Zechariah 8:9-17

The Coming Peace and Prosperity of Zion

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."

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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:
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. Cross References
    Haggai 1:10
    Therefore the heavens above you have withheld the dew, and the earth has withheld its produce.
  7. 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.
  8. 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.
  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
    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.
  11. 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.
  12. 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.
  13. 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.
  14. 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.
  15. 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.
  16. Cross References
    Zechariah 7:9
    Thus says the Lord of hosts, Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another.
  17. 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.
  18. 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.
  19. 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.
English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.