Zechariah 8:4

Old Testament Minor Prophet ASV (1901)

What does Zechariah 8:4 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: There shall yet old men and old women dwell in the streets of Jerusalem, every man with his staff in his hand for very age.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: There shall yet old men and old women dwell in the streets of Jerusalem, every man with his staff in his hand for very age.
Zechariah 8:4 — American Standard Version

Context — Zechariah 8

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
4Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: There shall yet old men and old women dwell in the streets of Jerusalem, every man with his staff in his hand for very age.

What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“Thus saith the Lord of hosts, etc.] These words are used at every consolatory promise given, as Kimchi observes, for the confirmation of it: there shall yet old men and old women dwell in the streets of Jerusalem; signifying that the inhabitants should be very healthful; no sweeping disease or calamity should be among them, but they should live to a good old age, as follows: and every man with his staff in his hand for very age; or “because of multitude of days”f154; the length of time they should have lived in the world, being worn out, not with diseases, but with old age, and therefore obliged to use a staff when they walk the streets for their support; all which is an emblem of the…”
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Jamieson, Fausset & Brown
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“So tranquil and prosperous shall the nation be that wars shall no longer prematurely cut off the people: men and women shall reach advanced ages. The promise of long life was esteemed one of the greatest blessings in the Jewish theocracy with its temporal rewards of obedience (Exo 20:12; Deu 4:40). Hence this is a leading feature in millennial blessedness (Isa 65:20, Isa 65:22). for very age--literally, "for multitude of days."”
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Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“There shall yet dwell old men and old women - Dionysius: “Men and women shall not be slain now, as before in the time of the Babylonish destruction, but shall fulfill their natural course.” It shall not be, as when “He gave His people over unto the sword; the fire consumed their young men and their maidens were not given to marriage; the priests were slain by the sword and their widows made no lamentation” Psalms 78:63-64; apart from the horrible atrocities of pagan war, when the unborn children were destroyed in their mothers’ womb 2 Kings 15:16; Hosea 13:16; Amos 1:13, with their mothers. Yet (as in Zechariah 1:17), once more as in the days of old, and as conditionally promised in the law…”
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Wesley's Explanatory Notes
John Wesley (1703–1791) · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament and Old Testament notes · 18th-century historical commentary
“Old men - Formerly war, or famine or pestilence, and wasting diseases, cut off men and women before they came to old age. Zechariah 8:6”
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Tyndale Open Study Notes
Tyndale House Publishers · Tyndale Open Study Notes · Modern study notes
“8:4-5 The images of old men and women walking and of boys and girls playing in the streets indicate repopulation and resumption of normal family life in the once decimated city of Jerusalem. The return of God’s presence to his rebuilt Temple would bring peace and safety to the city’s inhabitants (see Jer 33:10-11).”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“There: Sa1 2:31; Job 5:26, Job 42:17; Isa 65:20-22; Lam 2:20, Lam 2:21, Lam 2:22, Lam 5:11-15; Heb 12:22 very age: Heb. multitude of days Zechariah 8:5”
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Keil & Delitzsch
C. F. Keil & F. Delitzsch · Commentary on the Old Testament · 19th-century historical commentary
“Zac 8:4. "Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, Yet will there sit old men and women in the streets of Jerusalem, every one with his staff in his hand, for the multitude of the days of his life. Zac 8:5. And the streets of the city will be full of boys and girls playing in their streets." Long life, to an extreme old age, and a plentiful number of blooming children, were theocratic blessings, which the Lord had already promised in the law to His people, so far as they were faithful to the covenant. Consequently there does not appear to be any Messianic element in this promise. But if we compare this fourth verse with Isa 65:20, we shall see that extreme old age also belonged to the blessings of the…”
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Related study paths

Sources and verification