord and to seek the Lord of hosts. I will go also.” ²² So many peoples and powerful nations will come to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem and to ask the Lord for His favor.’ ²³ Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘In those days ten men [as representatives] from all the nations will grasp the robe of a Jew, saying, “Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.”’”

¹ The oracle (a burdensome message) of the word of the Lord is against the land of Hadrach [in Syria], with Damascus as its resting place (for the eyes of men, especially of all the tribes of Israel, are toward the Lord), ²
And Hamath also, which borders on it (Damascus),
Tyre and Sidon, though they are very wise.
³
For Tyre built herself an [impregnable] stronghold [on an island offshore],
And she has heaped up silver like dust
And gold like the mire of the streets.
⁴
Behold, the Lord will dispossess her
And throw her wealth into the sea;
And Tyre will be devoured by fire.
⁵
Ashkelon will see it and fear;
Gaza will writhe in pain,
And Ekron, for her hope and expectation, has been ruined.
The king will perish from Gaza,
And Ashkelon will not be inhabited.
⁶
And a mongrel race will live in Ashdod,
And I will put an end to the pride and arrogance of the Philistines.
⁷
I will take the blood from their mouths
And their detestable things from between their teeth [those repulsive, idolatrous sacrifices eaten with the blood].
Then they too will be a remnant for our God,
And be like a clan in Judah,
And Ekron will be like one of the Jebusites.
⁸
Then I will camp around My house [as a guard] because of an army,
Because of him who passes by and returns;
And no oppressor will again overrun them (Israel),
For now My eyes are upon them [providentially protecting them].

⁹
Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion!
Shout aloud, O Daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold, your King (Messianic King) is coming to you;
He is righteous and endowed with salvation,
Humble and unassuming [in submission to the will of the Father] and riding on a donkey,
Upon a colt, the foal of a donkey.
¹⁰
I will cut off the [war] chariot from Ephraim
And the [war] horse from Jerusalem,
And the bow of war will be cut off.
And He will speak [words of] peace to the nations,
And His dominion shall be from sea to sea [absolutely endless],
And from the River [Euphrates] to the ends of the earth. ¹¹
As for you also, because of the blood of My covenant with you [My chosen people, the covenant that was sealed with blood]
I have freed your prisoners from the waterless pit.
¹²
Return to the stronghold [of security and prosperity], O prisoners who have the hope;
Even today I am declaring that I will restore double [your former prosperity] to you [as firstborn among nations].
¹³
For I will bend Judah as My bow,
I will fit the bow with Ephraim [as My arrow].
And I will stir up your sons, O Zion, against your sons, O Greece,
And will make you [Israel] like the sword of a warrior.
¹⁴
Then the Lord will be seen [hovering] over them [protecting His people],
And His arrow will go forth like lightning;
And the Lord God will blow the trumpet
And will march in the windstorms of the south.
¹⁵
The Lord of hosts shall defend and protect them;
And they will devour [the enemy] and trample down the slingstones [that have missed their mark],
And they will drink [of victory] and be boisterous as with wine;
And they shall be filled like sacrificial bowls [used to catch the blood],
Drenched like the corners of the [sacrificial] altar.
¹⁶
And the Lord their God shall save them on that day
As the flock of His people;
For they are like the [precious] jewels of a crown,
Displayed and glittering in His land.
¹⁷
For how great is God’s goodness and how great is His beauty! And how great [He will make Israel’s] goodliness and [Israel’s] beauty!
Grain and new wine will make the young men and virgins flourish.