Zechariah 8:1-23
1 Again the word of the LORD of hosts came to me, saying,
2 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; I was jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I was jealous for her with great fury.
3 Thus saith the LORD; I am returned unto Zion, and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and Jerusalem shall be called a city of truth; and the mountain of the LORD of hosts the holy mountain.
4 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; There shall yet old men and old women dwell in the streets of Jerusalem, and every man with his staff in his hand for verya age.
5 And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in the streets thereof.
6 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; If it be marvellousb in the eyes of the remnant of this people in these days, should it also be marvellous in mine eyes? saith the LORD of hosts.
7 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Behold, I will save my people from the east country, and from the westc country;
8 And I will bring them, and they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God, in truth and in righteousness.
9 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Let your hands be strong, ye that hear in these days these words by the mouth of the prophets, which were in the day that the foundation of the house of the LORD of hosts was laid, that the temple might be built.
10 For before these days there wasd no hire for man, nor any hire for beast; neither was there any peace to him that went out or came in because of the affliction: for I set all men every one against his neighbour.
11 But now I will not be unto the residue of this people as in the former days, saith the LORD of hosts.
12 For the seed shall be prosperous;e the vine shall give her fruit, and the ground shall give her increase, and the heavens shall give their dew; and I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these things.
13 And it shall come to pass, that as ye were a curse among the heathen, O house of Judah, and house of Israel; so will I save you, and ye shall be a blessing: fear not, but let your hands be strong.
14 For thus saith the LORD of hosts; As I thought to punish you, when your fathers provoked me to wrath, saith the LORD of hosts, and I repented not:
15 So again have I thought in these days to do well unto Jerusalem and to the house of Judah: fear ye not.
16 These are the things that ye shall do; Speak ye every man the truth to his neighbour; executef the judgment of truth and peace in your gates:
17 And let none of you imagine evil in your hearts against his neighbour; and love no false oath: for all these are things that I hate, saith the LORD.
18 And the word of the LORD of hosts came unto me, saying,
19 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; The fast of the fourth month, and the fast of the fifth, and the fast of the seventh, and the fast of the tenth, shall be to the house of Judah joy and gladness, and cheerful feasts;g therefore love the truth and peace.
20 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; It shall yet come to pass, that there shall come people, and the inhabitants of many cities:
21 And the inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, Let us go speedilyh to pray before the LORD, and to seek the LORD of hosts: I will go also.
22 Yea, many people and strong nations shall come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem, and to prayi before the LORD.
23 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; In those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the nations, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you: for we have heard that God is with you.
The third answer was full of grace. It declared that God was jealous for Zion, that He had returned to it, and that therefore its prosperity was assured, notwithstanding that these people saw only the devastation which caused their lamentation. Because of the certainty of this restoration, the prophet appealed to the remnant to be strong and build, promising them in the name of Jehovah that instead of being a curse they would become a blessing. Reaffirming this divine intention to restore, the prophet called the people back to what the second answer had declared God sought, namely, the execution of justice and the manifestation of mercy.
The final answer to the questions suggested by the deputation consisted, first, of the declaration that Jehovah would turn all their self-appointed fasts into feasts. These fasts were named. Historically the institution of the fasts had commenced in the tenth month of a certain year, and ended in the seventh month of the next year. In this declaration the prophet deals with them as they occur in the months of one year, beginning with the fast of the fourth month, which celebrated the taking of the city; the fast of the fifth, which commemorated the burning of the city; the fast of the seventh, which had to do with the murder of Gedaliah; and, finally, the fast of the tenth, which commemorated the siege of the city, and historically was the first of the four. This arrangement opened the way for the prophet's further declaration, that when God turned the fasts into feasts He would do it by becoming to the house of Judah joy and gladness and cheerful feasts, with the result that the city of Jerusalem would become the center to which many peoples and the inhabitants of many cities would go to seek Jehovah. It was a gracious and glorious setting forth of the realization of their true ideal by the people of God whereby men of other nations and other peoples would cast in their lot with them because of their consciousness that God was with them.