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.’

Zechariah 6:1

Vision Eight: The Chariots

6:1 Once more I looked, and this time I saw four chariots emerging from between two mountains of bronze. ⁴ 

Zechariah 7:14

7:14 ‘Rather, I will sweep them away in a storm into all the nations they are not familiar with.’ Thus the land had become desolate because of them, with no one crossing through or returning, for they had made the fruitful ⁵  land a waste.”

Zechariah 8:3

8:3 The Lord says, ‘I have returned to Zion and will live within Jerusalem. ⁶  Now Jerusalem will be called “truthful city,” “mountain of the Lord who rules over all,” “holy mountain.”’

Zechariah 8:15

8:15 so, to the contrary, I have planned in these days to do good to Jerusalem and Judah – do not fear!

Zechariah 9:8

9:8 Then I will surround my temple ⁷  to protect it like a guard ⁸  from anyone crossing back and forth; so no one will cross over against them anymore as an oppressor, for now I myself have seen it.

Zechariah 10:10

10:10 I will bring them back from Egypt and gather them from Assyria. ⁹  I will bring them to the lands of Gilead and Lebanon, for there will not be enough room for them in their own land.

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 “two mountains, and the mountains [were] mountains of bronze.” This has been simplified in the translation for stylistic reasons.

⁷ tn Or “desirable”; traditionally “pleasant” (so many English versions; cf. TEV “This good land”).

¹⁰ map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

¹³ tn Heb “house” (so NAB, NIV, NRSV).

¹⁴ tn Though a hapax legomenon, the מִצָּבָה (mitsavah) of the MT (from נָצַב, natsav, “take a stand”) is preferable to the suggestion מַצֵּבָה (matsevah, “pillar”) or even מִצָּבָא (mitsava’, “from” or “against the army”). The context favors the idea of the Lord as a protector.

¹⁶ sn I will bring them back from Egypt…from Assyria. The gathering of God’s people to their land in eschatological times will be like a reenactment of the exodus, but this time they will come from all over the world (cf. Isa 40:3-5; 43:1-7, 14-21; 48:20-22; 51:9-11).