Zechariah 8:1–23

8:1 In response to the question of the delegation from Bethel (7:1–3), God’s word for Zechariah to the community continues (cf. 7:1, 4, 8; 8:18). The description “LORD of hosts” occurs eighteen times in chapter 8 (cf. comment on 1:2–6a). This introduction to Zechariah’s oracles indicates that they come with all the authority of God and underscores why readers and hearers should pay attention to what he says.

8:2–3 God’s jealousy for Zion was a theme of 1:14 (cf. comment there). “Jealousy” refers to God’s willingness to defend what rightly belongs to him by judging “with great wrath” both those who oppose his people and those of his people who refuse him.

God’s jealousy is the grounds for his turning to his people (8:3). God’s statement “I have returned” can also be translated “I have turned” (cf. 1:16; 2:10). As in 1:16, God has turned to his people with mercy (seen in the many who have returned from exile to rebuild Jerusalem). Yet the hope found in places like Ezekiel 43:4 for God’s return to “dwell in the midst of Jerusalem,” with his glory returning to the temple, still lies in the future, after the temple’s completion (cf. Zech. 2:10–11; Mal. 3:1). When the Lord’s glory returns to the city, Jerusalem “shall be called the faithful city,” with its inhabitants reflecting God’s character as reliable, dependable, and trustworthy. There is possibly an echo here of the transformation of Jerusalem in Isaiah (e.g., Isa. 1:21–2:5).

The “mountain” is a reference to Mount Zion, the temple site in Jerusalem (cf. Hag. 1:8). It will be “the holy mountain” because God will dwell upon it (cf. Jer. 31:23; Ezek. 20:40). This holiness is later said to expand throughout Jerusalem and Judah from the temple (Zech. 14:20–21).

8:4–5 These verses picture and promise the future prosperity of Jerusalem. The elderly and children were the first to perish when cities were besieged, and were forced to work in times of hardship. In contrast, here the elderly are “of great age” and have time to “sit in the streets of Jerusalem” (v. 4), and “boys and girls” are “playing in its streets” (v. 5). These streets are not transport routes (posing danger) but open places between houses (an alternative translation is “squares”). The picture is a contrast with Lamentations, where in the immediate aftermath of the destruction of Jerusalem and exile the “streets” are associated with death (e.g., Lam. 2:11–12). Now God promises to fill them with life.

8:6 The word translated “marvelous” can carry the idea of “improbable,” “incredible,” “wonderful,” or “miraculous.” The future prosperity promised to Jerusalem in verses 4–5 may seem too good to be true (“incredible”) to the “remnant of this people” (those who had survived and returned from exile), but not to God, presumably because of his infinite power to save (cf. 4:10).

8:7–8 God will bring his people back from the lands to which they were scattered in exile. The phrase “from the east country and from the west country” can be translated more poetically (and closer to the Hebrew), “from the land where the sun rises to where it sets,” denoting all the lands to which the people had been exiled. Presumably they are saved from the coming judgment of God on the nations (cf. 1:21; 6:7–8). God “will bring them to dwell in the midst of Jerusalem” (8:8; cf. 2:6; 7:14). Normally it is the Lord who is said to “dwell in the midst of Jerusalem,” but here the phrase expresses what God will do for his people to restore relationship with them. The expression “They shall be my people, and I will be their God” is classic covenant terminology expressing the close fellowship between God and his people (cf. 13:9; Ex. 6:7; Lev. 26:12). This language is also associated with the promised new covenant (e.g., Jer. 24:7; 31:33; Ezek. 11:20). The salvation and restoration of Jerusalem are expressions of God’s faithfulness (keeping his word) and his righteousness (doing what is right).

