Zechariah 8:9

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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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
saith	אָמַר֮ 'a.Mar	H559	to say (used with great latitude) · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
LORD	יְהוָ֣ה Yah.weh	H3068	Jehovah · proper noun, a title
hosts	צְבָאוֹת֒ tze.va.'Ot	H6635	a mass of persons (or figuratively · noun, common feminine plural absolute
hands	יְדֵיכֶ֔ם ye.dei.Khem	H3027	a hand (the open one (indicating power · noun, common both genders dual construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine plural
strong	תֶּחֱזַ֣קְנָה te.che.Zak.nah	H2388	to fasten upon · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person feminine plural
hear	הַשֹּֽׁמְעִים֙ ha.sho.me.'Im	H8085	to hear intelligently (often with implication of attent… · definite article + verb, qal active participle, masculine plural absolute
days	בַּיָּמִ֣ים bai.ya.Mim	H3117	a day (as the warm hours) · preposition with the article + noun, common masculine plural absolute
words	הַדְּבָרִ֣ים ha.de.va.Rim	H1697	a word · definite article + noun, common masculine plural absolute
mouth	מִפִּי֙ mi.Pi	H6310	the mouth (as the means of blowing) · preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct
prophets	הַנְּבִיאִ֔ים ha.ne.vi.'Im	H5030	a prophet or (generally) inspired man · definite article + noun, common masculine plural absolute
day	בְּי֞וֹם be.Yom	H3117	a day (as the warm hours) · preposition + noun, common masculine singular absolute
foundation	יֻסַּ֨ד yu.Sad	H3245	to set (literally or figuratively) · verb, pual perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
house	בֵּית beit-	H1004	a house (in the greatest variation of applications · noun, common masculine singular construct
LORD	יְהוָ֧ה Yah.weh	H3068	Jehovah · proper noun, a title
hosts	צְבָא֛וֹת tze.va.'ot	H6635	a mass of persons (or figuratively · noun, common feminine plural absolute
laid	יָסַד yâçad	H3245	to set (literally or figuratively)
temple	הַהֵיכָ֖ל ha.hei.Khal	H1964	a large public building · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
built	לְהִבָּנֽוֹת le.hi.ba.Not	H1129	to build (literally and figuratively) · preposition + verb, niphal infinitive construct

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Isaiah 35:4 Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompence; he will…
1 Chronicles 22:13 Then shalt thou prosper, if thou takest heed to fulfil the statutes and judgments which the LORD charged Moses with concerning Israel: be st…
Ezra 5:1-2 Then the prophets, Haggai the prophet, and Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophesied unto the Jews that were in Judah and Jerusalem in the name…
Haggai 2:21 Speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, saying, I will shake the heavens and the earth;
Ephesians 6:10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
2 Timothy 2:1 Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.
Joshua 1:6 Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to giv…
Joshua 1:8 This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do accord…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Zechariah 8:9-17

God, by the prophet, here gives further assurances of the mercy he had in store for Judah and Jerusalem. Here is line upon line for their comfort, as before there was for their conviction. These verses contain strong encouragements with reference to the difficulties they now laboured under. And we may observe, I. Who they were to whom these encouragements did belong - to those who, in obedience to the call of God by his prophets, applied in good earnest to the building of the temple (Zac 8:9): "Let your hands be strong, that are busy at work for God, you that hear in these days these words by the mouth of the prophets, and are not disobedient to them as your fathers were, in the former days,…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Zechariah 8:9

All adversities formerly attended them when neglecting to build the temple: but now God promises all blessings, as an encouragement to energy in the work. hands . . . strong--be of courageous mind (Sa2 16:21), not merely in building, but in general, as having such bright prospects (Zac 8:13, &c.). these days--the time that had elapsed between the prophet's having spoken "these words" and the time (Zac 8:10; compare Hag 2:15-19) when they set about in earnest restoring the temple. the prophets--Haggai and Zechariah himself (Ezr 5:1-2). The same prophets who promised prosperity at the foundation of the temple, now promised still greater blessings hereafter.

Adam Clarke on Zechariah 8:9

By the mouth of the prophets - The day or time of the foundation was about two years before, as this discourse of the prophet was in the fourth year of Darius. After this God raised up prophets among them.

John Gill on Zechariah 8:9

Thus saith the Lord of hosts, Let your hands be strong,.... In going on with the building of the temple, which was typical of the church of God, since so many great and good things were promised by the Lord, Haggai 2:4, ye that hear in these days; such as Zerubbabel the ruler, Joshua the high priest, and the rest of the people of the land: these words by the mouth of the prophets; that is, these prophecies of future good things, which were delivered by Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi; who were the prophets, which were in the day that the foundation of the house of the Lord of hosts was laid; which was in the second year of Darius, on the twenty fourth day of the ninth month, Haggai 2:10,…

The Church Fathers

(Verse 9) Thus says the Lord of hosts: Let your hands be strong, you who in these days have been hearing through the mouth of the prophets the decrees that were made when the foundation of the house of the Lord of hosts was laid for the rebuilding of the temple. For there are seventy years for the Lord of hosts, the Almighty, and in like manner the rest were translated. When the temple was built under Zerubbabel and Jesus (for in the fourth year of King Darius, on the fourth day of the ninth month, which is called Chislev, these things are said, when the temple had already been constructed), the same prophets Haggai and Zechariah, who had encouraged the leaders and the people to build it, now encourage them to conform their faith to what had been promised in the past and what is promised for the future, and to strengthen their hands, fearing neither the attack of the Medes nor the plots of the surrounding nations. And let them be comforted by the words of the prophets from the day the foundation of the temple was laid until the day it was completed, and let them hear what follows. Briefly, we explain the history of whatever is said about Jerusalem and the temple, referring it spiritually to the Church, in which hands are strengthened through good works, and houses are founded when the foundations of faith are laid, and a temple is built when the multitude of believers is strengthened, and thus lives so as to deserve to be the temple of God.
— Jerome, Commentary on Zechariah

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Hands, The · Should be employed: In God’s service — Should be employed: In God’s service
Temple, The Second · The Jews encouraged to proceed in building — The Jews encouraged to proceed in building

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Zechariah 8:9

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Zechariah 8:9-17

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Zechariah 8:9

Adam Clarke on Zechariah 8:9

John Gill on Zechariah 8:9

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Zechariah 8:9

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Zechariah 8:9-17

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Zechariah 8:9

Adam Clarke on Zechariah 8:9

John Gill on Zechariah 8:9

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Calvin on Zechariah 8:9-11

Keil & Delitzsch on Zechariah 8:9-10

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Zechariah 8:9-13

Rashi on Zechariah 8:9