Zechariah 8:10

For before those days neither man nor beast received wages, nor was there safety from the enemy for anyone who came or went, for I had turned every man against his neighbor.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — The LORD of Hosts addresses the post-exilic remnant rebuilding the Jerusalem temple. He speaks immediately after commanding them to strengthen their hands and just before contrasting their past judgment with future restoration.

The words — The Hebrew שְׂכַר (se.Khar) means “wages” or “earnings,” and נִהְיָה (nih.Yah) literally renders “it happened” or “there was.” These terms ground the description of the past era in concrete economic and existential terms rather than abstract spiritual concepts.

The thread — The text’s description of unearned labor and unsecured movement parallels Haggai 1:6, where planting yields little and eating never satisfies. The phrase “every man against his neighbor” echoes the internal strife detailed in Isaiah 19:2, while the theme of divine judgment against the people aligns with Amos 9:4, which states God will command the sword to slay them and fix His eyes on them for harm.

Why it lands — The passage establishes that past national failure manifested in tangible economic collapse and social fragmentation. It demands the reader recognize that present rebuilding efforts occur within a framework where divine presence directly determines whether labor yields security or futility.

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

For before these days there was no hire for man, nor any hire for beast; neither was there any peace to him that went out or came in because of the affliction: for I set all men every one against his neighbour.

Cross-references

Haggai 1:6 You have planted much but harvested little. You eat but never have enough. You drink but never have your fill. You put on clothes but never get warm. You earn wages to put into a bag pierced through.”
Isaiah 19:2 “So I will incite Egyptian against Egyptian; brother will fight against brother, neighbor against neighbor, city against city, and kingdom against kingdom.
Amos 9:4 Though they are driven by their enemies into captivity, there I will command the sword to slay them. I will fix My eyes upon them for harm and not for good.”
Amos 3:6 If a ram’s horn sounds in a city, do the people not tremble? If calamity comes to a city, has not the LORD caused it?
Haggai 2:16 from that time, when one came expecting a heap of twenty ephahs of grain, there were but ten. When one came to the winepress to draw out fifty baths, there were but twenty.
Judges 5:6 In the days of Shamgar son of Anath, in the days of Jael, the highways were deserted and the travelers took the byways.
Judges 5:11 the voices of the singers at the watering places. There they shall recount the righteous acts of the LORD, the righteous deeds of His villagers in Israel. Then the people of the LORD went down to the gates:
Jeremiah 16:16 But for now I will send for many fishermen, declares the LORD, and they will catch them. After that I will send for many hunters, and they will hunt them down on every mountain and hill, even from the clefts of the rocks.
Matthew 10:34 Do not assume that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.
2 Chronicles 15:5 In those days there was no safety for travelers, because the residents of the lands had many conflicts.