Zechariah 8
Revised Geneva Translation
8 Again the Word of the LORD of Hosts came, saying,
2 “Thus says the LORD of Hosts: ‘I was zealous for Zion with great zeal! And I was zealous for her with great wrath!’
3 “Thus says the LORD: ‘I will return to 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 says the LORD of Hosts: ‘There, old men and old women shall still dwell in the streets of Jerusalem, and every man with his staff in his hand because of age.
5 ‘And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls, playing in her streets.’
6 “Thus says the LORD of Hosts: ‘Even if it is impossible in the eyes of the remnant of this people in these days, should it therefore be impossible in My sight?’ says the LORD of Hosts.
7 “Thus says the LORD of Hosts: ‘Behold, I will deliver My people from the East country, and from the West 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 says the LORD of Hosts: ‘Let your hands be strong, you who today hear these Words by the mouths of the Prophets who were in the day that the foundation of the House of the LORD of Hosts was laid, so that the Temple might be built.
10 ‘For before these days, there were no wages for man, or any hire for beast. Nor was there any peace for him who went out or came in, because of the affliction. For I set all men, everyone, against his neighbor.
11 ‘But now, I will not treat the rest of this people as before,’ says the LORD of Hosts.
12 ‘For the seed shall be prosperous. 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 happen at that time that as you were a curse among the heathen, O House of Judah, and House of Israel, so I will deliver you. And you shall be a blessing. Do not fear! Let your hands be strong!’
14 “For thus says the LORD of Hosts: ‘As I thought to punish you when your fathers provoked Me to wrath,’ says the LORD of Hosts, ‘and did not repent,
15 ‘So again have I determined in these days to do well to Jerusalem, and to the House of Judah. Do not fear.
16 ‘These are the things that you shall do: Every man speak the truth to his neighbor. Execute judgment truly and uprightly in your gates.
17 ‘And let none of you imagine evil in your hearts against his neighbor. And love no false oath. For these are all things that I hate,’ says the LORD.”
18 And the Word of the LORD of Hosts came to me, saying,
19 “Thus says 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 joy and gladness to the House of Judah, and prosperous High Feasts. Therefore, love the truth and peace.’
20 “Thus says the LORD of Hosts: ‘People shall still come, the inhabitants of great cities.
21 ‘And those who dwell in one shall go to another, saying, “Up! Let us go and pray before the LORD and seek the LORD of Hosts! I will go also!”
22 ‘Yea, great people and mighty nations shall come to seek the LORD of Hosts in Jerusalem, and to pray before the LORD.’
23 “Thus says the LORD of Hosts: ‘In those days, ten men shall take hold—out of all languages of the nations— take hold of the skirt of him who is a Jew, and say, ‘We will go with you! For we have heard that God is with you!’”
Zechariah 8
EasyEnglish Bible
The promises of God for Jerusalem
8 The Lord Almighty gave this message to Zechariah. 2 ‘I have wanted to help Jerusalem because I love its people very much. My love causes me to be very angry with the enemies of Jerusalem,’ says the Lord Almighty.
3 ‘Jerusalem is the city that I have chosen. I will return there and I will live there. Then Jerusalem will be called the city that obeys God. And the mountain of the Lord Almighty will be called the mountain that God has chosen.’
4 The Lord Almighty says, ‘Old men and old women will sit in the streets of Jerusalem again. Each will have a stick in his hands because he is so old.
5 Many boys and girls will play in the streets of the city again.’
6 ‘This may seem impossible to the few people that remain,’ says the Lord Almighty. ‘But nothing is impossible to me,’ says the Lord Almighty.
7 ‘I will bring my people back from the east country and from the west country,’ says the Lord Almighty. 8 ‘I will bring them back to live in Jerusalem. They will be my people and I will be their God. I will do for them what I promised to do.’
9 The Lord Almighty says, ‘Be strong, you people who now hear these words from the mouths of the prophets. The prophets spoke the same words when you prepared the ground for the temple of the Lord Almighty. Now be strong and continue to build. 10 Before that time, there was not enough money to pay for work that men or animals did. No man was safe from the enemy because I made all men angry with each other.’
11 ‘But now it is different. I will not be angry with the few people that have returned,’ says the Lord Almighty.
12 ‘The seeds and the plants will grow well. The trees will give fruit. There will be water from the skies. I will bless the few people that will return. 13 In past years, people from other countries have said bad things against you, Judah and Israel. But now I will help you. You will bless many people. Do not be afraid. Be strong.’
14 The Lord Almighty says this: ‘When your parents and their parents made me angry, I decided to punish them.’ ‘I have also punished you,’ says the Lord Almighty. 15 ‘Do not be afraid. I have now decided to do good things to Jerusalem and to the people in Judah again. 16 These are the things that you should do. Speak true words to each other. Leaders, be fair to all people. 17 Do not think to do bad things against other people. Do not use my name to promise things and then not do those things. All these things make me very angry.’
