17 Again call, saying: Thus said Jehovah of Hosts, Again do my cities overflow from good, And Jehovah hath again comforted Zion, And He hath fixed again on Jerusalem.'
And Jehovah hath inherited Judah, His portion on the holy ground, And He hath fixed again on Jerusalem.
For Jehovah hath comforted Zion, He hath comforted all her wastes, And He setteth her wilderness as Eden, And her desert as a garden of Jehovah, Joy, yea, gladness is found in her, Confession, and the voice of song.
Because Jehovah loveth Jacob, And hath fixed again on Israel, And given them rest on their own land, And joined hath been the sojourner to them, And they have been admitted to the house of Jacob.
And the rest of Israel, of the priests, of the Levites, `are' in all cities of Judah, each in his inheritance;
and bought hath been the field in this land of which ye are saying, A desolation it `is', without man and beast, it hath been given into the hand of the Chaldeans. Fields with money they buy, so as to write in a book, and to seal, and to cause witnesses to testify, in the land of Benjamin, and in suburbs of Jerusalem, and in cities of Judah, and in cities of the hill-country, and in cities of the low country, and in cities of the south, for I turn back their captivity -- an affirmation of Jehovah.'
according as He did choose us in him before the foundation of the world, for our being holy and unblemished before Him, in love,
And Jehovah saith unto the Adversary: `Jehovah doth push against thee, O Adversary, Yea, push against thee doth Jehovah, Who is fixing on Jerusalem, Is not this a brand delivered from fire?'
Jehovah hath turned aside thy judgments, He hath faced thine enemy, The king of Israel, Jehovah, `is' in thy midst, Thou seest evil no more. In that day it is said to Jerusalem, `Fear not, O Zion, let not thy hands be feeble. Jehovah thy God `is' in thy midst, A mighty one doth save, He rejoiceth over thee with joy, He doth work in His love, He joyeth over thee with singing.'
Thus said the Lord Jehovah: In the day of My cleansing you from all your iniquities, I have caused the cities to be inhabited, And the wastes have been built,
And I have multiplied on you men, All the house of Israel -- all of it, And the cities have been inhabited, And the wastes are built. And I have multiplied on you man and beast, And they have multiplied and been fruitful, And I have caused you to dwell according to your former states, And I have done better than at your beginnings, And ye have known that I `am' Jehovah.
In the cities of the hill-country, In the cities of the low country, And in the cities of the south, And in the land of Benjamin, And in the suburbs of Jerusalem, And in the cities of Judah, Again doth the flock pass by under the hands of the numberer, said Jehovah.
Thus said Jehovah of Hosts, God of Israel, Still they say this word in the land of Judah, And in its cities, In My turning back `to' their captivity, Jehovah doth bless thee, habitation of righteousness, Mountain of holiness. And dwelt in Judah have husbandmen, and in all its cities together, And they have journeyed in order.
Then rejoice doth a virgin in a chorus, Both young men and old men -- together, And I have turned their mourning to joy, And have comforted them, And gladdened them above their sorrow,
And they have built the wastes of old, The desolations of the ancients they raise up, And they have renewed waste cities, The desolations of generation and generation. And strangers have stood and fed your flock, Sons of a foreigner `are' your husbandmen, And your vine-dressers. And ye are called `Priests of Jehovah,' `Ministers of our God,' is said of you, The strength of nations ye consume, And in their honour ye do boast yourselves.
In overflowing wrath I hid my face `for' a moment from thee, And in kindness age-during I have loved thee, Said thy Redeemer -- Jehovah!
I -- I `am' He -- your comforter, Who `art' thou -- and thou art afraid of man? he dieth! And of the son of man -- grass he is made!
Sing, O heavens, and joy, O earth, And break forth, O mountains, with singing, For comforted hath Jehovah His people, And His afflicted ones He doth pity.
-- And thou, O Israel, My servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, Seed of Abraham, My lover, Whom I have taken hold of, from the ends of the earth, And from its near places I have called thee, And I say to thee, My servant Thou `art', I have chosen thee, and not rejected thee.
Comfort ye, comfort ye, My people, saith your God. Speak to the heart of Jerusalem, and call to her, That her warfare hath been completed, That accepted hath been her punishment, That she hath received from the hand of Jehovah Double for all her sins.
For Jehovah hath fixed on Zion, He hath desired `it' for a seat to Himself, This `is' My rest for ever and ever, Here do I sit, for I have desired it.
And these `are' heads of the province who have dwelt in Jerusalem, and in cities of Judah, they have dwelt each in his possession in their cities; Israel, the priests, and the Levites, and the Nethinim, and the sons of the servants of Solomon.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Zechariah 1
Commentary on Zechariah 1 Matthew Henry Commentary
An Exposition, With Practical Observations, of
The Prophecy of Zechariah
Chapter 1
In this chapter, after the introduction (v. 1), we have,
Zec 1:1-6
Here is,
Zec 1:7-17
We not come to visions and revelations of the Lord; for in that way God chose to speak by Zechariah, to awaken the people's attention, and to engage their humble reverence of the word and their humble enquiries into it, and to fix it the more in their minds and memories. Most of the following visions seem designed for the comfort of the Jews, now newly returned out of captivity, and their encouragement to go on with the building of the temple. The scope of this vision (which is as an introduction to the rest) is to assure the Jews of the care God took of them, and the eye of his providence that was upon them for good, now in their present state, when they seem to be deserted, and their case deplorable. The vision is dated (v. 7) the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, three months after he preached that sermon (v. 1), in which he calls them to repentance from the consideration of God's judgments. Finding that that sermon had a good effect, and that they returned to God in a way of duty, the assurances he had given them are confirmed, that God would return to them in a way of mercy. Now observe here,
Zec 1:18-21
It is the comfort and triumph of the church (Isa. 59:19) that when the enemy shall come in like a flood, with mighty force and fury, then the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him. Now, in this vision (the second which this prophet had), we have an illustration of that, God's Spirit making a stand, and making head, against the formidable power of the church's adversaries.