8:9 “Let your hands be strong” is a call for courage (cf. 8:13; Judg. 7:11; 2 Sam. 2:7; Ezek. 22:14) so that they can finish building the temple (cf. also Hag. 2:4–5). It is directed toward those “who in these days have been hearing these words from the mouth of the prophets,” including Zechariah and his contemporary, Haggai (cf. Zech. 7:3). This seems at first to be a discrepancy, for these prophets are said to be “present on the day that the foundation of the house of the LORD of hosts was laid,” while in Ezra 3:8–13 the foundation of the temple was laid twenty years before Haggai and Zechariah began their prophetic ministries (cf. Hag. 1:1; Zech. 1:1). The best solution is to see Zechariah as referring not to the laying of the foundation of the temple twenty years earlier by Zerubbabel under the patronage of Sheshbazzar (cf. 4:9), but to the foundation-laying ceremony on the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month in the second year of Darius (cf. Hag. 2:18). This marked the resumption of the work in response to the preaching of these prophets (cf. Ezra 4:24–5:2). The people Zechariah addresses were present at this occasion.

8:10–11 These verses contain several echoes of the book of Haggai and speak of difficult times as the people suffer the curses of the covenant for disobedience. “Before those days” (cf. Hag. 2:15) refers to the period before the preaching of the prophets. At that time there was “no wage for man or any wage for beast” (Zech. 8:10; cf. Hag. 1:11)—those who worked went unpaid. “Neither was there any safety from the foe” (Zech. 8:10; cf. Ezra 4:1–5), indicating a threat for those who traveled outside Jerusalem (“for him who went out or came in”). There was also conflict within the community, with “every man against his neighbor” (Zech. 8:10). While hypothetical, this conflict could have concerned land titles between those who were exiled and those who had stayed.

In verse 11, God again promises a great reversal of the adverse situation of the “former days” (described in v. 10) for the “remnant of this people” (cf. v. 6; Hag. 1:12, 14; 2:2). The curse of his judgment will be removed.

8:12–13 When God turns to his people in mercy, covenant curses will be replaced with covenant blessings (cf. Hag. 1:10). “Peace” (Hb. shalom) is promised with an agricultural metaphor (“a sowing of peace”). This is apt, as many of the covenant blessings refer to abundant agricultural produce. “Peace” is more than the absence of warfare; it is the full experience of God’s salvation and blessing (cf. Zech. 6:13; 8:16, 19; 9:10). Three images develop this: (1) “the vine shall give its fruit” (cf. 3:10)—it took four to five years from planting for a vine to produce a usable crop, and warfare often destroyed vineyards (e.g., Jer. 12:10); (2) “the ground shall give its produce” (cf. Deut. 28:4, 11–12); and (3) “the heavens shall give their dew”—dew formed at night and provided water for plant life to flourish. These are all signs of God’s favor and come by his hand: “I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these things”—the word “possess” can also be translated “inherit” (cf. Isa. 57:13; Ezek. 47:14).

In the exile, God’s people were under his curse, which was acknowledged “among the nations” (Zech. 8:13). Again God promises to save his people, that they “shall be a blessing” to the nations, echoing the promise to Abraham (Gen. 12:3). Reference to the “house of Judah and the house of Israel” shows a concern for the restoration and reunification of the nation, a theme seen also in Zechariah 9:1, 10, 13; 10:6.

“Let your hands be strong” (cf. comment on 8:9) is a challenge to trust God’s promises and complete the work on the temple.

8:14–15 “For” introduces a summary of verses 1–13. In the past God was angry with their forefathers and brought the “disaster” of the destruction of Jerusalem and exile on them as punishment for their sin (v. 14; cf. 1:2, 6, 12, 15). God “did not relent”; he “showed no pity” (NIV) because they did not repent (cf. 7:11–14). The appointed seventy years ran their course (cf. 1:12). But now Jerusalem and Judah will experience the “good” things of God (8:15; cf. 1:17; Josh. 24:20; Ezek. 36:11), spilling out to the nations (Zech. 8:20–23). Because of God’s promise to save and bless his people, they should not fear (v. 15) but obey (vv. 16–19).

