Zechariah 1:16

The Oracle of Response

1:16 “‘Therefore,’ says the Lord, ‘I have become compassionate ¹  toward Jerusalem ²  and will rebuild my temple ³  in it,’ says the Lord who rules over all. ‘Once more a surveyor’s measuring line will be stretched out over Jerusalem.’

Jeremiah 30:10-11

30:10 So I, the Lord, tell you not to be afraid,

you descendants of Jacob, my servants. ⁴ 

Do not be terrified, people of Israel.

For I will rescue you and your descendants

from a faraway land where you are captives. ⁵ 

The descendants of Jacob will return to their land and enjoy peace.

They will be secure and no one will terrify them. ⁶ 

30:11 For I, the Lord, affirm ⁷  that

I will be with you and will rescue you.

I will completely destroy all the nations where I scattered you.

But I will not completely destroy you.

I will indeed discipline you, but only in due measure.

I will not allow you to go entirely unpunished.” ⁸ 

¹ tn Heb “I have turned.” This suggests that the Lord has responded to the “turning” (i.e., repentance) of the people (v. 6) and now, with great love and forgiveness, allows construction of the temple to proceed.

² map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

³ tn Heb “house.”

⁴ tn Heb “So do not be afraid, my servant Jacob, oracle of the Lord.” Here and elsewhere in the verse the terms Jacob and Israel are poetic for the people of Israel descended from the patriarch Jacob. The terms have been supplied throughout with plural referents for greater clarity.

⁵ tn Heb “For I will rescue you from far away, your descendants from the land of their captivity.”

⁶ sn Compare the ideals of the Mosaic covenant in Lev 26:6, the Davidic covenant in 2 Sam 7:10-11, and the new covenant in Ezek 34:25-31.

⁷ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

⁸ tn The translation “entirely unpunished” is intended to reflect the emphatic construction of the infinitive absolute before the finite verb.