Zechariah 8:5
in Zechariah 8And the streets of the city will be filled with boys and girls playing there.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in the streets thereof.
KJV
And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in the streets thereof.
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This verse in Zechariah 8
Commentary
6 notes on this verse(Verses 4, 5.) This is what the Lord of hosts says. Yet old men and old women will dwell in the streets of Jerusalem, each with staff in hand because of their many days. And the streets of the city will be filled with boys and girls playing in its streets. LXX: This is what the Lord Almighty says: Yet old men and old women will sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each with staff in hand because of their many days. And the streets of the city will be filled with boys and girls playing in its streets.
This site's exposition
old men and old women dwell in the streets of Jerusalem
on Zechariah 8:4-5
Two pictures of ordinary peace follow the promise of the Lord's presence: old men and old women sitting in the streets, each leaning on a staff for very age, and the same streets full of boys and girls at play. Gill notes that both images describe a city that has stopped being a battlefield, since neither the aged nor the young survive long in a city under siege or recently sacked. The contrast with the whirlwind and desolation that closed chapter 7 is deliberate, ordinary long life and children's play standing in for the peace the exile had taken away.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
This is that wine with which, when youths and maidens are intoxicated, they at once thirst for virginity. They are filled with the spirit of chastity, and the prophecy of Zechariah comes to pass, at least if we follow the Hebrew literally, for he prophesied concerning virgins: "And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in the streets thereof. For what is his goodness, and what is his beauty, but the corn of the elect, and wine that gives birth to virgins?"
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls,.... Denoting a large increase of inhabitants, in a literal sense; and may spiritually signify the large numbers of converts, of new born babes, who are regenerated by the grace and Spirit of God, and are accounted of by the Lord for a generation: playing the streets thereof; being in health and rigour, and in great security.
(4.) That they shall not be terrified with the alarms of war, but enjoy a perfect security. There shall be no breaking in of invaders, no going out of deserters, no complaining in the streets ( Ps. cxliv. 14 ); for, when there is playing in the streets, it is a sign that there is little care or fear there.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
The streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls - The progeny shall be numerous, healthy, and happy. Their innocent gambols and useful exercises shall be a means of health, and a proof of happiness. To be healthy, children must have exercise. But they cannot take exercise, except in the way of play and diversion: ergo, such playfulness cannot be sinful. Let them be kept from evil words, lying, swearing, and scurrility; and all the rest may be innocent.
The words behind it
7 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וּרְחֹב֤וֹת | urechovot | and [the] open places of | H7339 → | 43 times |
| הָעִיר֙ | hair | the city | H5892 → | 1090 times |
| יִמָּ֣לְא֔וּ | yimalu | they will be filled | H4390 → | 249 times |
| יְלָדִ֖ים | yeladim | boys | H3206 → | |
| וִֽילָד֑וֹת | viladot | and girls | H3207 → | |
| מְשַׂחֲקִ֖ים | mesachakim | playing | H7832 → | |
| בִּרְחֹֽבֹתֶֽיהָ׃ ס | birchooteiha | in open places its | H7339 → | 43 times |
וּרְחֹב֤וֹתand [the] open places of
urechovotH7339 →43 times
הָעִיר֙the city
hairH5892 →1090 times
יִמָּ֣לְא֔וּthey will be filled
yimaluH4390 →249 times
יְלָדִ֖יםboys
yeladimH3206 →
וִֽילָד֑וֹתand girls
viladotH3207 →
מְשַׂחֲקִ֖יםplaying
mesachakimH7832 →
בִּרְחֹֽבֹתֶֽיהָ׃ סin open places its
birchooteihaH7339 →43 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
Lamentations 2:19Arise, cry out in the night from the first watch of the night. Pour out your heart like water in the presence of the Lord. Lift up your hands to Him for the lives…
it leads to
- Psalms 62:8
Trust in Him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts before Him. God is our refuge. Selah
- Psalms 119:147–148
I rise before dawn and cry for help; in Your word I have put my hope.
- Isaiah 26:9
My soul longs for You in the night; indeed, my spirit seeks You at dawn. For when Your judgments come upon the earth, the people of the world learn righteousness.
- Psalms 142:2
I pour out my complaint before Him; I reveal my trouble to Him.
- Mark 1:35
Early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up and slipped out to a solitary place to pray.
- Psalms 62:8
Through
Jeremiah 31:13Then the maidens will rejoice with dancing, young men and old as well. I will turn their mourning into joy, and give them comfort and joy for their sorrow.
it leads to
- Psalms 30:11
You turned my mourning into dancing; You peeled off my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,
- Isaiah 61:3
to console the mourners in Zion—to give them a crown of beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, and a garment of praise for a spirit of despair. So they will be…
- Isaiah 51:11
So the redeemed of the LORD will return and enter Zion with singing, crowned with everlasting joy. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee.
- Psalms 30:11
About Zechariah
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Edward Bouverie Pusey, The Minor Prophets: A Commentary; Jerome, Commentary on Zechariah; Jerome, Against Jovinianus 1.30; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.