Zechariah 8:7
King James Version (1769)
Other translations
| Verse | KJV | BSB | ASV |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Behold, I will save my people from the east country, and from the west country; | This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “I will save My people from the land of the east and from the land of the west. | Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: Behold, I will save my people from the east country, and from the west country; |
In context
AI-assisted, sourcedGod has just promised to return to Zion and fill Jerusalem's streets with old people and playing children (8:3-5). Here he says he will save his people from the east and the west and bring them to live in Jerusalem. There they will be his people and he will be their God (8:8). Zechariah 8:3Zechariah 8:4Zechariah 8:5Zechariah 8:7Zechariah 8:8
SpeakingThe LORD of hosts speaks through the prophet Zechariah, son of Berechiah. Zechariah 8:1Zechariah 8:7Zechariah overview
ToThe people of Judah who had come back from exile in Babylon. They lived in the days when the temple's foundation was laid, and the chapter calls them "the remnant of this people". Zechariah overviewZechariah 8:6Zechariah 8:9
Also involvedGod's people in the lands of the east and the west, whom he promises to save and bring to dwell in Jerusalem. Zechariah 8:7Zechariah 8:8
A promise of rescue and return. God says he will save his people from the east country and the west country and settle them in Jerusalem, where they will be his people "in truth and in righteousness". Zechariah 8:7Zechariah 8:8
The prophet spoke in Jerusalem among the returned exiles. The promise looks out to lands east and west and back to Jerusalem as the place where God's people will dwell. Zechariah overviewZechariah 8:7Zechariah 8:8
The eventsThe message belongs to the section that begins in Darius's fourth year, about 518 BC (7:1-8:23). The temple's foundation had been laid, and the temple was finished in Darius's sixth year. Zechariah overviewZechariah 8:9
WrittenTraditional: Zechariah wrote it, with dated messages from 520 to 518 BC. Scholarly: most scholars agree chapters 1-8 come from Zechariah in 520-518 BC; many assign the undated chapters 9-14 to a later writer or writers. Zechariah overview
HereThe remnant found such promises marvellous, and God asks whether they should be marvellous in his eyes (8:6). He gives this promise to strengthen their hands for building the temple (8:9, 8:13). Zechariah 8:6Zechariah 8:9Zechariah 8:13
In the whole of ScriptureOther prophets give the same promise of gathering from the east, west, north and south (Isaiah 43:5-6; Jeremiah 31:8). The chapter goes on to many nations coming to seek the LORD in Jerusalem (8:20-23). Isaiah 43:5Isaiah 43:6Jeremiah 31:8Zechariah 8:20Zechariah 8:22Zechariah 8:23
For readersGod keeps his word to gather and restore his people, even when the promise seems too great to believe. His people are then called to speak truth to one another and to love truth and peace (8:16-17, 8:19). Zechariah 8:6Zechariah 8:7Zechariah 8:8Zechariah 8:16Zechariah 8:17Zechariah 8:19
Christians read this differently
The text does not say when this gathering is fulfilled. Some read it as fulfilled mainly in the return of exiles to Judah in that era. Others see a still-future regathering of Israel, linking it with Romans 11:25, while others read it with 8:20-23 as fulfilled also in people drawn from all nations. Zechariah 8:7Zechariah 8:8Zechariah 8:20Zechariah 8:23Romans 11:25
- saveיָשַׁע
The word means to save, deliver or liberate. The same promise, "so will I save you," returns in 8:13, where Judah and Israel go from being a curse to being a blessing. Strong's H3467Zechariah 8:13
- eastמִזְרָח
The word means the place of sunrise. Malachi 1:11 pairs the rising of the sun with its going down to speak of every place among the nations. Strong's H4217HMalachi 1:11
- westמָבוֹא
The Hebrew reads "the setting of the sun," from a word meaning entrance, coming in, or sunset. The west is named as the place where the sun goes down. Strong's H3996Strong's H8121Zechariah 8:7
- my peopleעַם
The word means a people or nation, one's own countrymen. The next verse completes it: "they shall be my people, and I will be their God". Strong's H5971AZechariah 8:8
Takeaway
God promised the remnant that he would save his people from the east and the west and bring them to live with him in Jerusalem. Isaiah and Jeremiah give the same promise of gathering. Zechariah 8:7Zechariah 8:8Isaiah 43:5Jeremiah 31:8
Drafted by AI from the Scripture and data shown under “Show sources,” then checked automatically and by a second AI pass. Updated 2026-10-28.
