Zecharyah 8
8
1Again the Devar Hashem Tzva'os came to me, saying,
2Thus saith Hashem Tzva'os; I am jealous for Tziyon with kina gedolah (great jealousy) and I am jealous for her with chemah gedolah (great fury).
3Thus saith Hashem: I will return unto Tziyon, and will dwell in the midst of Yerushalayim; and Yerushalayim shall be called Ir HaEmes; and Har Hashem Tzva'os, Har HaKodesh.
4Thus saith Hashem Tzva'os: Zekenim and zekenot shall yet dwell in the rechovot of Yerushalayim, and every man with his staff in his hand me'rov yamim (because of many days).#8:4 i.e., old age
5And the rechovot of the city shall be full of yeladim and yeladot playing in the rechovot thereof.
6Thus saith Hashem Tzva'os; If it be marvellous in the eyes of the she'erit HaAm HaZeh in those days, should it also be marvellous in Mine eyes? saith Hashem Tzva'os.
7Thus saith Hashem Tzva'os: Hineni, I will save My people from the eretz mizrach (land of the east), and from the eretz of the setting sun;
8And I will bring them, and they shall dwell in the midst of Yerushalayim; and they shall be My people, and I will be their G-d, in emes and in tzedakah.
9Thus saith Hashem Tzva'os: Let your hands be strong, ye that hear in these days these devarim by the mouth of the nevi'im, on the yom that the Yesod of the Beis Hashem Tzava'os was laid, the Heikhal, that it may be built.
10For before these days there was no sachar for man, nor any sachar for beast; neither was there any shalom to him that went out or came in because of the tzar (oppressor); for I set all men every one against his neighbor.
11But now I will not be unto the she'erit HaAm HaZeh as in the former days, saith Hashem Tzva'os.
12For the zera is of shalom; the gefen shall yield her fruit, and ha'aretz shall give her increase, and HaShomayim shall give their tal; and I will cause the she'erit HaAm HaZeh to possess all these things for a nachalah.
13And it shall come to pass, that as ye were a kelalah (curse) among the Goyim, O Bais Yehudah, and Bais Yisroel; so will I save you, and ye shall be a brocha; fear not, but let your hands be strong.
14For thus saith Hashem Tzva'os: As I determined to bring rah on you, when your avot provoked Me to wrath, saith Hashem Tzava'os, and I relented not with rachamim:
15So again have I determined in these days to do good unto Yerushalayim and to Bais Yehudah; fear ye not.
16These are the things that ye must do: Speak ye every man emes to his neighbor; execute the judgment of mishpat shalom in your she'arim (gates, courts);
17And let none of you imagine ra'ah in your levavot against his neighbor; and love no shevuat sheker (false oath); for all these are things that I hate, saith Hashem.
18And the Devar Hashem Tzva'os came unto me, saying,
19Thus saith Hashem Tzva'os: The tzom of the fourth month, and the tzom of the fifth, and the tzom of the seventh, and the tzom of the tenth, shall be to the Bais Yehudah for sasson and simcha, and mo'adim tovim; therefore love emes and shalom.
20Thus saith Hashem Tzva'os: It shall yet come to pass, that there shall come amim (nations), and the inhabitants of many cities;
21And the inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, Let us go speedily to make entreaty before Hashem, and to seek Hashem Tzva'os. I myself am going.
22Yea, amim rabbim and Goyim powerful shall come to seek Hashem Tzva'os in Yerushalayim, and to daven before Hashem.
23Thus saith Hashem Tzva'os: In those days it shall come to pass, that asarah anashim (ten men) out of kol leshonot HaGoyim (all the tongues of the nations) shall take hold, even take hold of the hem of the robe of a Yehudi (Jew), saying, Let us go with you; for we have heard that Elohim is with you.
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Zecharyah 8: TOJB2011
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THE ORTHODOX JEWISH BIBLE
FOURTH EDITION © Artists For Israel Intl Inc., 2002-2011, 2021.
