Zechariah 1:17

Cry yet, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; My cities through prosperity shall yet be spread abroad; and the LORD shall yet comfort Zion, and shall yet choose Jerusalem. CRY YET ... THUS SAITH THE LORD OF HOSTS; MY CITIES - not only Jerusalem, but the subordinate cities of Judah. God claims them all as peculiarly His, and therefore will restore them. THROUGH PROSPERITY SHALL YET BE SPREAD ABROAD - or overflow; metaphor from an overflowing vessel or fountain (cf. ). (Pembellus.) Abundance of fruits of the earth, grain and wine, and a large increase of citizens, are meant; also spiritual prosperity. YET - though heretofore they have been lying depressed and prostrate. AND THE LORD SHALL YET COMFORT ZION - ...

I was not able in my last lecture fully to explain the verse in which the Prophet says that he was commanded by the angel to cry again, that God had returned to Jerusalem in mercies. The design of the words is this, — that though it was difficult to believe the restoration of Jerusalem, it was yet to be fully expected, for the Lord had so appointed. But he enlarges on what I have before stated; for the blessing of God is extended to the cities of Judah, though an express mention is made only of Jerusalem. _Yet cities_, he says, _shall wear out through abundance of blessings_; for so I think the verb תפוצנה, _tephutzne_, is to be taken, as futs means to spread, and also to wear out, and to break. Some elicit a forced meaning, that cities would spread themselves; others, that they would be separated, that is, that security would be so great, that cities, though distant from one another, wo...

7-17 The prophet saw a dark, shady grove, hidden by hills. This represented the low, melancholy condition of the Jewish church. A man like a warrior sat on a red horse, in the midst of this shady myrtle-grove. Though the church was in a low condition, Christ was present in the midst, ready to appear for the relief of his people. Behind him were angels ready to be employed by him, some in acts of judgment, others of mercy, others in mixed events. Would we know something of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, we must apply, not to angels, for they are themselves learners, but to Christ himself. He is ready to teach those humbly desirous to learn the things of God. The nations near Judea enjoyed peace at that time, but the state of the Jews was unsettled, which gave rise to the pleading that followed; but mercy must only be hoped for through Christ. His intercession for his church prev...

Verse 17. _MY CITIES - SHALL YET BE SPREAD ABROAD_] The whole land of Judea shall be inhabited, and the ruined cities restored....

CRY YET - A further promise; not only should Jerusalem be rebuilt, but should as we say, overflow with good ; and God, who had seemed to cast off His people, should yet comfort her, and should show in act that He had chosen her. “love.” In all the cases, which Gesenius cites as meaning “love” Genesis 6:2; 1 Samuel 20:30; 2 Samuel 15:15; Proverbs 1:29; Proverbs 3:31; Isaiah 1:29, the sense would be injured by rendering, “loved”) Zechariah t

EXPOSITION VERSE 1-6:15 Part I. A SERIES OF EIGHT VISIONS, AND A SYMBOLICAL ACTION. ZECHARIAH 1:1 § 1. _Title of the book, and author. _THE EIGHTH MONTH. This was called Bul before the Captivity (1 Kings 6:38), and afterwards Marchesvan (Josephus, 'Ant.,' 1.3 3); it answered to parts of October and November, and was a time of rain. Haggai had first prophesied two months earlier. THE SECOND YEAR OF DARIUS. Being now under foreign rule, the prophet uses the regnal years of the king to whom his people were subject (see note on...

CRY YET, SAYING,.... That is, "prophesy again", as the Targum paraphrases it; publish and declare openly before all: THUS SAITH THE LORD OF HOSTS, MY CITIES THROUGH PROSPERITY SHALL YET BE SPREAD ABROAD; or, according to the Targum, "the cities of my people shall be yet filled with good"; and so the Septuagint and Vulgate Latin versions, "my cities shall yet flow with good things"; with all temporal prosperity and happiness; which was fulfilled in the times of Nehemiah, Zerubbabel, and the Maccabees; and especially in the times of the Messiah, when, in a spiritual sense, they were filled with good; with him who is goodness itself, and with all blessings of grace in him; and with the good news and glad tidings of the everlasting Gospel preached by him and his apostles; or, the meaning is, through the increase of men, and the affluence of all temporal mercies, not only the city of Jerusal...

ANALYSIS AND ANNOTATIONS 1. THE NIGHT VISIONS CHAPTER 1 _ 1. The introduction (Zechariah 1:1) _ 2. The first night vision (Zechariah 1:7) 3. The second night vision (Zechariah 1:18) Zechariah 1:1. The first utterance of Zechariah concerns the past. “The LORD hath been sore displeased with your fathers.” They were a disobedient, stiff-necked people. The pre-exilic prophets had called them to repentance, but they did not hearken. Then he gives the message to turn to the Lord, with the promise that He will turn to them; they should not be like their fathers. And their fathers, where w

This section, to which Zechariah 1:7 is an editorial introduction, either is not the beginning of Zechariah's allegories, or has not come down to us in its original form, for the interpreting angel is mentioned in Zechariah 1:9 as already known to the reader. A verse introducing him may, however, have been omitted between Zechariah 1:8 and Zechariah 1:9, since the opening words of Zechariah 1:8 imply that we have here the beginning of the allegorical prophecies. There are many corruptions in the text, several of which can, however, be easily corrected from the

COMFORT. pity, or have compassion on; as mercy" in Zechariah 1:12....