“so now I have resolved to do good again to Jerusalem and Judah. Do not be afraid.
Parallel translations
- WEB so again I have thought in these days to do good to Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. Don’t be afraid.
- KJV So again have I thought in these days to do well unto Jerusalem and to the house of Judah: fear ye not.
- NKJV So again in these days I am determined to do good To Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. Do not fear.
- NASB so I have again determined in these days to do good to Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. Do not fear!
- NLT But now I am determined to bless Jerusalem and the people of Judah. So don’t be afraid.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Now God has purposed to do good to Jerusalem and Judah, so they need not fear. His settled intention is to bless His repentant people.
Overview
Mirroring His firm purpose to judge, God now declares an equally firm purpose to do good. The repeated 'don't be afraid' calms the anxious remnant with the certainty of divine favor. God's unchanging faithfulness, which once secured judgment, now secures the promised blessing.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Zech 8:13As you have been a curse among the nations, O house of Judah and house of Israel, so I will save you, and you will be a blessing. Do not be afraid; let your hands be strong.”
- Mic 7:18–20Who is a God like You, who pardons iniquity and passes over the transgression of the remnant of His inheritance—who does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in loving devotion?
- Luke 12:32Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom.
- Jer 29:11–14For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, to give you a future and a hope.
- Jer 32:42For this is what the LORD says: Just as I have brought all this great disaster on this people, so I will bring on them all the good I have promised them.
- Mic 4:10–13Writhe in agony, O Daughter of Zion, like a woman in labor. For now you will leave the city and camp in the open fields. You will go to Babylon; there you will be rescued; there the LORD will redeem you from the hand of your enemies!
- Zeph 3:16–17On that day they will say to Jerusalem: “Do not fear, O Zion; do not let your hands fall limp.
- Isa 43:1–2Now this is what the LORD says—He who created you, O Jacob, and He who formed you, O Israel: “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; you are Mine!
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
The Branch who is both priest and king, the shepherd struck and the flock scattered, the king coming humble on a donkey, the one they pierced, the fountain opened for sin — Zechariah is dense with Christ.
How Zechariah 8:15 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.