Zechariah 8
8
The Blessing of True Fasting
1 Then the word of the Lord who rules over all#sn Lord who rules over all. There is a remarkable concentration of this name of God in this section of Zechariah. Of 53 occurrences of יְהוָה צְבָאוֹת (yÿhvah tsÿva’ot) in the Hebrew text in the book, 18 are in this chapter. The reason is the sheer human impossibility of accomplishing what lies ahead – it must be done by the Lord who rules over all. came to me as follows: 2 “The Lord who rules over all says, ‘I am very much concerned for Zion; indeed, I am so concerned for her that my rage will fall on those who hurt her.’ 3 The Lord says, ‘I have returned to Zion and will live within Jerusalem.#map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4. Now Jerusalem will be called “truthful city,” “mountain of the Lord who rules over all,” “holy mountain.”’ 4 Moreover, the Lord who rules over all says, ‘Old men and women will once more live in the plazas of Jerusalem, each one leaning on a cane because of advanced age. 5 And the streets of the city will be full of boys and girls playing.#sn The references to longevity and to children living and playing in peace are eschatological in tone. Elsewhere the millennial kingdom is characterized in a similar manner (cf. Isa 65:20; Jer 31:12-13). 6 And,’ says the Lord who rules over all, ‘though such a thing may seem to be difficult in the opinion of the small community of those days, will it also appear difficult to me?’ asks the Lord who rules over all.
7 “The Lord who rules over all asserts, ‘I am about to save my people from the lands of the east and the west. 8 And I will bring them to settle within Jerusalem. They will be my people, and I will be their God,#sn The affirmation They will be my people, and I will be their God speaks of covenant renewal, a restoration of the unbroken fellowship the Lord desired to have with his people but which their disloyalty had shattered. In the eschaton God and Israel will be in covenant union once again (cf. Jer 31:33). in truth and righteousness.’
9 “The Lord who rules over all also says, ‘Gather strength, you who are listening to these words today from the mouths of the prophets who were there at the founding of the house of the Lord who rules over all,#sn These prophets who were there at the founding of the house of the Lord who rules over all included at least Haggai and Zechariah, and perhaps others. The founding referred to here is not the initial laying of the temple’s foundations in 536 b.c. (Ezra 3:8) but the resumption of work two years before the time of the present narrative (i.e., in 520 b.c.), as vv. 10-12 make clear. so that the temple might be built. 10 Before that time there was no compensation for man or animal, nor was there any relief from adversity for those who came and went, because I had pitted everybody – each one – against everyone else. 11 But I will be different now to this remnant of my people from the way I was in those days,’ says the Lord who rules over all, 12 ‘for there will be a peaceful time of sowing, the vine will produce its fruit and the ground its yield, and the skies#tn Or “the heavens” (so KJV, NAB, NIV). The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heavens” or “skies” depending on the context. will rain down dew. Then I will allow the remnant of my people to possess all these things. 13 And it will come about that just as you (both Judah and Israel) were a curse to the nations, so I will save you and you will be a blessing. Do not be afraid! Instead, be strong!’
14 “For the Lord who rules over all says, ‘As I had planned to hurt#tn The verb זָמַם (zamam) usually means “to plot to do evil,” but with a divine subject (as here), and in light of v. 15 where it means to plan good, the meaning here has to be the implementation of discipline (cf. NCV, CEV “punish”). God may bring hurt but its purpose is redemptive and/or pedagogical. you when your fathers made me angry,’ says the Lord who rules over all, ‘and I was not sorry, 15 so, to the contrary, I have planned in these days to do good to Jerusalem and Judah – do not fear! 16 These are the things you must do: Speak the truth, each of you, to one another. Practice true and righteous judgment in your courts.#sn For a similar reference to true and righteous judgment see Mic 6:8. 17 Do not plan evil in your hearts against one another. Do not favor a false oath – these are all things that I hate,’ says the Lord.”
18 The word of the Lord who rules over all came to me as follows: 19 “The Lord who rules over all says, ‘The fast of the fourth, fifth, seventh, and tenth#sn The fasts of the fifth and seventh months, mentioned previously (7:5), are listed here along with the observances of the fourth and tenth months. The latter commemorated the siege of Jerusalem by the Babylonians on January 15, 588 b.c. (2 Kgs 25:1), and the former the breach of the city walls on or about July 18, 586 b.c. (Jer 39:2-5). months will become joyful and happy, pleasant feasts for the house of Judah, so love truth and peace.’ 20 The Lord who rules over all says, ‘It will someday come to pass that people – residents of many cities – will come. 21 The inhabitants of one will go to another and say, “Let’s go up at once to ask the favor of the Lord, to seek the Lord who rules over all. Indeed, I’ll go with you.”’ 22 Many peoples and powerful nations will come to Jerusalem to seek the Lord who rules over all and to ask his favor. 23 The Lord who rules over all says, ‘In those days ten people from all languages and nations will grasp hold of – indeed, grab – the robe of one Jew and say, “Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.”’”#sn This scene of universal and overwhelming attraction of the nations to Israel’s God finds initial fulfillment in the establishment of the church (Acts 2:5-11) but ultimate completion in the messianic age (Isa 45:14, 24; 60:14; Zech 14:16-21).
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