Bible Strands
Zechariah 8:3
This is what the LORD says: “I will return to Zion and dwell in Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will be called the City of Truth, and the mountain of the LORD of Hosts will be called the Holy Mountain.”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Yahweh speaks through the prophet Zechariah to the post-exilic community, immediately following a declaration of divine jealousy for Zion. The message addresses the nation during a period of temple rebuilding and social restoration.
The words — כֹּ֚ה (koh) translates literally as "thus," introducing a divine oracle, while שַׁ֚בְתִּי (Shav.ti) means "I have returned," marking Yahweh's decisive movement back to the land.
The thread — The motif of God returning to dwell in Zion appears in Zechariah 1:16, while the renaming of Jerusalem to a city of truth echoes Isaiah 1:26, and the concept of divine dwelling among a people is later referenced in John 1:14.
Why it lands — The text demands recognition that Yahweh’s presence restores Jerusalem’s identity and security, requiring the reader to align their expectations with divine initiative rather than human effort.
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; I am returned unto Zion, and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and Jerusalem shall be called a city of truth; and the mountain of the Lord of hosts the holy mountain.
Cross-references
- Zechariah 1:16 Therefore this is what the LORD says: ‘I will return to Jerusalem with mercy, and there My house will be rebuilt, declares the LORD of Hosts, and a measuring line will be stretched out over Jerusalem.’
- John 1:14 The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
- Isaiah 1:26 I will restore your judges as at first, and your counselors as at the beginning. After that you will be called the City of Righteousness, the Faithful City.”
- Isaiah 66:20 And they will bring all your brothers from all the nations as a gift to the LORD on horses and chariots and wagons, on mules and camels, to My holy mountain Jerusalem,” says the LORD, “just as the Israelites bring an offering in a clean vessel to the house of the LORD.”
- Jeremiah 30:10 As for you, O Jacob My servant, do not be afraid, declares the LORD, and do not be dismayed, O Israel. For I will surely save you out of a distant place, your descendants from the land of their captivity! Jacob will return to quiet and ease, with no one to make him afraid.
- Jeremiah 31:23 This is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: “When I restore them from captivity, they will once again speak this word in the land of Judah and in its cities: ‘May the LORD bless you, O righteous dwelling place, O holy mountain.’
- Jeremiah 33:16 In those days Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will dwell securely, and this is the name by which it will be called: The LORD Our Righteousness.
- Joel 3:17 Then you will know that I am the LORD your God, who dwells in Zion, My holy mountain. Jerusalem will be holy, never again to be overrun by foreigners.
- Zechariah 2:10 “Shout for joy and be glad, O Daughter of Zion, for I am coming to dwell among you,” declares the LORD.
- Zechariah 14:20 On that day, HOLY TO THE LORD will be inscribed on the bells of the horses, and the cooking pots in the house of the LORD will be like the sprinkling bowls before the altar.