The world around the text
About 520-518 BC. King of Persia: Darius I (522-486 BC). Where Zechariah prophesied. A small, poor community was rebuilding the temple among the ruins of the city Babylon had burned.
Who ruled
- King of PersiaDarius I522-486 BC
Zechariah dates his messages by the years of Darius. Darius confirmed Cyrus's decree and ordered the temple work to go on at royal expense. Zechariah 1:1Zechariah 7:1Ezra 6:1-12Haggai 1:1Behistun Inscription
- Governor of JudahZerubbabelc. 520 BC
A descendant of David who led the rebuilding. "The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also finish it." Zechariah 4:6-10Haggai 1:1Ezra 3:8
- High priestJoshua the high priestc. 520 BC
Called Jeshua in Ezra. He stands in Zechariah's vision clothed in filthy garments, which are taken away, and later receives crowns as a sign. Zechariah 3:1-10Zechariah 6:11Haggai 1:1Ezra 3:2
- Persian governor "on this side the river"Tattenaic. 520 BC
The governor of the province west of the Euphrates. He asked who had allowed the building, wrote to Darius, and was told to let the work go on. Ezra 5:3-6Ezra 6:6-13
What was happening, 539 BC to 332 BC
- 539 BCWarBabylon falls to Cyrus
Cyrus king of Persia took Babylon, ending the empire that had destroyed Jerusalem. Daniel 5:30-31Nabonidus Chronicle (ABC 7)Cyrus Cylinder
- 538 BCGod's peopleThe first return
Cyrus let the exiles go home to build the LORD's house. About fifty thousand returned with Zerubbabel and Jeshua. Ezra 1:1-4Ezra 2:1-2Ezra 2:64-65
- c. 536 BCGod's peopleThe foundation is laid, then the work stops
The returned exiles laid the temple's foundation with shouting and weeping. Opposition from their neighbors stopped the work until the second year of Darius. Ezra 3:10-13Ezra 4:4-5Ezra 4:24
- 525 BCWarPersia conquers Egypt
Cyrus's son Cambyses invaded and took Egypt, bringing the whole region from the Nile to the Indus under one king. Herodotus, Histories 3.1-16
- 522-521 BCWarDarius crushes the revolts
When Darius took the throne, provinces across the empire rebelled, Babylon twice. By 520 he had put them all down. Compare the riders' report in Zechariah's first vision: "all the earth sitteth still, and is at rest." Behistun InscriptionHerodotus, Histories 3.150-159Zechariah 1:11
- 520 BCGod's peopleHaggai and Zechariah stir the people to build
In Darius's second year the two prophets urged the people to take up the temple work again, and Zerubbabel and Jeshua began to build. Ezra 5:1-2Haggai 1:1-15Zechariah 1:1
- c. 520-519 BCRulersDarius confirms Cyrus's decree
Tattenai questioned the building. A search found Cyrus's decree at Achmetha, and Darius ordered the work to continue and be paid for from royal taxes. Ezra 5:3-6:12
- 515 BCBuildingThe second temple is finished
The temple was finished on the third day of Adar in Darius's sixth year and dedicated with joy. Ezra 6:14-18Zechariah 4:9
- 490-479 BCWarPersia's wars with Greece
Persia invaded Greece twice and was turned back at Marathon (490), Salamis (480) and Plataea (479). Greece, which Zechariah names in 9:13, was becoming Persia's great rival. Herodotus, Histories 6.102-117Herodotus, Histories 8.40-96Herodotus, Histories 9.1-89Zechariah 9:13
- 445 BCBuildingNehemiah rebuilds Jerusalem's walls
Under the Persian king Artaxerxes, Nehemiah came from Shushan and rebuilt the walls in fifty-two days. Nehemiah 2:1-8Nehemiah 6:15
- 332 BCWarAlexander takes Tyre and Gaza
Alexander the Great besieged island Tyre for seven months and then Gaza for two, on his way to Egypt. Zechariah 9 speaks of Tyre's "strong hold" and of Gaza, Ashkelon, Ekron and Ashdod. Arrian, Anabasis of Alexander 2.15-27Zechariah 9:3-7
The full picture: places, culture and daily life. Scripture first, then ancient records (the Behistun Inscription, the Cyrus Cylinder, the Babylonian Chronicles) and ancient writers (Herodotus, Arrian, Josephus). Drafted by Claude and not yet reviewed by a person.