8:16–17 The words of the earlier prophets continue to apply (cf. 7:9–10). Zechariah provides four injunctions; the commands “Speak the truth” and “Do not devise evil in your hearts” call for honesty and integrity in personal relationships, while “Render in your gates judgments that are true and make for peace” and “Love no false oath” call for right administration of justice in the community. The “gates” were where the city elders met to hear disputes and render judgments (e.g., Deut. 21:19; 25:7; Ruth 4:1, 11; Amos 5:15). The two negative commands in Zechariah 8:17 involve things God hates (cf. 5:3–4, 8). While God wants the temple to be rebuilt, this is not an end in itself. The ethical transformation of his people is critical.

8:18–19 The longer prophetic messenger formula in verse 18 marks the final section in the wider unit of chapters 7–8 (cf. 7:1, 4, 8; 8:1). This section returns to the original question of the delegation from Bethel concerning fasting (7:2–3).

In addition to the fasts mentioned earlier (cf. comments on 7:3; 7:4–5), God mentions two additional fasts not referred to elsewhere in the OT. The fast of the “fourth month” is thought to commemorate the Babylonian army’s breaching the walls of Jerusalem (2 Kings 25:2–4). The fast of the “tenth” month recalls the beginning of the siege against Jerusalem (2 Kings 25:1). These will all become “seasons of joy and gladness” (cf. Isa. 35:10; 51:3, 11; Jer. 31:13; 33:10–11) and “cheerful feasts” (cf. Zech. 14:18; Isa. 33:20). Solemn fasts will be replaced by joyous feasts—celebration will replace lamentation.

The injunction to “love truth and peace” summarizes God’s concern for the social dimensions of life found throughout chapters 7–8 (cf. Zech. 7:9; 8:3, 8, 10, 12, 16) and is the opposite of that which God hates in 8:17. Hence, God’s turning to Jerusalem with mercy (vv. 3, 15) involves more than turning fasting into feasting; it calls for radical ethical transformation.

8:20–21 At the beginning of chapter 7, a delegation came from Bethel to Jerusalem to “entreat the favor of the LORD” (v. 2). This journey is now a pattern for the “inhabitants of many cities” in the future (8:20), probably a reference in the first instance to cities, like Bethel, that surrounded Jerusalem (cf. 7:7). It seems they will be caught up in the excitement of what God is doing in Jerusalem and will tell others (8:21; cf. Isa. 2:2).

8:22 This desire to pilgrimage to Jerusalem spreads beyond Judah to “many peoples and strong nations,” a reference to those from foreign nations (cf. v. 23). The powerful will recognize true power and will come to Jerusalem to “seek the LORD of hosts . . . and to entreat” his favor, seeking his mercy and salvation (cf. 2:11). The theme of the pilgrimage of nations to Jerusalem is found in earlier prophets, especially Isaiah (cf. Isa. 2:2–4; 42:1–7; 49:22–23; 60:14; 66:18–24), and is an outworking of God’s promise to Abraham to bless “all the families of the earth” (Gen. 12:3; 17:4–7).

8:23 The phrase “in those days” points to a future day of salvation (cf. 2:11; 3:10), in contrast with “these days” of 8:9 and 8:15. The ratio of ten to one speaks of a great multitude “from the nations of every tongue” (cf. Rev. 7:9). At Babel, humanity united together in opposition to God. In judgment, God confused their language and scattered them (Gen. 11:7–8). This verse envisages the reversal of Babel, as all languages and nations seek God on his terms and join together in the “cheerful feasts” (Zech. 8:19) in Jerusalem. The custom of taking “hold of the robe of a Jew” lays claim to a desired relationship or outcome (cf. Ruth 3:9; 1 Sam. 15:27). A “Jew” refers to a “Judahite,” one from the tribe of Judah. Chapters 9–14 of Zechariah continue to show the crucial importance of the tribe of Judah in God’s salvation plan, particularly as the tribe of the house of David and the future Davidic king (“Judah” is mentioned fourteen times in these chapters).

The nations desire to go to Jerusalem because they have heard that “God is with you” (cf. “Immanuel” in Isa. 7:14; 8:10). This idea summarizes Zechariah’s hope for God to return to dwell among his people. With God’s return, the nations will turn from enemies to friends.