Zechariah 8:20
in Zechariah 8This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Peoples will yet come—the residents of many cities—
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: It shall yet come to pass, that there shall come peoples, and the inhabitants of many cities;
KJV
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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This verse in Zechariah 8
Commentary
8 notes on this verseThus saith the Lord of hosts, It shall yet come to pass,.... This is another thing that shall certainly be accomplished: that there shall come people, and the inhabitants of many cities; in the Gentile world; they shall come and hear the word, believe in Christ, and join together in a Gospel church state; as they did at Antioch, Thessalonica, Corinth, and many other places: Ben Melech says this shall be in the days of the Messiah; and so it has been in the days of the true Messiah Jesus, and will be again in the latter day.
This site's exposition
there shall come people, and the inhabitants of many cities
on Zechariah 8:20-23
The chapter widens from Judah's own fasts to a picture of nations streaming toward Jerusalem to seek the Lord, one city inviting another until many peoples and strong nations arrive. The closing image sharpens the point to ten men from every language taking hold of a single Jew's garment, saying, we will go with you, for we have heard that God is with you. Keil and Calvin read the picture as pointing toward the nations being drawn to the God of Israel, and the church later saw its own ingathering foreshadowed here, though the verse itself names the pilgrims coming to Jerusalem rather than describing where they end.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
1 Again the word of the L ORD of hosts came to me, saying, 2 Thus saith the L ORD of hosts; I was jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I was jealous for her with great fury.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:89%@v1-2
); not only a few ignorant country people that may be easily imposed upon, or some idle people that have nothing else to do, but intelligent inquisitive citizens, men of business and acquaintance with the world, shall embrace the gospel of Christ; yea, many people and strong nations (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation
But it would be accomplished much more fully in the conversion of the Gentiles to the faith of Christ, and the incorporating of them with the believing Jews in one great body, under Christ the head, a mystery which is made manifest by the scriptures of the prophets ( Rom. xvi.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
There shall come people - Similar promises to those in Isa 2:3 and in Mic 4:1, Mic 4:2. Many Gentiles, as well as Jews, will then be found devoting themselves to the Lord.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
But the full accomplishment of the conversion of the Gentiles foretold here is reserved till "Jerusalem" (Zec 8:22) becomes the center of Christianized Jewry (Ro 11:12, 15).
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
It shall yet be that - The promises are those which God had already made by Isaiah (Isa 2:2 ff) and Micah (Mic 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 sight, contrary to all expectations. But “weakness is aye Heaven’s might.” Despite of all, of the fewness of those who were returned, their downheartedness, broken condition, hopelessness, though all had hitherto failed, though, or rather because, all human energy and strength were gone, as God had said before, “The Lord shall yet (Zec 1:17; Zec 2:1-13:16 (12 English)) choose Jerusalem,” so now, It shall “yet” be “that.” Nations and many cities shall come - He describes vividly the eagerness and mutual impulse, with which not only many but mighty nations should throng to the Gospel, and every fresh conversion should win others also, until the great tide should sweep through the world.
The words behind it
11 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כֹּ֥ה | koh | thus | H3541 → | 577 times |
| אָמַ֖ר | ʾamar | he says | H559 → | 5305 times |
| יְהוָ֣ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| צְבָא֑וֹת | tzevaot | of hosts | H6635 → | 485 times |
| עֹ֚ד | ʾod | yet | H5750 → | 490 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֣ר | ʾasher | this: | H834 → | 5497 times |
| יָבֹ֣אוּ | yavou | they will come | H935 → | 2568 times |
| עַמִּ֔ים | ʾamim | peoples | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| וְיֹשְׁבֵ֖י | veyoshevei | and [the] inhabitants of | H3427 → | 1079 times |
| עָרִ֥ים | ʾarim | cities | H5892 → | 1090 times |
| רַבּֽוֹת׃ | rabot | many | H7227 → | 454 times |
כֹּ֥הthus
kohH3541 →577 times
אָמַ֖רhe says
ʾamarH559 →5305 times
יְהוָ֣הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
צְבָא֑וֹתof hosts
tzevaotH6635 →485 times
עֹ֚דyet
ʾodH5750 →490 times
אֲשֶׁ֣רthis:
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
יָבֹ֣אוּthey will come
yavouH935 →2568 times
עַמִּ֔יםpeoples
ʾamimH5971 →1873 times
וְיֹשְׁבֵ֖יand [the] inhabitants of
veyosheveiH3427 →1079 times
עָרִ֥יםcities
ʾarimH5892 →1090 times
רַבּֽוֹת׃many
rabotH7227 →454 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Matthew 8:11I say to you that many will come from the east and the west to share the banquet with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.
it leads to
- Luke 13:28–29
There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves are thrown out.
- Ephesians 3:6
This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are fellow heirs, fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus.
- Ephesians 2:11–14
Therefore remember that formerly you who are Gentiles in the flesh and called uncircumcised by the so-called circumcision (that done in the body by human hands)—
- Malachi 1:11
For My name will be great among the nations, from where the sun rises to where it sets. In every place, incense and pure offerings will be presented in My name, because My name…
- Galatians 3:28–29
There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
- Luke 13:28–29
Through
Zechariah 2:11“On that day many nations will join themselves to the LORD, and they will become My people. I will dwell among you, and you will know that the LORD of Hosts has sent Me…
it leads to
- Revelation 11:15
Then the seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and loud voices called out in heaven: “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He will reign…
- 1 Peter 2:9–10
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, to proclaim the virtues of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.
- Revelation 11:15
Through
Jeremiah 16:19O LORD, my strength and my fortress, my refuge in the day of distress, the nations will come to You from the ends of the earth, and they will say, “Our fathers inherited nothing…
it leads to
- Isaiah 25:4
For You have been a refuge for the poor, a stronghold for the needy in distress, a refuge from the storm, a shade from the heat. For the breath of the ruthless is like…
- Isaiah 25:4
About Zechariah
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Carl Friedrich Keil, The Twelve Minor Prophets; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Calvin, Commentaries on the Twelve Minor Prophets; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.