Bible Strands
Zechariah 1:17
Proclaim further that this is what the LORD of Hosts says: ‘My cities will again overflow with prosperity; the LORD will again comfort Zion and choose Jerusalem.’”
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The prophet Zechariah delivers this oracle to the returned exiles in Jerusalem immediately after the vision of the measuring line in 1:16. The message occurs during a divine commission to announce restoration following a period of judgment.
The words — The term עוֹד (ʿôd) appears four times in the verse, carrying the literal sense of “again” or “yet again.” The verb קְרָא (qĕrāʾ) commands the prophet to “proclaim” or “call out” this declaration.
The thread — The text states that God will comfort Zion and choose Jerusalem, a theme that runs in Isaiah 51:3, Zechariah 2:12, and 2 Chronicles 6:6. These passages consistently link divine comfort with the selection of Jerusalem as God’s dwelling place.
Why it lands — The text declares that God’s cities will overflow with prosperity and that He will actively comfort Zion and choose Jerusalem. It requires the reader to acknowledge divine sovereignty in restoration rather than relying on human initiative.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Cry yet, saying, Thus saith the Lord of hosts; My cities through prosperity shall yet be spread abroad; and the Lord shall yet comfort Zion, and shall yet choose Jerusalem.
Cross-references
- Isaiah 51:3 For the LORD will comfort Zion and will look with compassion on all her ruins; He will make her wilderness like Eden and her desert like the garden of the LORD. Joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and melodious song.
- Zechariah 2:12 And the LORD will take possession of Judah as His portion in the Holy Land, and He will once again choose Jerusalem.
- 2 Chronicles 6:6 But now I have chosen Jerusalem for My Name to be there, and I have chosen David to be over My people Israel.’
- Psalms 69:35 For God will save Zion and rebuild the cities of Judah, that they may dwell there and possess it.
- Isaiah 14:1 For the LORD will have compassion on Jacob; once again He will choose Israel and settle them in their own land. The foreigner will join them and unite with the house of Jacob.
- Isaiah 44:26 who confirms the message of His servant and fulfills the counsel of His messengers, who says of Jerusalem, ‘She will be inhabited,’ and of the cities of Judah, ‘They will be rebuilt, and I will restore their ruins,’
- Isaiah 54:8 In a surge of anger I hid My face from you for a moment, but with everlasting kindness I will have compassion on you,” says the LORD your Redeemer.
- Isaiah 61:4 They will rebuild the ancient ruins; they will restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities, the desolations of many generations.
- Isaiah 66:13 As a mother comforts her son, so will I comfort you, and you will be consoled over Jerusalem.”
- Jeremiah 32:43 And fields will be bought in this land about which you are saying, ‘It is a desolation, without man or beast; it has been delivered into the hands of the Chaldeans.’