About Zechariah

Zechariah encouraged the temple rebuilders with apocalyptic visions and messianic prophecies of the coming King.

Author: ZechariahWritten: c. 520-518 BCReading time: ~3 minVerses: 23
MessiahRestorationVisionsKingdomSpiritReturn

King James Version

Zechariah 8

23 verses with commentary

The Lord's Promises to Zion

Again the word of the LORD of hosts came to me, saying,

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>Again the word of the LORD of hosts came to me, saying,</strong>—This simple introductory formula marks the beginning of Zechariah's eighth prophetic oracle, following the question about fasting in chapter 7. The repetition of <strong>"the word of the LORD"</strong> (<em>devar-Yahweh</em>, דְּבַר־יְהוָה) emphasizes divine initiative in revelation—Zechariah doesn't manufacture messages but ...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers Text Courtesy of BibleSupport.com. Used by Permission. Bible Hub

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

5. A vision of two other angels, one on one side of the Hiddekel or Tigris, the other on the other side, implying that on all sides angels attend to execute God's commands. The angel addressing Daniel had been over the river "from above" (Da 12:6, Margin).

Thus saith the LORD of hosts; I was jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I was jealous for her with great fury.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>Thus saith the LORD of hosts; I was jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I was jealous for her with great fury.</strong> This verse reveals the passionate intensity of God's covenantal love for His people. The Hebrew word <em>qana</em> (קָנָא, "jealous") appears twice, emphasizing divine zeal that tolerates no rivals. Unlike human jealousy rooted in insecurity or possessiveness, God's...
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

**6. one--**namely, of the two (Da 12:5). **man ... in linen--**who had spoken up to this point. God impelled the angel to ask in order to waken us out of our torpor, seeing that the very "angels desire to look into" the things affecting man's redemption (1Pe 1:12), as setting forth the glory of their Lord and ours (Ep 3:10). **How long ... to the end of these wonders--**This question of the a...
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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.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>Thus saith the LORD; I am returned unto Zion, and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem</strong>—God announces His decisive return to the city from which His glory departed during the exile (Ezekiel 10:18-19, 11:23). The verb <strong>"returned"</strong> (<em>shavti</em>, שַׁבְתִּי) from <em>shuv</em> means to turn back or restore, answering the anguished question of whether God had permanen...
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

**7. held up ... right ... and ... left hand--**Usually the right hand was held up in affirmation as an appeal to heaven to attest the truth (De 32:40; Re 10:5, 6). Here both hands are lifted up for the fuller confirmation. **time, times, and a half--**(See on Da 7:25). Newton, referring this prophecy to the Eastern apostasy, Mohammedanism, remarks that the same period of three and a half years,...
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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. very: Heb. multitude of days

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>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.</strong> This tender promise reverses the curse of premature death that accompanied exile and judgment. The phrase <strong>"shall yet"</strong> (<em>od</em>, עֹד) means "again" or "still," expressing confidence in restoration despite ...
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

**8. understood not--**Daniel "understood" the main features of the vision as to Antiochus (Da 10:1, 14), but not as to the times. 1Pe 1:10-12 refers mainly to Daniel: for it is he who foretells "the sufferings of Christ and the glory that should follow"; it is he who prophesies "not unto himself, but unto us"; it is he who "searched what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ in him did sig...
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And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in the streets thereof.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in the streets thereof.</strong> If verse 4 depicted the elderly, verse 5 completes the generational portrait with children at play. The Hebrew <strong>"boys and girls"</strong> (<em>yeladim vi-yeladot</em>, יְלָדִים וִילָדוֹת) emphasizes both genders—sons and daughters enjoying carefree childhood. The verb <strong>"playin...
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

9. Daniel's desire of knowing more is thus deferred "till the time of the end." John's Revelation in part reveals what here is veiled (see on Da 12:4; Da 8:26).

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. marvellous: or, hard, or, difficult

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>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.</strong> God anticipates skeptical response to His promises. The word <strong>"marvellous"</strong> (<em>yippale</em>, יִפָּלֵא) from <em>pala</em> means extraordinary, wonderful, difficult, or seemingly impossible—be...
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

10. There is no need of a fuller explanation as to the time; for when the predictions so far given shall have come to pass, the godly shall be "purified" by the foretold trials and shall understand that the end is at hand; but the wicked shall not understand, and so shall rush on to their own ruin (Da 11:33-35) [Maurer]. The "end" is primarily, of Antiochus' persuasion; antitypically, the end of A...
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Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Behold, I will save my people from the east country, and from the west country; the west: Heb. the country of the going down of the sun

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Behold, I will save my people from the east country, and from the west country.</strong> God promises comprehensive ingathering of His scattered people. The command <strong>"Behold"</strong> (<em>hineni</em>, הִנְנִי) literally means "Behold me" or "Here I am," demanding attention to divine action. The verb <strong>"I will save"</strong> (<em>moshia</em>, מוֹש...
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

