Bible Strands
Zechariah 8:20
This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Peoples will yet come—the residents of many cities—
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The LORD of Hosts addresses the restored community of Judah, speaking directly after promising that their mourning fasts will become times of joy and gladness.
The words — עֹד ('od) means "yet," and יָבֹאוּ (ya.Vo.'u) means "they will come," marking the arrival of the peoples as a fixed future event rather than a possibility.
The thread — The gathering of nations to God’s mountain appears in Isaiah 2:2 and Micah 4:1, where the house of the LORD is established in the last days, and aligns with Zechariah 2:11’s declaration that many nations will join themselves to the LORD.
Why it lands — The verse requires the reader to treat the future pilgrimage of multiple cities as a present certainty, shifting expectation from isolated restoration to a multi-ethnic gathering that seeks the LORD together.
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
Thus saith the Lord of hosts; It shall yet come to pass, that there shall come people, and the inhabitants of many cities:
Cross-references
- Isaiah 2:2 In the last days the mountain of the house of the LORD will be established as the chief of the mountains; it will be raised above the hills, and all nations will stream to it.
- Micah 4:1 In the last days the mountain of the house of the LORD will be established as the chief of the mountains; it will be raised above the hills, and the peoples will stream to it.
- Zechariah 2:11 “On that day many nations will join themselves to the LORD, and they will become My people. I will dwell among you, and you will know that the LORD of Hosts has sent Me to you.
- Isaiah 60:3 Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.
- Jeremiah 16:19 O LORD, my strength and my fortress, my refuge in the day of distress, the nations will come to You from the ends of the earth, and they will say, “Our fathers inherited nothing but lies, worthless idols of no benefit at all.
- Matthew 8:11 I say to you that many will come from the east and the west to share the banquet with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.
- 1 Kings 8:41 And as for the foreigner who is not of Your people Israel but has come from a distant land because of Your name—
- 1 Kings 8:43 then may You hear from heaven, Your dwelling place, and do according to all for which the foreigner calls to You. Then all the peoples of the earth will know Your name and fear You, as do Your people Israel, and they will know that this house I have built is called by Your Name.
- 2 Chronicles 6:32 And as for the foreigner who is not of Your people Israel but has come from a distant land because of Your great name and Your mighty hand and outstretched arm—when he comes and prays toward this temple,
- Psalms 22:27 All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the LORD. All the families of the nations will bow down before Him.