13 It shall come to pass that, as you were a curse among the nations, house of Judah and house of Israel, so will I save you, and you shall be a blessing. Don't be afraid. Let your hands be strong."
In that day shall Israel be the third with Egypt and with Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth; because Yahweh of Hosts has blessed them, saying, Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel my inheritance.
I will make of you a great nation. I will bless you, and make your name great. You will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you. In you will all of the families of the earth be blessed."
All that pass by clap their hands at you; They hiss and wag their head at the daughter of Jerusalem, [saying], Is this the city that men called The perfection of beauty, The joy of the whole earth? All your enemies have opened their mouth wide against you; They hiss and gnash the teeth; they say, We have swallowed her up; Certainly this is the day that we looked for; we have found, we have seen it.
You, son of man, take one stick, and write on it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions: then take another stick, and write on it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and [for] all the house of Israel his companions: and join them for you one to another into one stick, that they may become one in your hand. When the children of your people shall speak to you, saying, Will you not show us what you mean by these? tell them, Thus says the Lord Yahweh: Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his companions; and I will put them with it, [even] with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they shall be one in my hand.
Thus says Yahweh of Hosts: "Many peoples, and the inhabitants of many cities will yet come; and the inhabitants of one shall go to another, saying, 'Let us go speedily to entreat the favor of Yahweh, and to seek Yahweh of Hosts. I will go also.' Yes, many peoples and strong nations will come to seek Yahweh of Hosts in Jerusalem, and to entreat the favor of Yahweh." Thus says Yahweh of Hosts: "In those days, ten men will take hold, out of all the languages of the nations, they will take hold of the skirt of him who is a Jew, saying, 'We will go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.'"
"I will strengthen the house of Judah, And I will save the house of Joseph, And I will bring them back; For I have mercy on them; And they will be as though I had not cast them off: For I am Yahweh their God, and I will hear them. Ephraim will be like a mighty man, And their heart will rejoice as through wine; Yes, their children will see it, and rejoice. Their heart will be glad in Yahweh. I will signal for them, and gather them; For I have redeemed them; And they will increase as they have increased. I will sow them among the peoples; And they will remember me in far countries; And they will live with their children, and will return.
There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed and heirs according to promise.
Strengthen you the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees. Tell those who are of a fearful heart, Be strong, don't be afraid: behold, your God will come [with] vengeance, [with] the recompense of God; he will come and save you.
[and that] the whole land of it is sulfur, and salt, [and] a burning, [that] it is not sown, nor bears, nor any grass grows therein, like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, which Yahweh overthrew in his anger, and in his wrath: even all the nations shall say, Why has Yahweh done thus to this land? what means the heat of this great anger? Then men shall say, Because they forsook the covenant of Yahweh, the God of their fathers, which he made with them when he brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, and went and served other gods, and worshiped them, gods that they didn't know, and that he had not given to them: therefore the anger of Yahweh was kindled against this land, to bring on it all the curse that is written in this book; and Yahweh rooted them out of their land in anger, and in wrath, and in great indignation, and cast them into another land, as at this day.
All the people who were in the gate, and the elders, said, We are witnesses. Yahweh make the woman who has come into your house like Rachel and like Leah, which two built the house of Israel: and do you worthily in Ephrathah, and be famous in Bethlehem: and let your house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah, of the seed which Yahweh shall give you of this young woman.
then will I cut off Israel out of the land which I have given them; and this house, which I have made holy for my name, will I cast out of my sight; and Israel shall be a proverb and a byword among all peoples. Though this house is so high, yet shall everyone who passes by it be astonished, and shall hiss; and they shall say, Why has Yahweh done thus to this land, and to this house?
Therefore Yahweh was very angry with Israel, and removed them out of his sight: there was none left but the tribe of Judah only. Also Judah didn't keep the commandments of Yahweh their God, but walked in the statutes of Israel which they made. Yahweh rejected all the seed of Israel, and afflicted them, and delivered them into the hand of spoilers, until he had cast them out of his sight.
then will I pluck them up by the roots out of my land which I have given them; and this house, which I have made holy for my name, will I cast out of my sight, and I will make it a proverb and a byword among all peoples. This house, which is so high, everyone who passes by it shall be astonished, and shall say, Why has Yahweh done thus to this land, and to this house? They shall answer, Because they forsook Yahweh, the God of their fathers, who brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, and laid hold on other gods, and worshiped them, and served them: therefore has he brought all this evil on them.
You make us a reproach to our neighbors, A scoffing and a derision to those who are around us. You make us a byword among the nations, A shaking of the head among the peoples.
One shall snatch on the right hand, and be hungry; and he shall eat on the left hand, and they shall not be satisfied: they shall eat every man the flesh of his own arm: Manasseh, Ephraim; and Ephraim, Manasseh; and they together shall be against Judah. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.
