The Coming Peace and Prosperity of Zion

Zechariah 8

1 And the word of the Lord of hosts came, saying, 2 "Thus says the Lord of hosts: s I am jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I am jealous for her with great wrath. 3 Thus says the Lord: t I have returned to Zion and u will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem, v and Jerusalem shall be called the faithful city, w and the mountain of the Lord of hosts, the holy mountain. 4 Thus says the Lord of hosts: x Old 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: y If it is marvelous in the sight of the remnant of this people in those days, z should it also be marvelous in my sight, declares the Lord of hosts? 7 Thus says the Lord of hosts: behold, a I will save my people b from the east country and from the west country, 8 and I will bring them to dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. c And they shall be my people, and I will be their God, d in faithfulness and in righteousness."

9 Thus says the Lord of hosts: e "Let your hands be strong, you who in these days have been hearing these words from the mouth of f the prophets who were present on g the 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 h there 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 i For there shall be a sowing of peace. The vine shall give its fruit, and the ground shall give its produce, j and the heavens shall give their dew. k And I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these things. 13 And as l you have been a byword of cursing among the nations, O house of Judah and house of Israel, m so will I save you, and n you shall be a blessing. o Fear not, but e let your hands be strong."

14 For thus says the Lord of hosts: p "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; o fear not. 16 These are the things that you shall do: q Speak the truth to one another; r render in your gates judgments s that are true and make for peace; 17 t do not devise evil in your hearts against one another, and u love no false oath, for all these things I hate, declares the Lord."

18 And the word of the Lord of hosts came to me, saying, 19 "Thus says the Lord of hosts: The fast of the v fourth month and the fast of the w fifth and the fast of the x seventh and the fast of the y tenth shall be to the house of Judah z seasons of joy and gladness and cheerful feasts. Therefore love a truth and peace.

20 "Thus says the Lord of hosts: Peoples shall yet come, even the inhabitants of many cities. 21 The inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, b 'Let us go at once c to entreat the favor of the Lord and to seek the Lord of hosts; I myself am going.' 22 b Many peoples and strong nations shall come to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem and c to entreat the favor of the Lord. 23 Thus says the Lord of hosts: In those days d ten men e from the nations of every tongue shall take hold of the robe of a Jew, saying, 'Let us go with you, for f we have heard that God is with you.'"