**11. from ... sacrifice ... taken way ... abomination--**(Da 11:31). As to this epoch, which probably is prophetically germinant and manifold; the profanation of the temple by Antiochus (in the month Ijar of the year 145 B.C., till the restoration of the worship by Judas Maccabeus on the twenty-fifth day of the ninth month [Chisleu] of 148 B.C., according to the Seleucid era, 1290 days; forty-fiv...
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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.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>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.</strong> God specifies the destination and purpose of regathering. The verb <strong>"I will bring"</strong> (<em>veheveti</em>, וַהֲבֵאתִי) emphasizes divine agency—God doesn't merely permit return but actively brings His people home. T...
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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.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>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.</strong> After declaring what God will do (verses 1-8), He now commands human response: <strong>"Let your hands be strong"</strong> (<em>techezaqnah ...
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

**13. rest--**in the grave (Job 3:17; Is 57:2). He, like his people Israel, was to wait patiently and confidently for the blessing till God's time. He "received not the promise," but had to wait until the Christian elect saints should be brought in, at the first resurrection, that he and the older Old Testament saints "without us should not be made perfect" (He 11:40). **stand--**implying justif...
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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. there was: or, the hire of man became nothing

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>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.</strong> God contrasts past hardship with promised future blessing. The phrase <strong>"before these days"</strong> (<em>lifnei ha-yamim ha-hem</em>, לִפְנֵי הַיָּמִים הָהֵם) refers...
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

THE BOOK OF HOSEA

But now I will not be unto the residue of this people as in the former days, saith the LORD of hosts.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>But now I will not be unto the residue of this people as in the former days, saith the LORD of hosts.</strong> The pivotal word <strong>"But now"</strong> (<em>ve-atah</em>, וְעַתָּה) marks dramatic reversal—what was true before (verse 10) will no longer be true. The negative construction <strong>"I will not be"</strong> (<em>lo ehyeh</em>, לֹא אֶהְיֶה) explicitly negates continued judgmen...
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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. prosperous: Heb. of peace

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>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.</strong> God specifies the reversal of former curses with detailed agricultural blessing. <strong>"For the seed shall be prosperous"</strong> (<em>zera ha-shalom</em>, זֶרַע הַ...
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

INTRODUCTION The first of the twelve minor prophets in the order of the canon (called "minor," not as less in point of inspired authority, but simply in point of size). The twelve are first mentioned by Jesus, the son of Sirach (Ecclesiasticus 49:10). St. Stephen, in Ac 7:42 (in referring to Am 5:27), quotes them as forming one collective body of writings, "the book of the prophets." So Jerome a...
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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.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>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.</strong> This verse announces the great reversal at the heart of God's restoration promise. The phrase <strong>"as ye were a curse among the heathen"</strong> (<em>ka'asher heyitem qelalah ba-goy...
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

**2. beginning--**not of the prophet's predictions generally, but of those spoken by Hosea. **take ... wife of whoredoms--**not externally acted, but internally and in vision, as a pictorial illustration of Israel's unfaithfulness [Hengstenberg]. Compare Eze 16:8, 15, &amp;c. Besides the loathsomeness of such a marriage, if an external act, it would require years for the birth of three children,...
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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:

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>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.</strong> This verse establishes divine consistency and covenant faithfulness through contrasting God's unwavering judgment with His equally unwavering blessing. The phrase <strong>"as I thought to punish you"</strong> (<em>ka'asher zamam Yahweh ...
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

**3. Gomer ... daughter of Diblaim--**symbolical names; literally, "completion, daughter of grape cakes"; the dual expressing the double layers in which these dainties were baked. So, one completely given up to sensuality. Maurer explains "Gomer" as literally, "a burning coal." Compare Pr 6:27, 29, as to an adulteress; Job 31:9, 12.

So again have I thought in these days to do well unto Jerusalem and to the house of Judah: fear ye not.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>So again have I thought in these days to do well unto Jerusalem and to the house of Judah: fear ye not.</strong> This verse completes the parallel begun in verse 14, demonstrating God's symmetrical faithfulness. The opening <strong>"So again have I thought"</strong> (<em>ken shamti hashavti ba-yamim ha-elleh</em>, כֵּן שַׁמְתִּי הָשַׁבְתִּי בַּיָּמִים הָאֵלֶּה) uses the same verb <em>zamam...
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

**4. Jezreel--**that is, "God will scatter" (compare Zec 10:9). It was the royal city of Ahab and his successors, in the tribe of Issachar. Here Jehu exercised his greatest cruelties (2Ki 9:16, 25, 33; 10:11, 14, 17). There is in the name an allusion to "Israel" by a play of letters and sounds.

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: execute: Heb. judge truth, and the judgment of peace

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>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.</strong> Having established God's unwavering commitment to bless (verses 13-15), this verse outlines covenant obligations—how the restored community must live to align with God's purposes. The phrase <strong>"These are the things that ye shall do"</st...
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

**5. bow--**the prowess (Jr 49:35; compare Ge 49:24). **valley of Jezreel--**afterwards called Esdraelon, extending ten miles in breadth, and in length from Jordan to the Mediterranean near Mount Carmel, the great battlefield of Palestine (Jud 6:33; 1Sa 29:1).