Don't you be afraid, for I am with you; don't be dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you; yes, I will help you; yes, I will uphold you with the right hand of my righteousness. Behold, all those who are incensed against you shall be disappointed and confounded: those who strive with you shall be as nothing, and shall perish. You shall seek them, and shall not find them, even those who contend with you: those who war against you shall be as nothing, and as a thing of nothing. For I, Yahweh your God, will hold your right hand, saying to you, Don't be afraid; I will help you. Don't be afraid, you worm Jacob, and you men of Israel; I will help you, says Yahweh, and your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel. Behold, I have made you [to be] a new sharp threshing instrument having teeth; you shall thresh the mountains, and beat them small, and shall make the hills as chaff. You shall winnow them, and the wind shall carry them away, and the whirlwind shall scatter them; and you shall rejoice in Yahweh, you shall glory in the Holy One of Israel.
You shall leave your name for a curse to my chosen; and the Lord Yahweh will kill you; and he will call his servants by another name: so that he who blesses himself in the earth shall bless himself in the God of truth; and he who swears in the earth shall swear by the God of truth; because the former troubles are forgotten, and because they are hid from my eyes.
For the children of Israel and the children of Judah have done only that which was evil in my sight from their youth; for the children of Israel have only provoked me to anger with the work of their hands, says Yahweh. For this city has been to me a provocation of my anger and of my wrath from the day that they built it even to this day; that I should remove it from before my face, because of all the evil of the children of Israel and of the children of Judah, which they have done to provoke me to anger, they, their kings, their princes, their priests, and their prophets, and the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Zechariah 8
Commentary on Zechariah 8 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 8
Zec 8:1-23. Continuation of the Subject in the Seventh Chapter. After urging them to obedience by the fate of their fathers, he urges them to it by promises of coming prosperity.
2. jealous for Zion—(Zec 1:14).
with great fury—against her oppressors.
3. I am returned—that is, I am determined to return. My decree to that effect is gone forth.
Jerusalem … city of truth—that is, faithful to her God, who is the God of truth (Isa 1:21, 26; Joh 17:17). Never yet fully fulfilled, therefore still to be so.
the mountain of the Lord—(Isa 2:2, 3).
holy mountain—(Jer 31:23).
4. So tranquil and prosperous shall the nation be that wars shall no longer prematurely cut off the people: men and women shall reach advanced ages. The promise of long life was esteemed one of the greatest blessings in the Jewish theocracy with its temporal rewards of obedience (Ex 20:12; De 4:40). Hence this is a leading feature in millennial blessedness (Isa 65:20, 22).
for very age—literally, "for multitude of days."
5. boys and girls playing—implying security and a numerous progeny, accounted a leading blessing among the Jews. Contrast Jer 6:11; 9:21.
6. However impossible these things just promised by Me seem to you, they are not so with God. The "remnant" that had returned from the captivity, beholding the city desolate and the walls and houses in ruins, could hardly believe what God promised. The expression "remnant" glances at their ingratitude in rating so low God's power, though they had experienced it so "marvellously" displayed in their restoration. A great source of unbelief is, men "limit" God's power by their own (Ps 78:19, 20, 41).
these days—"of small things" (Zec 4:10), when such great things promised seemed incredible. Maurer, after Jerome, translates, "in those days"; that is, if the thing which I promised to do in those days, seems "marvellous," &c.
7. save my people from … east … west—that is, from every region (compare Ps 50:1; the "West" is literally, "the going down of the sun") to which they are scattered; they are now found especially in countries west of Jerusalem. The dispersion under Nebuchadnezzar was only to the east, namely, to Babylonia. The restoration, including a spiritual return to God (Zec 8:8), here foretold, must therefore be still future (Isa 11:11, 12; 43:5, 6; Eze 37:21; Am 9:14, 15; also Zec 13:9; Jer 30:22; 31:1, 33).
8. in truth—in good faith, both on their side and Mine: God being faithful to His everlasting covenant and enabling them by His Spirit to be faithful to Him.
9-13. All adversities formerly attended them when neglecting to build the temple: but now God promises all blessings, as an encouragement to energy in the work.
hands … strong—be of courageous mind (2Sa 16:21), not merely in building, but in general, as having such bright prospects (Zec 8:13, &c.).
these days—the time that had elapsed between the prophet's having spoken "these words" and the time (Zec 8:10; compare Hag 2:15-19) when they set about in earnest restoring the temple.
the prophets—Haggai and Zechariah himself (Ezr 5:1, 2). The same prophets who promised prosperity at the foundation of the temple, now promised still greater blessings hereafter.
10. before these days—before the time in which ye again proceeded with the building of the temple (Zec 8:9), namely, at the time that the temple lay neglected.
no hire for man … beast—that is, no produce of the field to repay the labor of man and beast on it (Hag 1:6, 9, 10; 2:16).
neither … peace to him that went out or came in—(2Ch 15:5). No one could in safety do his business at home or abroad, in the city or in the country, whether going or returning.
because of the affliction—so sorely pressed were they by the foe outside. Maurer translates, "Because of the foe" (Ezr 4:1).
every one against … neighbour—There was internal discord, as well as foes from without.
11. "But now that the temple has been built, I will not do as I had formerly done to those who returned from Babylon" [Jerome]. Henceforth I will bless you.