18 Again Zechariah the prophet heard this message from the Lord Almighty. 19 ‘On special days in the year you eat no food. Those days are in the fourth, fifth, seventh and tenth months. But I want you to enjoy those days,’ says the Lord Almighty. ‘I want the people in Judah to be happy. So speak true words and live quiet lives.’
20 ‘People that live in many countries will come to Jerusalem,’ says the Lord Almighty. 21 ‘The people from one city will go to the people in another city. They will say, “Come with us to worship the Lord Almighty. Come and ask the Lord to help us.” 22 People from many powerful nations will worship the Lord Almighty in Jerusalem. They will ask the Lord to help them.’
23 ‘Then, ten men from foreign countries will hold the coat of one Jew,’ says the Lord Almighty. ‘They will say, “People have told us that the Lord is with you. So we want to go with you.” ’
Zechariah 8
New King James Version
Jerusalem, Holy City of the Future
8 Again the word of the Lord of hosts came, saying, 2 “Thus says the Lord of hosts:
3 “Thus says the Lord:
(B)‘I will return to Zion,
And (C)dwell in the midst of Jerusalem.
Jerusalem (D)shall be called the City of Truth,
(E)The Mountain of the Lord of hosts,
(F)The Holy Mountain.’
4 “Thus says the Lord of hosts:
(G)‘Old men and old women shall again sit
In the streets of Jerusalem,
Each one with his staff in his hand
Because of [d]great age.
5 The streets of the city
Shall be (H)full of boys and girls
Playing in its streets.’
6 “Thus says the Lord of hosts:
‘If it is [e]marvelous in the eyes of the remnant of this people in these days,
(I)Will it also be marvelous in My eyes?’
Says the Lord of hosts.
7 “Thus says the Lord of hosts:
‘Behold, (J)I will save My people from the land of the [f]east
And from the land of the [g]west;
8 I will (K)bring them back,
And they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem.
(L)They shall be My people
And I will be their God,
(M)In truth and righteousness.’
9 “Thus says the Lord of hosts:
(N)‘Let your hands be strong,
You who have been hearing in these days
These words by the mouth of (O)the prophets,
Who spoke in (P)the day the foundation was laid
For the house of the Lord of hosts,
That the temple might be built.
10 For before these days
There were no (Q)wages for man nor any hire for beast;
There was no peace from the enemy for whoever went out or came in;
For I set all men, everyone, against his neighbor.
11 (R)But now I will not treat the remnant of this people as in the former days,’ says the Lord of hosts.
12 ‘For(S) the [h]seed shall be prosperous,
The vine shall give its fruit,
(T)The ground shall give her increase,
And (U)the heavens shall give their dew—
I will cause the remnant of this people
To possess all these.
13 And it shall come to pass
That just as you were (V)a curse among the nations,
O house of Judah and house of Israel,
So I will save you, and (W)you shall be a blessing.
Do not fear,
Let your hands be strong.’
14 “For thus says the Lord of hosts:
(X)‘Just as I determined to [i]punish you
When your fathers provoked Me to wrath,’
Says the Lord of hosts,
(Y)‘And I would not relent,
15 So again in these days
I am determined to do good
To Jerusalem and to the house of Judah.
Do not fear.
16 These are the things you shall (Z)do:
(AA)Speak each man the truth to his neighbor;
Give judgment in your gates for truth, justice, and peace;
17 (AB)Let none of you think evil in [j]your heart against your neighbor;
And do not love a false oath.
For all these are things that I hate,’
Says the Lord.”
18 Then the word of the Lord of hosts came to me, saying, 19 “Thus says the Lord of hosts:
(AC)‘The fast of the fourth month,
(AD)The fast of the fifth,
(AE)The fast of the seventh,
(AF)And the fast of the tenth,
Shall be (AG)joy and gladness and cheerful feasts
For the house of Judah.
(AH)Therefore love truth and peace.’
20 “Thus says the Lord of hosts:
‘Peoples shall yet come,
Inhabitants of many cities;
21 The inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying,
(AI)“Let us continue to go and pray before the Lord,
And seek the Lord of hosts.
I myself will go also.”
22 Yes, (AJ)many peoples and strong nations
Shall come to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem,
And to pray before the Lord.’
23 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘In those days ten men (AK)from every language of the nations shall (AL)grasp the [k]sleeve of a Jewish man, saying, “Let us go with you, for we have heard (AM)that God is with you.” ’ ”
Footnotes
- Zechariah 8:2 Or jealous
- Zechariah 8:2 Or jealousy
- Zechariah 8:2 Lit. heat or rage
- Zechariah 8:4 Lit. many days
- Zechariah 8:6 Or wonderful
- Zechariah 8:7 Lit. rising sun
- Zechariah 8:7 Lit. setting sun
- Zechariah 8:12 Lit. seed of peace
- Zechariah 8:14 Lit. bring calamity to you
- Zechariah 8:17 Lit. his
- Zechariah 8:23 Lit. wing, corner of a garment
Zechariah 8
King James Version
8 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 very 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 marvellous 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 west 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 was 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; 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; execute 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; 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 speedily 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 pray 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.
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Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
