God’s Word Translation
Zechariah 8:20
20This is what the Lord of Armies says: People and citizens from many cities are going to come.
Zechariah 8:20 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Thus saith the Lord of hosts; It shall yet come to pass, that there shall come people, and the inhabitants of many cities:
- New International Version (NIV)This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Many peoples and the inhabitants of many cities will yet come,
- English Standard Version (ESV)"Thus says the Lord of hosts: Peoples shall yet come, even the inhabitants of many cities.
- New King James Version (NKJV)“Thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘Peoples shall yet come, Inhabitants of many cities;
Context of Zechariah 8:20
18The Lord of Armies spoke his word to me again. 19This is what the Lord of Armies says: The fast in the fourth month, the fast in the fifth month, the fast in the seventh month, and the fast in the tenth month will become joyful and glad occasions as well as happy festivals for the nation of Judah. So love truth and peace. This is what the Lord of Armies says: People and citizens from many cities are going to come. 21The citizens of one city will come to another city, saying, “Let’s make a habit of going to ask the Lord for a blessing and to seek the Lord of Armies. I’m also going.” 22Many people and powerful nations will come to seek the Lord of Armies in Jerusalem and to ask the Lord for a blessing.
Read all of Zechariah 8Zechariah 8:20 word by word
כֹּ֥ה אָמַ֖ר יְהוָ֣ה צְבָא֑וֹת עֹ֚ד אֲשֶׁ֣ר יָבֹ֣אוּ עַמִּ֔ים וְיֹשְׁבֵ֖י עָרִ֥ים רַבּֽוֹת׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Zechariah 8:20
- Zechariah 2:11On that day many nations will join the Lord and become my people. I will live among you. Then you will know that the Lord of Armies has sent me to you.
- Zechariah 14:16Everyone who is left from all the nations that attacked Jerusalem will come every year to worship the king, the Lord of Armies, and to celebrate the Festival of Booths.
- 1 Kings 8:41“People will hear about your great name, mighty hand, and powerful arm. So when people who are not Israelites come from distant countries because of your name
- 2 Chronicles 6:32“People who are not Israelites will come from distant countries because of your great name, mighty hand, and powerful arm. When they come to pray facing this temple,
- Psalms 22:27All the ends of the earth will remember and return to the Lord. All the families from all the nations will worship you
- Psalms 67:1May God have pity on us and bless us! May he smile on us. Selah
- Psalms 72:17May his name endure forever. May his name continue as long as the sun ⌞shines⌟. May all nations be blessed through him and call him blessed.
- Psalms 89:9You rule the raging sea. When its waves rise, you quiet them.
- Psalms 117:1Praise the Lord, all you nations! Praise him, all you people of the world!
- Psalms 138:4All the kings of the earth will give thanks to you, O Lord, because they have heard the promises you spoke.
- Isaiah 2:2In the last days the mountain of the Lord’s house will be established as the highest of the mountains and raised above the hills. All the nations will stream to it.
- Isaiah 11:10At that time the root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the people ⌞to gather around⌟. The nations will come to him. His resting place will be glorious.
- Isaiah 49:6Now, the Lord says, “You are not just my servant who restores the tribes of Jacob and brings back those in Israel whom I have preserved. I have also made you a light for the nations so that you would save people all over the world.”
- Isaiah 60:3Nations will come to your light, and kings will come to the brightness of your dawn.
- Isaiah 66:18Because of their actions and their thoughts, I am coming to gather the nations of every language. They will come and see my glory.
- Jeremiah 16:19The Lord is my strength and my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble. Nations come to you from the most distant parts of the world and say, “Our ancestors have inherited lies, worthless and unprofitable gods.”
Commentaries on Zechariah 8:20
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 20There shall come people - Similar promises to those in Isaiah 2:3; and in Micah 4:1, Micah 4:2. Many Gentiles, as well as Jews, will then be found devoting themselves to the Lord.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 20It shall yet be that - The promises are those which God had already made by Isaiah (Isaiah 2:2 ff) and Micah (Micah 4:1 ff). Yet where was the show of their fulfillment? The Jews themselves, a handful: the temple unfinished; its completion depending, in human sight, upon the will of their pagan masters, the rival worship at Samaria standing and inviting to coalition. Appearances and experience were against it. God says virtually, that it was, in human…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 18-23Verses 18-23 When God comes towards us in ways of mercy, we must meet him with joy and thankfulness. Therefore be faithful and honest in all your dealings; and let it be a pleasure to you to be so, though thereby you come short of the gains others get dishonestly; and, as much as in you lies, live peaceably with all men. Let the truths of God rule in your heads, and let the peace of God rule in your hearts. Thus the ancient servants of God drew the notice…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-23This part of Zechariah’s sermons links to the previous section through fasting and the ethical demands of a covenant with the Lord (Zechariah 7:8–10; 8:16–17). Questions about fasting in 7:2–7 are answered in 8:18–19. The tone and message shift from warning and judgment to encouragement and renewal. Fasting will change to feasting (Zechariah 8:19).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2020. (Is 2:3; Mi 4:2). Thus saith the Lord of hosts--a preface needed to assure the Jews, now disheartened by the perils surrounding them, and by the humble aspect of the temple. "Unlikely as what follows may seem to you, Jehovah of hosts, boundless in resources, saith it, therefore it shall be so." Just before Christ's coming, a feeling grew up among the heathen of the unsatisfactoriness of their systems of religion and philosophy; this disposed them…Read the comment
Topics related to Zechariah 8:20
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Zechariah 8
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
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