12. seed … prosperous—that is, shall not fair to yield abundantly (Ho 2:21, 22; Hag 2:19). Contrast with this verse Hag 1:6, 9-11; 2:16.
dew—especially beneficial in hot countries where rain is rare.
13. a curse—As the heathen have made you another name for "a curse," wishing to their foes as bad a lot as yours (Jer 24:9; 29:18); so your name shall be a formula of blessing, so that men shall say to their friend, May thy lot be as happy as that of Judah (Ge 48:20). Including also the idea of the Jews being a source of blessing to the Gentile nations (Mic 5:7; Zep 3:20). The distinct mention of "Judah" and "Israel" proves that the prophecy has not yet had its full accomplishment, as Israel (the ten tribes) has never yet been restored, though individuals of Israel returned with Judah.
14. I thought—I determined.
you—that is, your fathers, with whom ye are one; the Jewish Church of all ages being regarded as an organic whole (compare Hag 2:5; Mt 23:31, 32).
repented not—I changed not My purpose, because they changed not their mind (2Ch 36:16). With the froward God shows Himself froward (Ps 18:26). If the threatened punishment has been so unchangeably inflicted, much more will God surely give the promised blessing, which is so much more consonant to His nature (Jer 31:28).
16, 17. The promised blessings are connected with obedience. God's covenanted grace will lead those truly blessed by it to holiness, not licentiousness.
truth to … neighbour—not that the truth should not be spoken to foreigners too; but He makes it an aggravation of their sin, that they spared not even their brethren. Besides, and above all outward ordinances (Zec 7:3), God requires truth and justice.
judgment of … peace—Equitable decisions tend to allay feuds and produce peace.
gates—the place where courts of judicature in the East were held.
17. all these … I hate—therefore ye too ought to hate them. Religion consists in conformity to God's nature, that we should love what God loves and hate what God hates.
18, 19. The prophet answers the query (Zec 7:3) as to the fast in the fifth month, by a reply applying to all their fasts: these are to be turned into days of rejoicing. So Jesus replied to His disciples when similarly consulting Him as to why fasting was not imposed by Him, as it was by John the Baptist. When the Sun of righteousness shines, tears are dried up (Mt 9:15). So hereafter (Isa 35:10).
19. fast of … fourth month—On the fourth month of the eleventh year of Zedekiah's reign, on the ninth day, Jerusalem was taken (Jer 39:2; 52:6, 7). It was therefore made a fast day.
fifth … seventh—(See on Zec 7:3; Zec 7:5).
tenth—On the tenth month and tenth day, in the ninth year of Zedekiah, the siege began (Jer 52:4).
therefore love the truth—or, "only love." English Version is better. God's blessing covenanted to Israel is not made to depend on Israel's goodness: but Israel's goodness should follow as the consequence of God's gracious promises (Zec 8:16, 17; Zec 7:9, 10). God will bless, but not those who harden themselves in sin.
20. (Isa 2:3; Mic 4:2).
Thus saith the Lord of hosts—a preface needed to assure the Jews, now disheartened by the perils surrounding them, and by the humble aspect of the temple. "Unlikely as what follows may seem to you, Jehovah of hosts, boundless in resources, saith it, therefore it shall be so." Just before Christ's coming, a feeling grew up among the heathen of the unsatisfactoriness of their systems of religion and philosophy; this disposed them favorably towards the religion of the Jew, so that proselytes embraced the worship of Jehovah from various parts of Asia; these again were predisposed to embrace Christianity when it was preached to them (Ac 2:9-12, 41). But the full accomplishment of the conversion of the Gentiles foretold here is reserved till "Jerusalem" (Zec 8:22) becomes the center of Christianized Jewry (Ro 11:12, 15).
21. Let us … I—manifesting zeal and love: converted themselves, they seek the conversion of others (So 1:4). To exhortation in general ("Let us go"), they add individual example ("I will go"). Or, the change from plural to singular implies that the general consent in religious earnestness leads each individual to decide for God.
go speedily—literally, "go, going"; implying intense earnestness.
pray—Hebrew, "entreat the face" (Zec 7:2); entreat His favor and grace.
22. many … strong nations … in Jerusalem—In contrast to the few and weak Jews now building the temple and city, then such shall be their influence that many and strong nations shall come to worship Jehovah their God in Jerusalem (Isa 60:3; 66:23).
23. ten—a definite number for an indefinite. So in Le 22:26; Nu 14:22.
of all languages of the nations—that is, of nations of all languages (compare Isa 66:18; Re 7:9).
take hold of the skirt—a gesture of suppliant entreaty as to a superior. Compare Isa 3:6; 4:1, on a different occasion. The Gentiles shall eagerly seek to share the religious privileges of the Jew. The skirt with a fringe and blue ribbon upon it (Nu 15:38; De 22:12) was a distinguishing badge of a Jew.
God is with you—the effect produced on unbelievers in entering the assemblies of the Church (1Co 14:25). But primarily, that produced on the nations in witnessing the deliverance of the Jews by Cyrus. Finally, that to be produced on the nations by the future grand interposition of Messiah in behalf of His people.