Zechariah 8

General context

A series of oracles follows, each introduced by the Lord of hosts. He says he was jealous for Zion with great jealousy and great fury, and that he has returned to Zion and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem, which will be called a city of truth and its mountain the holy mountain. Old men and old women will sit in the streets, each with a staff for age, and the streets will be full of boys and girls playing. He asks whether what is marvellous to the remnant in these days should be marvellous in his eyes. He will save his people from the east country and the west, bring them to dwell in Jerusalem, and be their God in truth and in righteousness. Those who hear these words from the prophets are told to let their hands be strong, since before those days there was no hire for man or beast and no peace for anyone going out or coming in. Now the seed will be prosperous, the vine will give fruit, the ground its increase and the heavens their dew, and those who were a curse will be a blessing. As the Lord thought to punish when their fathers provoked him and did not repent, so he has thought in these days to do well to Jerusalem and Judah. They are told to speak truth to a neighbour, execute the judgment of truth and peace in the gates, imagine no evil in the heart and love no false oath. The fasts of the fourth, fifth, seventh and tenth months will become joy, gladness and cheerful feasts. Many cities will urge one another to go and pray before the Lord, and ten men out of all languages will take hold of the skirt of a Jew, saying they have heard that God is with him.

Cited passages: Zechariah 8:1, Zechariah 8:2, Zechariah 8:3, Zechariah 8:4, Zechariah 8:5, Zechariah 8:6, Zechariah 8:7, Zechariah 8:8, Zechariah 8:9, Zechariah 8:10, Zechariah 8:11, Zechariah 8:12, Zechariah 8:13, Zechariah 8:14, Zechariah 8:15, Zechariah 8:16, Zechariah 8:17, Zechariah 8:18, Zechariah 8:19, Zechariah 8:20, Zechariah 8:21, Zechariah 8:22, Zechariah 8:23

Zechariah 8 (KJV)

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Historical context

The chapter carries no date of its own; the last heading stands at 7:1. Verse 9 refers to "the day that the foundation of the house of the Lord of hosts was laid" and to words spoken "by the mouth of the prophets," naming neither the day nor the prophets. Verse 19 lists four fasts by month alone, the fourth, fifth, seventh and tenth, and says nothing about what any of them marks; the fifth and seventh were already named in 7:5, and the question brought in 7:3 concerned the fifth. The commands in verses 16 and 17 repeat the substance of what the former prophets were said to have commanded in 7:9 and 7:10. The hardship described in verse 10, no hire for man or beast and no peace going out or coming in, is stated as the Lord's own doing, "I set all men every one against his neighbour," and is given no date. "The remnant of this people" and "the residue of this people" are used without a number. The nations in verses 20 to 23 are not named, and the man whose skirt is taken is identified only as a Jew.

Cited passages: Zechariah 8:9, Zechariah 8:19, Zechariah 8:10, Zechariah 8:11, Zechariah 8:12, Zechariah 8:23, Zechariah 7:1, Zechariah 7:3, Zechariah 7:5, Zechariah 7:9, Zechariah 7:10, Zechariah 8:16, Zechariah 8:17

Literary context

The chapter is built from stacked messenger formulas. "Thus saith the Lord of hosts" opens verses 2, 4, 6, 7, 9, 19, 20 and 23, follows an opening "For" in verse 14, and appears as "Thus saith the Lord" at verse 3, so the promises arrive as a list of separate declarations rather than one argument. The pictures are small and domestic where chapter 7 ended in an empty land: staffs, streets, boys and girls playing, a vine, dew, a neighbour, a city gate. Verse 14 turns the earlier wrath into the pattern for the present mercy, using the same verb for both, as I thought to punish, so again have I thought in these days to do well. The commands of 7:9 and 7:10 return in 8:16 and 8:17, this time inside the promise rather than as a charge the fathers refused. The fasts that the delegation asked about in 7:3 are answered here, not by ending them but by changing what they are. The chapter closes with movement inward, city to city, nations to Jerusalem, and finally ten men holding one man's skirt, which narrows a worldwide scene to a single grip.

Cited passages: Zechariah 8:2, Zechariah 8:3, Zechariah 8:4, Zechariah 8:5, Zechariah 8:9, Zechariah 8:12, Zechariah 8:14, Zechariah 8:15, Zechariah 8:16, Zechariah 8:17, Zechariah 8:19, Zechariah 8:20, Zechariah 8:23, Zechariah 7:14, Zechariah 7:3

Key moments

1. Jealous for Zion (Zechariah 8:2). The Lord says he was jealous for Zion with great jealousy and great fury.
2. Old men and women in the streets (Zechariah 8:4). Streets are pictured with the aged sitting, each with a staff.
3. Boys and girls playing (Zechariah 8:5). The streets of the city are said to be full of children at play.
4. A curse becomes a blessing (Zechariah 8:13). Those who were a curse among the heathen are promised they will be a blessing.
5. Truth in the gates (Zechariah 8:16). The people are told to speak truth and judge truth and peace in their gates.
6. Fasts become feasts (Zechariah 8:19). Four fasts are promised as joy, gladness and cheerful feasts.
7. Ten men take hold (Zechariah 8:23). Ten men out of all languages take hold of the skirt of a Jew to go with him.

For reflection

The fasts are not cancelled; they are said to become joy, gladness and cheerful feasts. What does it ask of people to keep the same days for the opposite reason?

People in this chapter

• Judah
• Jacob