Original Hebrew words
| English | Hebrew | Say it | Strong's | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| thus | כֹּ֤ה | koh | H3541 | thusכֹּה (koh) 1) thus, here, in this manner 1a) thus, so 1b) here, here and there 1c) until now, until now...until then, meanwhile Aramaic equivalent: kah (כָּה "thus" H3542) |
| he says | אָמַר֙ | 'a-MAR | H0559 | to sayאָמַר (a.mar) 1) to say, speak, utter 1a) (Qal) to say, to answer, to say in one's heart, to think, to command, to promise, to intend 1b) (Niphal) to be told, to be said, to be called 1c) (Hithpael) to boast, to act proudly 1d) (Hiphil) to avow, to avouch Aramaic equivalent: a.mar (אֲמַר "to say" H0560) |
| Yahweh | יְהוָ֣ה | YAH-weh | H3068G | Lordאֲדֹנָי (a.do.nai) Lord - a title, spoken in place of Yahweh in Jewish display of reverence Another name of ye.ho.vah (יהוה "LORD" H3068G) |
| of hosts | צְבָא֔וֹת | tze-va-'ot | H6635B | Hostsצָבָא (tsa.va) The Hosts (of the Lord) Another name of ye.ho.vah (יהוה "LORD" H3068G) |
| here I | הִנְנִ֥י | hi-NI | H2005 | look!הֵן (hen) interj 1) behold, lo, though hypothetical part 2) if Aramaic equivalent: hen (הֵן "look!" H2006A) |
| [am] about to save | מוֹשִׁ֛יעַ | mo-SHI-a' | H3467 | to saveיָשַׁע (ya.sah) 1) to save, be saved, be delivered 1a) (Niphal) 1a1) to be liberated, be saved, be delivered 1a2) to be saved (in battle), be victorious 1b) (Hiphil) 1b1) to save, deliver 1b2) to save from moral troubles 1b3) to give victory to |
| people my | עַמִּ֖י | 'a-MI | H5971A | peopleעַם (am) : people/nation 1) nation, people 1a) people, nation 1b) persons, members of one's people, compatriots, country-men |
| from [the] land of | מֵאֶ֣רֶץ | me-'E-retz | H0776G | land: country/planetאֶ֫רֶץ (e.rets) : country/field 1) land, earth 1a) earth 1a1) whole earth (as opposed to a part) 1a2) earth (as opposed to heaven) 1a3) earth (inhabitants) 1b) land 1b1) country, territory 1b2) district, region 1b3) tribal territory 1b4) piece of ground 1b5) land of Canaan, Israel 1b6) inhabitants of land 1b7) Sheol, land without return, (under) world 1b8) city (-state) 1c) ground, surface of the earth 1c1) ground 1c2) soil 1d) (in phrases) 1d1) people of the land 1d2) space or distance of country (in measurements of distance) 1d3) level or plain country 1d4) land of the living 1d5) end(s) of the earth … |
| [the] east | מִזְרָ֑ח | miz-RACH | H4217H | eastמִזְרָח (miz.rach) 1) place of sunrise, east 1a) sunrise, east (with 'sun') 1b) the east (without 'sun') 1b1) to or toward the place of sunrise 1b2) to the east, eastward |
| and from [the] land of | וּמֵאֶ֖רֶץ | u-me-'E-retz | H0776G | land: country/planetאֶ֫רֶץ (e.rets) : country/field 1) land, earth 1a) earth 1a1) whole earth (as opposed to a part) 1a2) earth (as opposed to heaven) 1a3) earth (inhabitants) 1b) land 1b1) country, territory 1b2) district, region 1b3) tribal territory 1b4) piece of ground 1b5) land of Canaan, Israel 1b6) inhabitants of land 1b7) Sheol, land without return, (under) world 1b8) city (-state) 1c) ground, surface of the earth 1c1) ground 1c2) soil 1d) (in phrases) 1d1) people of the land 1d2) space or distance of country (in measurements of distance) 1d3) level or plain country 1d4) land of the living 1d5) end(s) of the earth … |
| [the] setting of | מְב֥וֹא | me-VO' | H3996 | entranceמָבוֹא (ma.vo) 1) entrance, a coming in, entering 2) sunset 2a) sunset 2b) sunset, west Also means: me.vo.ah (מְבוֹאָה "entry" H3997) |
| the sun | הַשָּֽׁמֶשׁ׃ | ha-SHA-mesh | H8121 | to ministerשְׁמַשׁ (she.mash) (Pael) to minister, serve Aramaic of she.mesh (שֶׁ֫מֶשׁ "sun" H8121) |
Words and meanings from STEPBible data (Tyndale House, Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). The capitalized syllable is the stressed one.