Obedience and Feasting

The word of the Lord of Armies came: The Lord of Armies says this: “I am extremely jealous(A) for Zion; I am jealous for her with great wrath.” The Lord says this: “I will return to Zion and live in Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will be called the Faithful City;(B) the mountain of the Lord of Armies will be called the Holy Mountain.” The Lord of Armies says this: “Old men and women will again sit along the streets of Jerusalem, each with a staff in hand because of advanced age. The streets of the city will be filled with boys and girls playing in them.” The Lord of Armies says this: “Though it may seem impossible to the remnant of this people in those days, should it also seem impossible to me?”—this is the declaration of the Lord of Armies. The Lord of Armies says this: “I will save my people from the land of the east and the land of the west.[a] I will bring them back(C) to live in Jerusalem. They will be my people, and I will be their faithful and righteous God.”(D)

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Footnotes

  1. 8:7 Lit sunset

Yahweh’s Promise to Jerusalem

And the word of Yahweh of hosts came, saying, “Thus says Yahweh of hosts: ‘I am exceedingly jealous for Zion;[a] I am jealous for it with great wrath.’ Thus says Yahweh: ‘I have returned to Zion, and I will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem; and Jerusalem will be called the faithful city,[b] and the mountain of Yahweh of hosts will be called the holy mountain.’ Thus says Yahweh of hosts: ‘Old men and old women shall again sit in the public squares of Jerusalem, each with staff in hand[c] because of great age.[d] And the public squares of the city will be filled with boys and girls playing in its public squares.’ Thus says Yahweh of hosts: ‘Even if it seems impossible[e] to the remnant[f] of this people in those days, should it also seem impossible[g] to me?’[h] declares[i] Yahweh of hosts. Thus says Yahweh of hosts: ‘Look! I am going to save my people from the land of the east, and from the land of the west, and I will bring them and they will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. They will be my people and I will be their God in faithfulness[j] and in righteousness.’

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Footnotes

  1. Zechariah 8:2 Literally “I am jealous for Zion with great jealousy”
  2. Zechariah 8:3 Or “the city of truth”
  3. Zechariah 8:4 Hebrew “a man his staff in his hand”
  4. Zechariah 8:4 Literally “because of the multitude of days”
  5. Zechariah 8:6 Or “wonderful”
  6. Zechariah 8:6 Literally “in the eyes of the remnant”
  7. Zechariah 8:6 Or “wonderful”
  8. Zechariah 8:6 Literally “in my eyes”
  9. Zechariah 8:6 Literally “declaration of”
  10. Zechariah 8:8 Or “truth”