  1. Cross References
    Zechariah 1:14
    So the angel who talked with me said to me, 'Cry out, Thus says the Lord of hosts: I am exceedingly jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion.
  2. Cross References
    Zechariah 1:16
    Therefore, thus says the Lord, I have returned to Jerusalem with mercy; my house shall be built in it, declares the Lord of hosts, and the measuring line shall be stretched out over Jerusalem.
  3. Cross References
    Zechariah 2:10
    Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion, for behold, I come and I will dwell in your midst, declares the Lord.
  4. Cross References
    Isaiah 1:26
    And I will restore your judges as at the first, and your counselors as at the beginning. Afterward you shall be called the city of righteousness, the faithful city.
  5. Cross References
    Isaiah 2:3
    And many peoples shall come, and say: "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths." For out of Zion shall go the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
  6. Cross References
    Psalms 128:6
    May you see your children's children! Peace be upon Israel!
    Proverbs 10:27
    The fear of the Lord prolongs life, but the years of the wicked will be short.
  7. Cross References
    Psalms 118:23
    This is the Lord 's doing; it is marvelous in our eyes.
  8. Cross References
    Genesis 18:14
    Is anything too hard for the Lord ? At the appointed time I will return to you, about this time next year, and Sarah shall have a son.
  9. Cross References
    Zechariah 10:6
    I will strengthen the house of Judah, and I will save the house of Joseph. I will bring them back because I have compassion on them, and they shall be as though I had not rejected them, for I am the Lord their God and I will answer them.
  10. Cross References
    Psalms 107:3
    And gathered in from the lands, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south.
    Isaiah 43:5
    Fear not, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east, and from the west I will gather you.
    Isaiah 49:12
    Behold, these shall come from afar, and behold, these from the north and from the west, and these from the land of Syene.
    Ezekiel 37:21
    Then say to them, Thus says the Lord God : Behold, I will take the people of Israel from the nations among which they have gone, and will gather them from all around, and bring them to their own land.
  11. Cross References
    Zechariah 13:9
    And I will put this third into the fire, and refine them as one refines silver, and test them as gold is tested. They will call upon my name, and I will answer them. I will say, 'They are my people'; and they will say, 'The Lord is my God.'
    Jeremiah 31:33
    But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord : I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
  12. Cross References
    Jeremiah 4:2
    And if you swear, 'As the Lord lives,' in truth, in justice, and in righteousness, then nations shall bless themselves in him, and in him shall they glory.
  13. Cross References
    2 Samuel 16:21
    Ahithophel said to Absalom, "Go in to your father's concubines, whom he has left to keep the house, and all Israel will hear that you have made yourself a stench to your father, and the hands of all who are with you will be strengthened.
    Haggai 2:4
    Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, declares the Lord. Be strong, O Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest. Be strong, all you people of the land, declares the Lord. Work, for I am with you, declares the Lord of hosts.
  14. Cross References
    Zechariah 7:3
    Saying to the priests of the house of the Lord of hosts and the prophets, "Should I weep and abstain in the fifth month, as I have done for so many years?
    Ezra 5:1 - 2
    Now the prophets, Haggai and Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophesied to the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem, in the name of the God of Israel who was over them.
  15. Cross References
    Haggai 2:18
    Consider from this day onward, from the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month. Since the day that the foundation of the Lord 's temple was laid, consider:
  16. Cross References
    Haggai 1:6
    You have sown much, and harvested little. You eat, but you never have enough; you drink, but you never have your fill. You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm. And he who earns wages does so to put them into a bag with holes.
  17. Cross References
    Hosea 2:21 - 22
    And in that day I will answer, declares the Lord, I will answer the heavens, and they shall answer the earth.
    Haggai 2:19
    Is the seed yet in the barn? Indeed, the vine, the fig tree, the pomegranate, and the olive tree have yielded nothing. But from this day on I will bless you.
  18. Cross References
    Haggai 1:10
    Therefore the heavens above you have withheld the dew, and the earth has withheld its produce.
  19. Cross References
    Jeremiah 3:18
    In those days the house of Judah shall join the house of Israel, and together they shall come from the land of the north to the land that I gave your fathers for a heritage.
  20. Cross References
    Isaiah 43:28
    Therefore I will profane the princes of the sanctuary, and deliver Jacob to utter destruction and Israel to reviling.
    Isaiah 65:15
    You shall leave your name to my chosen for a curse, and the Lord God will put you to death, but his servants he will call by another name.
  21. Cross References
    Zechariah 10:6
    I will strengthen the house of Judah, and I will save the house of Joseph. I will bring them back because I have compassion on them, and they shall be as though I had not rejected them, for I am the Lord their God and I will answer them.
  22. Cross References
    Genesis 12:2 - 3
    And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.
  23. Cross References
    Haggai 2:5
    According to the covenant that I made with you when you came out of Egypt. My Spirit remains in your midst. Fear not.
  24. Cross References
    Zechariah 8:9
    Thus says the Lord of hosts: "Let your hands be strong, you who in these days have been hearing these words from the mouth of the prophets who were present on the day that the foundation of the house of the Lord of hosts was laid, that the temple might be built.
  25. Cross References
    Jeremiah 31:28
    And it shall come to pass that as I have watched over them to pluck up and break down, to overthrow, destroy, and bring harm, so I will watch over them to build and to plant, declares the Lord.
    Jeremiah 32:42
    For thus says the Lord : Just as I have brought all this great disaster upon this people, so I will bring upon them all the good that I promise them.
  26. Cross References
    Zechariah 8:13
    And as you have been a byword of cursing among the nations, O house of Judah and house of Israel, so will I save you, and you shall be a blessing. Fear not, but let your hands be strong.
  27. Cross References
    Ephesians 4:25
    Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.
    Psalms 15:2
    He who walks blamelessly and does what is right and speaks truth in his heart.
  28. Cross References
    Zechariah 7:9
    Thus says the Lord of hosts, Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another.
  29. Cross References
    Zechariah 8:19
    Thus says the Lord of hosts: The fast of the fourth month and the fast of the fifth and the fast of the seventh and the fast of the tenth shall be to the house of Judah seasons of joy and gladness and cheerful feasts. Therefore love truth and peace.
  30. Cross References
    Zechariah 7:10
    Do not oppress the widow, the fatherless, the sojourner, or the poor, and let none of you devise evil against another in your heart.
  31. Cross References
    Zechariah 5:4
    I will send it out, declares the Lord of hosts, and it shall enter the house of the thief, and the house of him who swears falsely by my name. And it shall remain in his house and consume it, both timber and stones.
  32. Cross References
    Jeremiah 39:2
    In the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth month, on the ninth day of the month, a breach was made in the city.
  33. Cross References
    Zechariah 7:3
    Saying to the priests of the house of the Lord of hosts and the prophets, "Should I weep and abstain in the fifth month, as I have done for so many years?
  34. Cross References
    Zechariah 7:5
    Say to all the people of the land and the priests, When you fasted and mourned in the fifth month and in the seventh, for these seventy years, was it for me that you fasted?
  35. Cross References
    2 Kings 25:1
    And in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came with all his army against Jerusalem and laid siege to it. And they built siegeworks all around it.
  36. Cross References
    Isaiah 35:10
    And the ransomed of the Lord shall return and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
  37. Cross References
    Zechariah 8:16
    These are the things that you shall do: Speak the truth to one another; render in your gates judgments that are true and make for peace.
  38. Cross References
    Zechariah 2:11
    And many nations shall join themselves to the Lord in that day, and shall be my people. And I will dwell in your midst, and you shall know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you.
    Zechariah 14:16
    Then everyone who survives of all the nations that have come against Jerusalem shall go up year after year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Booths.
    Isaiah 2:3
    And many peoples shall come, and say: "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths." For out of Zion shall go the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
  39. Cross References
    Zechariah 7:2
    Now the people of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regem-melech and their men to entreat the favor of the Lord.
  40. Cross References
    Zechariah 8:21
    The inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, 'Let us go at once to entreat the favor of the Lord and to seek the Lord of hosts; I myself am going.
  41. Cross References
    Zechariah 8:21
    The inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, 'Let us go at once to entreat the favor of the Lord and to seek the Lord of hosts; I myself am going.
  42. Cross References
    Genesis 31:7
    Yet your father has cheated me and changed my wages ten times. But God did not permit him to harm me.
  43. Cross References
    Isaiah 66:18
    For I know their works and their thoughts, and the time is coming to gather all nations and tongues. And they shall come and shall see my glory.
    Revelation 5:9
    And they sang a new song, saying, "Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.
  44. Cross References
    1 Corinthians 14:25
    The secrets of his heart are disclosed, and so, falling on his face, he will worship God and declare that God is really among you.
English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.
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