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 2:2

2:2 I asked, “Where are you going?” He replied, “To measure Jerusalem ⁴  in order to determine its width and its length.”

Zechariah 2:4

2:4 and said to him, “Hurry, speak to this young man ⁵  as follows: ‘Jerusalem will no longer be enclosed by walls ⁶  because of the multitude of people and animals there.

Zechariah 7:7

7:7 Should you not have obeyed the words that the Lord cried out through the former prophets when Jerusalem ⁷  was peacefully inhabited and her surrounding cities, the Negev, and the Shephelah ⁸  were also populated?

Zechariah 8:4

8:4 Moreover, the Lord who rules over all says, ‘Old men and women will once more live in the plazas of Jerusalem, each one leaning on a cane because of advanced age.

Zechariah 8:8

8:8 And I will bring them to settle within Jerusalem. They will be my people, and I will be their God, ⁹  in truth and righteousness.’

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 12:7

12:7 The Lord also will deliver the homes ¹⁰  of Judah first, so that the splendor of the kingship ¹¹  of David and of the people of Jerusalem may not exceed that of Judah.

Zechariah 14:17

14:17 But if any of the nations anywhere on earth refuse to go up to Jerusalem ¹²  to worship the King, the Lord who rules over all, they will get no rain.

[1:16]  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.

[1:16]  ² map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[1:16]  ³ tn Heb “house.”

[2:2]  ⁴ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[2:4]  ⁷ sn That is, to Zechariah.

[2:4]  ⁸ tn Heb “Jerusalem will dwell as open regions (פְּרָזוֹת, pÿrazot)”; cf. NAB “in open country”; CEV “won’t have any boundaries.” The population will be so large as to spill beyond the ancient and normal enclosures. The people need not fear, however, for the Lord will be an invisible but strong wall (v. 5).

[7:7]  ¹⁰ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[7:7]  ¹¹ sn The Shephelah is the geographical region between the Mediterranean coastal plain and the Judean hill country. The Hebrew term can be translated “lowlands” (cf. ASV), “foothills” (NAB, NASB, NLT), or “steppes.”

[8:8]  ¹³ sn The affirmation They will be my people, and I will be their God speaks of covenant renewal, a restoration of the unbroken fellowship the Lord desired to have with his people but which their disloyalty had shattered. In the eschaton God and Israel will be in covenant union once again (cf. Jer 31:33).

[12:7]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “the tents” (so NAB, NRSV); NIV “the dwellings.”

[12:7]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “house,” referring here to the dynastic line. Cf. NLT “the royal line”; CEV “the kingdom.” The same expression is translated “dynasty” in the following verse.

[14:17]  ¹⁹ sn The reference to any…who refuse to go up to Jerusalem makes clear the fact that the nations are by no means “converted” to the Lord but are under his compulsory domination.