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I will guard my Temple and protect it from invading armies. I am watching closely to ensure that no more foreign oppressors overrun my people’s land.
Zechariah 9:8 · New Living Translation
Parallel translations
  • WEB I will encamp around my house against the army, that no one pass through or return; and no oppressor will pass through them any more: for now I have seen with my eyes.
  • KJV And I will encamp about mine house because of the army, because of him that passeth by, and because of him that returneth: and no oppressor shall pass through them any more: for now have I seen with mine eyes.
  • BSB But I will camp around My house because of an army, because of those who march to and fro, and never again will an oppressor overrun My people, for now I keep watch with My own eyes.
  • NKJV I will camp around My house Because of the army, Because of him who passes by and him who returns. No more shall an oppressor pass through them, For now I have seen with My eyes.
  • NASB But I will camp around My house because of an army, Because of him who passes by and returns; And no oppressor will pass over them anymore, For now I have seen with My eyes.

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

God will encamp around His house to guard it, so no oppressor passes through again, for now He watches over it. The Lord personally protects His people and dwelling place.

Overview

The Lord pledges to stand guard over His temple and people like a defending army, ensuring no future invader oppresses them. 'Now I have seen with my eyes' assures them of His attentive, watchful care. This protective presence, fulfilled ultimately in God dwelling among His people, sets the stage for the announcement of the coming King.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 35

  • Isa 54:14In righteousness you will be established. You will be far from oppression, for you will not be afraid; and far from terror, for it shall not come near you.
  • Isa 60:18Violence shall no more be heard in your land, nor desolation or destruction within your borders; but you will call your walls Salvation, and your gates Praise.
  • Isa 52:1Awake, awake! Put on your strength, Zion. Put on your beautiful garments, Jerusalem, the holy city: for from now on the uncircumcised and the unclean will no more come into you.
  • Jer 31:12They shall come and sing in the height of Zion, and shall flow to the goodness of Yahweh, to the grain, and to the new wine, and to the oil, and to the young of the flock and of the herd: and their soul shall be as a watered garden; and they shall not sorrow any more at all.
  • Joel 3:16–17Yahweh will roar from Zion, and thunder from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth will shake; but Yahweh will be a refuge to his people, and a stronghold to the children of Israel.
  • Ps 34:7Yahweh’s angel encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them.
  • 2 Sam 16:12It may be that Yahweh will look on the wrong done to me, and that Yahweh will repay me good for the cursing of me today.”
  • Ezek 39:29neither will I hide my face any more from them; for I have poured out my Spirit on the house of Israel, says the Lord Yahweh.
  • Ps 72:4He will judge the poor of the people. He will save the children of the needy, and will break the oppressor in pieces.
  • Dan 11:27–29As for both these kings, their hearts shall be to do mischief, and they shall speak lies at one table: but it shall not prosper; for yet the end shall be at the time appointed.
  • Gen 32:1–2Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him.
  • Dan 11:40–45At the time of the end shall the king of the south contend with him; and the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass through.
  • Ps 125:1–2A Song of Ascents. Those who trust in Yahweh are as Mount Zion, which can’t be moved, but remains forever.
  • Isa 31:5As birds hovering, so Yahweh of Armies will protect Jerusalem. He will protect and deliver it. He will pass over and preserve it.”
  • Exod 3:9Now, behold, the cry of the children of Israel has come to me. Moreover I have seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them.
  • Amos 9:15I will plant them on their land, and they will no more be plucked up out of their land which I have given them,” says Yahweh your God.
  • Isa 52:12For you shall not go out in haste, neither shall you go by flight: for Yahweh will go before you; and the God of Israel will be your rear guard.
  • Jer 46:13The word that Yahweh spoke to Jeremiah the prophet, how that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon should come and strike the land of Egypt.
  • Dan 11:6–7At the end of years they shall join themselves together; and the daughter of the king of the south shall come to the king of the north to make an agreement: but she shall not retain the strength of her arm; neither shall he stand, nor his arm; but she shall be given up, and those who brought her, and he who became the father of her, and he who strengthened her in those times.
  • Isa 33:20–22Look at Zion, the city of our appointed festivals. Your eyes will see Jerusalem, a quiet habitation, a tent that won’t be removed. Its stakes will never be plucked up, nor will any of its cords be broken.
  • Zech 2:1–13I lifted up my eyes, and saw, and behold, a man with a measuring line in his hand.
  • 2 Kgs 23:29In his days Pharaoh Necoh king of Egypt went up against the king of Assyria to the river Euphrates; and king Josiah went against him; and Pharaoh Necoh killed him at Megiddo, when he had seen him.
  • Zech 14:11Men will dwell therein, and there will be no more curse; but Jerusalem will dwell safely.
  • Zech 12:8In that day Yahweh will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem. He who is feeble among them at that day will be like David, and David’s house will be like God, like Yahweh’s angel before them.
  • Jer 46:2Of Egypt: concerning the army of Pharaoh Necoh king of Egypt, which was by the river Euphrates in Carchemish, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon struck in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah.
  • Ezek 28:24–25There shall be no more a pricking brier to the house of Israel, nor a hurting thorn of any that are around them, that scorned them; and they shall know that I am the Lord Yahweh.
  • Isa 4:5Yahweh will create over the whole habitation of Mount Zion, and over her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night; for over all the glory will be a canopy.
  • Rev 20:1–3I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand.
  • Isa 26:1In that day, this song will be sung in the land of Judah: “We have a strong city. God appoints salvation for walls and bulwarks.
  • Acts 7:34I have surely seen the affliction of my people that is in Egypt, and have heard their groaning. I have come down to deliver them. Now come, I will send you into Egypt.’
  • Exod 3:7Yahweh said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows.
  • Rev 20:9They went up over the width of the earth, and surrounded the camp of the saints, and the beloved city. Fire came down out of heaven from God, and devoured them.
  • Ps 46:1–5For the Chief Musician. By the sons of Korah. According to Alamoth. God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
  • 2 Kgs 24:1In his days Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his servant three years. Then he turned and rebelled against him.
  • Dan 11:10–16His sons shall war, and shall assemble a multitude of great forces, which shall come on, and overflow, and pass through; and they shall return and war, even to his fortress.

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Zechariah videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Zechariah 9:8YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on ZechariahMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

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 9:8 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.