Глава 8

Zechariah 8:1–2. And the word of the Lord Almighty came to me, saying: To this saith the Lord Almighty: I was zealous for Jerusalem and Zion with great zeal, and with great rage I was zealous for it. This execution, says God, I sent to Zion, punishing for wickedness before me. True anger is called “zeal.” Since God called Himself a man, and called Zion a wife, then, out of necessity, He used the word “zeal” in his speech. And this is what He called Himself in the beginning, saying: “I am the Lord your God,” “A jealous God who consumes fire” (Ex. 20:5; Deut. 4:24). Thus, having shown the cause of anger, he then gives a promise of blessings. Zechariah 8:3. To this the Lord says: I will turn to Zion, and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem, and Jerusalem will be called the true city, and the mountain of the Lord Almighty, the holy mountain. This came true educationally after the creation of the temple by Zerubbabel; The truth of the prophecy was known to everyone after the incarnation of our Savior. Moreover, God promises that he will give the city many inhabitants and will continue their life until old age; why, leaning on staffs, they will walk through the marketplace and sit in ordinary meetings, while the streets will be filled with playing youths, which usually happens in crowded cities. For the Lord expressed this when he said: Zechariah 8:4–5. The elders and old women will also sit on the paths of Jerusalem, each holding his staff in his hand for many days. And the paths of the city will be filled with boys and girls playing on its paths, Then he assures these words, vouching for His power. Zechariah 8:6. The Lord Almighty says to this: if he faints before the remains of these people in these days, will he faint before Me? says the Lord Almighty. Although you, looking at your own small number and poverty, do not accept the hope of having these blessings: however, having recognized the power of the One who gives the promise, you must, without doubt, accept the predicate and believe that My people will be fully worthy of salvation, having gathered them from everywhere, I will return them to their native land and make My appearance in Jerusalem an ordinary thing. For this is what God says in the Prophet: Zechariah 8:8. I will dwell in the middle of Jerusalem. The people will be called My people, and I will be called their God, and not in lies, as of old, but in truth and in truth. Zechariah 8:9. The Lord Almighty says to Sitsa: may the hands of you who hear these words from the lips of the prophets in these days be strengthened; from this day the church of the Lord Almighty was founded, and the church was created from there. Finding consolation for yourself in My promise, with full confidence build the church of God, so that in it you can perform legal services and receive the gifts of divine grace. Zechariah 8:10. Before these days there was no reward for man, and no reward for cattle, and there was no peace for him who went out and in, because of sorrow. When you did not take care of the construction of the church, human labor was useless, and payment for livestock did not provide any benefit, but everyone, both those who were absent and those who remained at home, were in constant fear. And I will send all the people to my sincere one. Because of your negligence about the divine, I stirred up civil strife and rebellion among you; Now, seeing your diligence in the building of the church, I will give you the gift of peace, preferably over all others; Enjoy the fruits of the earth with the abundant rains from above. Zechariah 8:13. And it shall come to pass, as the house of Judah and the house of Israel were cursed, that I will save you, and ye shall be blessed. It is the custom of people when cursing to show those who have fallen into disaster and say: let him suffer something similar to what such and such suffered, and wishing good to someone, brings to memory those who have been honored with God’s blessing. Be bold and strengthen yourself with your hands. Zechariah 8:14. Before this the Lord Almighty says: Because you thought to make me bitter, your fathers always angered Me, says the Lord Almighty, and you did not repent. Zechariah 8:15. Thus we set out and intended in these days to do good to Jerusalem and the house of Judah. As I have proved, says God, that the threats of punishment were true; In this way I will bring good visions into fulfillment. Having thus reassured them, he again exhorts them to be virtuous, and reveals what they should do. Zechariah 8:16. These are the words you will create. And above all, he commands us to honor the truth; for he says: speak the truth to everyone who is sincere, then he brings peace to those who are litigating about something: judgment is peaceful; judge within your gates, drive rancor out of your heart. Zechariah 8:17. And do not think your sincere malice in your hearts, But let those who swear keep their oaths firmly and hate lies, says God; You do not love lying oaths: I have hated all these things, says the Lord Almighty. Then, since I said above that they do not receive any benefit from fasting (and I said this for the sake of those who think that one can serve God by fasting alone); then, having taught them all types of virtue, at the same time legitimizes fasting, Zechariah 8:19. The Lord Almighty says: the fourth fast, and the fifth fast, and the seventh fast, and the tenth fast will be joy and gladness for the house of Judah, and good feasts: and rejoice, and love truth and peace. It is clear that he names the fasts as the fourth, fifth, and seventh not according to the days of the week, but according to the months; why did he add: “and the tenth”? When fasting, he says, do not be sad because you are abstaining from food, but rejoice because of the benefits brought by exhaustion of the body. Both during fasting and without fasting, be disposed towards truth and peace. At the same time, you should know that other interpreters, I mean Aquila, Symmachus and Theodotion, do not say: fast the fourth and fifth and seventh and tenth, but all three agree on fasting the fourth, or fifth, or seventh, or tenth, and from this it is clear that God commanded fasting in the fourth, and fifth, and seventh, and tenth month. Zechariah 8:20–22. The Lord Almighty says: Many more people will come, and they will live in many cities. And those living in five cities dreamed of becoming one city, saying: We are coming to pray to the face of the Lord Almighty. And many people and many nations will come to seek the face of the Lord Almighty in Jerusalem, and to implore the face of the Lord. Jerusalem will be so glorious and famous that the inhabitants of other cities, coming one to another, will begin to exhort each other and encourage each other to piety, so that, leaving everything that they have in their hands, they will go together to this city and seek the favor of God. And everyone will say: and I'll go with you. This will be done not only by those leading their family from Jerusalem, but also by foreign peoples, desiring to take advantage of God’s help. And this was fulfilled in a small form after the completion of the temple by Zerubbabel; and after the coming in the flesh of our God and Savior, one can see that the whole earth and sea are flocking to this city, and want to see the places of saving suffering. According to the sim and addendum: Zechariah 8:23. To this day the Lord Almighty says: In these days there are ten men from all the tribes of the pagans, and they are taken for the robe of a Judean man, saying: Let us go with thee, even though we have not heard, for God is with you. Thus, the sacred Apostles, who descended from the Jews, were desired by the pagans who were worthy of the calling, believing that through them they would receive salvation. Thus the Philippians, Thessalonians, Corinthians and all nations desired the godly Paul. So blessed Onesiphorus came to Jerusalem to repay Paul the debt of service; so blessed Titus and Trophimus followed him even in extreme dangers. If, after the return of the Jews from Babylon, some of the pagans marveled at the extraordinary liberation, believed that their God was the true God, and, following some of the Jews, wanted to find out the truth from them: then this does not harm what we said, but rather serves as a confirmation of the truth; for what was in the Old Testament was a prototype of what we have, and likewise it must be similar to the prototype. Therefore, if this word is true in relation to the Jews, then what we said is also true; because what happened to the Jews is a shadow of what happened to us. But let us return to the interpretation of the next in order.