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.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>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.</strong> This verse continues the ethical requirements begun in verse 16, addressing internal motivations and oath-taking. The command <strong>"let none of you imagine evil in your hearts against his neighbour"</strong> (<em>ve-ish et-ra'at re...
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

**6. Lo-ruhamah--**that is, "not an object of mercy or gracious favor." **take ... away--**Israel, as a kingdom, was never restored from Assyria, as Judah was from Babylon after seventy years. Maurer translates according to the primary meaning, "No more will I have mercy on the house of Israel, so as to pardon them."

Joyful Fasting

And the word of the LORD of hosts came unto me, saying,

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>And the word of the LORD of hosts came unto me, saying,</strong> This transitional verse introduces a new prophetic oracle addressing the question of ritual fasting. The formula <strong>"And the word of the LORD of hosts came unto me"</strong> (<em>vayehi devar-Yahweh Tzeva'ot elay</em>, וַיְהִי דְבַר־יְהוָה צְבָאוֹת אֵלַי) establishes divine authority—what follows isn't Zechariah's opinio...
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

7. Judah is only incidentally mentioned to form a contrast to Israel. **by the Lord their God--**more emphatic than "by Myself"; by that Jehovah (Me) whom they worship as their God, whereas ye despise Him. **not ... by bow--**on which ye Israelites rely (Ho 1:5, "the bow of Israel"); Jeroboam II was famous as a warrior (2Ki 14:25). Yet it was not by their warlike power Jehovah would save Judah...
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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. feasts: or, solemn, or, set times

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>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.</strong> This remarkable prophecy promises to transform mournful fasts into joyful feasts. The four fasts commemorated stages of Jerusalem's de...
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

**8. weaned--**said to complete the symbolical picture, not having any special signification as to Israel [Henderson]. Israel was bereft of all the privileges which were as needful to them as milk is to infants (compare Psa 131:2; 1Pe 2:2) [Vatablus]. Israel was not suddenly, but gradually cast off; God bore with them with long-suffering, until they were incurable [Calvin]. But as it is not God, b...
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Thus saith the LORD of hosts; It shall yet come to pass, that there shall come people, and the inhabitants of many cities:

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>Thus saith the LORD of hosts; It shall yet come to pass, that there shall come people, and the inhabitants of many cities.</strong> This verse begins an eschatological vision of universal pilgrimage to Jerusalem. The opening formula <strong>"Thus saith the LORD of hosts"</strong> (<em>koh amar Yahweh Tzeva'ot</em>, כֹּה אָמַר יְהוָה צְבָאוֹת) asserts divine authority, while "It shall yet c...
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

**9. Lo-Ammi--**once "My people," but henceforth not so (Eze 16:8). The intervals between the marriage and the successive births of the three children, imply that three successive generations are intended. Jezreel, the first child, represents the dynasty of Jeroboam I and his successors, ending with Jehu's shedding the blood of Jeroboam's line in Jezreel; it was there that Jezebel was slain, in ve...
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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. speedily: or, continually: Heb. going to pray: Heb. to intreat the face of

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>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.</strong> This verse depicts the contagious nature of the pilgrimage described in verse 20. The phrase <strong>"the inhabitants of one city shall go to another"</strong> (<em>ve-halku yoshvei achat el-achat</em>, וְהָלְכוּ יֹשְׁבֵי אַחַת אֶל...
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

10. Literally fulfilled in part at the return from Babylon, in which many Israelites joined with Judah. Spiritually, the believing seed of Jacob or Israel, Gentiles as well as Jews, numerous "as the sand" (Ge 32:12); the Gentiles, once not God's people, becoming His "sons" (Joh 1:12; Ro 9:25, 26; 1Pe 2:10; 1Jo 3:1). To be fulfilled in its literal fulness hereafter in Israel's restoration (Ro 11:26...
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Yea, many people and strong nations shall come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem, and to pray before the LORD. to pray: Heb. to intreat the face of

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>Yea, many people and strong nations shall come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem, and to pray before the LORD.</strong> This climactic verse expands the vision from cities (verse 21) to entire peoples and nations. The opening <strong>"Yea"</strong> (<em>u-va'u</em>, וּבָאוּ, "and shall come") confirms and intensifies what precedes. The phrase <strong>"many people and strong nations"</...
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

**11. Judah ... Israel ... together--**(Is 11:12, 13; Jr 3:18; Eze 34:23; 37:16-24). **one head--**Zerubbabel typically; Christ antitypically, under whom alone Israel and Judah are joined, the "Head" of the Church (Ep 1:22; 5:23), and of the hereafter united kingdom of Judah and Israel (Jr 34:5, 6; Eze 34:23). Though "appointed" by the Father (Psa 2:6), Christ is in another sense "appointed" as ...
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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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KJV Study Commentary

Eschatological vision of universal seeking: '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.' The Hebrew 'yahziq asharah anashim' (ten men will seize) from 'kol leshonot ha-goyim' (all langu...
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