Zechariah 8:10

"The LORD of Armies says: “Let your hands be strong, you who hear in these days these words from the mouth of the prophets who were in the day that the foundation of the house of the LORD of Armies was laid, even the temple, that it might be built."

Key Reflection

Zechariah 8:10 addresses the people who heard the prophets during the time when the foundation of the second temple was laid, likely around 520 BCE after the Babylonian exile. The LORD reassures them to be strong and encouraged, reminding them that these words echo those spoken by previous prophets like Haggai and Zechariah himself, who called for rebuilding the temple. This context underscores continuity in God’s ongoing call to rebuild both the physical and spiritual structures of Israel.

From the Scholars: Barnes' Notes

There was no hire for man -Literally, “hire for man came not to pass.” It was longed for, waited for and came not. So little was the produce, that neither laborer nor beast of burden were employed to gather it in. Neither was there peace to him who went out or came in because of the affliction, better, of the adversary -In such an empire as the Persian, there was large scope for actual hostility among the petty nations subject to it, so that they did not threaten revolt against itself, or interfere with the payment of tribute, as in the Turkish Empire now, or in the weak government of Greece.

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