Lectionary Calendar
Tuesday, September 9th, 2025
the Week of Proper 18 / Ordinary 23
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Read the Bible

New Century Version

Zechariah 8:2

This is what the Lord All-Powerful says: "I have a very strong love for Jerusalem. My strong love for her is like a fire burning in me."

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Gentiles;   Jealousy;   Zion;  

Dictionaries:

- Easton Bible Dictionary - Fury;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Jealousy;   Zechariah, Book of;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Ethics;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Anger (2);   Jealousy (2);   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Jealousy,;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Zion;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - God, Names of;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
The Lord of Armies says this: “I am extremely jealous for Zion; I am jealous for her with great wrath.”
Hebrew Names Version
Thus says the LORD of Hosts: "I am jealous for Tziyon with great jealousy, and I am jealous for her with great wrath."
King James Version (1611)
Thus sayeth the Lord of hostes, I was iealous for Zion, with great iealousie; and I was iealous for her with great furie.
King James Version
Thus saith the Lord of hosts; I was jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I was jealous for her with great fury.
English Standard Version
"Thus says the Lord of hosts: I am jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I am jealous for her with great wrath.
New American Standard Bible
"The LORD of armies says this: 'I am exceedingly jealous for Zion, yes, with great wrath I am jealous for her.'
Amplified Bible
"Thus says the LORD of hosts, 'I am jealous for Zion with great jealousy [demanding what is rightfully and uniquely mine], and I am jealous for her with great wrath [against her enemies].'
Geneva Bible (1587)
Thus saith the Lord of hostes, I was ielous for Zion with great ielousie, and I was ielous for her with great wrath.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
"Thus says the LORD of hosts, 'I am exceedingly jealous for Zion, yes, with great wrath I am jealous for her.'
Legacy Standard Bible
"Thus says Yahweh of hosts, ‘I am jealous with great jealousy for Zion, and with great wrath I am jealous for her.'
Berean Standard Bible
This is what the LORD of Hosts says: "I am jealous for Zion with great zeal; I am jealous for her with great fervor."
Contemporary English Version
I love Zion so much that her enemies make me angry.
Complete Jewish Bible
" Adonai -Tzva'ot says, ‘I am extremely jealous on Tziyon's behalf, and I am jealous for her with great fury.'
Darby Translation
Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: I am jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I am jealous for her with great fury.
Easy-to-Read Version
The Lord All-Powerful says, "I have a very strong love for Mount Zion. I love her so much that I became angry when she was not faithful to me."
George Lamsa Translation
Thus says the LORD of hosts: I am moved for Zion with great zeal. I am moved for her with great indignation.
Good News Translation
"I have longed to help Jerusalem because of my deep love for her people, a love which has made me angry with her enemies.
Lexham English Bible
"Thus says Yahweh of hosts: ‘I am exceedingly jealous for Zion; I am jealous for it with great wrath.'
Literal Translation
So says Jehovah of Hosts: I was jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I was jealous for her with great wrath.
American Standard Version
Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: I am jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I am jealous for her with great wrath.
Bible in Basic English
These are the words of the Lord of armies: I am angry about the fate of Zion, I am angry about her with great wrath.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
'Thus saith the LORD of hosts: I am jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I am jealous for her with great fury.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
Thus saith the lorde of hoastes: I was in great ielousie for Sion, yea I haue ben very ielous for her with great wrath.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
Thus saith the Lord Almighty; I have been jealous for Jerusalem and for Sion with great jealousy, and I have been jealous for her with great fury.
English Revised Version
Thus saith the LORD of hosts: I am jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I am jealous for her with great fury.
World English Bible
Thus says Yahweh of Hosts: "I am jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I am jealous for her with great wrath."
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
and seide, The Lord of oostis seith these thingis, Y hatide Sion with greet feruour, and with greet indignacioun Y hatide it.
Update Bible Version
Thus says Yahweh of hosts: I am jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I am jealous for her with great wrath.
Webster's Bible Translation
Thus saith the LORD of hosts; I was jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I was jealous for her with great fury.
New English Translation
"The Lord who rules over all says, ‘I am very much concerned for Zion; indeed, I am so concerned for her that my rage will fall on those who hurt her.'
New King James Version
"Thus says the LORD of hosts: "I am zealous for Zion with great zeal; With great fervor I am zealous for her.'
New Living Translation
"This is what the Lord of Heaven's Armies says: My love for Mount Zion is passionate and strong; I am consumed with passion for Jerusalem!
New Life Bible
"The Lord of All says, ‘I am very jealous for Zion. I am jealous for her with much anger.'
New Revised Standard
Thus says the Lord of hosts: I am jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I am jealous for her with great wrath.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Thus, saith Yahweh of hosts, I am jealous for Zion with a great jealousy, - Yea, with great wrath, am I jealous for her.
Douay-Rheims Bible
Thus saith the Lord of hosts: I have been jealous for Sion with a great jealousy, and with a great indignation have I been jealous for her.
Revised Standard Version
"Thus says the LORD of hosts: I am jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I am jealous for her with great wrath.
Young's Literal Translation
`Thus said Jehovah of Hosts: I have been zealous for Zion with great zeal, With great heat I have been zealous for her.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Thus saieth the LORDE of hoostes: I was in a greate gelousy ouer Sion, yee I haue bene very gelous ouer her in a greate displeasure.

Contextual Overview

1 The Lord All-Powerful spoke his word, saying, 2 This is what the Lord All-Powerful says: "I have a very strong love for Jerusalem. My strong love for her is like a fire burning in me." 3 This is what the Lord says: "I will return to Jerusalem and live in it. Then it will be called the City of Truth, and the mountain of the Lord All-Powerful will be called the Holy Mountain." 4 This is what the Lord All-Powerful says: "Old men and old women will again sit along Jerusalem's streets, each carrying a cane because of age. 5 And the streets will be filled with boys and girls playing." 6 This is what the Lord All-Powerful says: "Those who are left alive then may think it is too difficult to happen, but it is not too difficult for me," says the Lord All-Powerful. 7 This is what the Lord All-Powerful says: "I will save my people from countries in the east and west. 8 I will bring them back, and they will live in Jerusalem. They will be my people, and I will be their good and loyal God."

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

I was jealous: Zechariah 1:14-16, Psalms 78:58, Psalms 78:59, Isaiah 42:13, Isaiah 42:14, Isaiah 59:17, Isaiah 63:4-6, Isaiah 63:15, Ezekiel 36:5, Ezekiel 36:6, Joel 2:18, Nahum 1:2, Nahum 1:6

Reciprocal: Isaiah 14:3 - General Ezekiel 39:25 - and will Zechariah 1:13 - with good

Cross-References

Genesis 7:11
When Noah was six hundred years old, the flood started. On the seventeenth day of the second month of that year the underground springs split open, and the clouds in the sky poured out rain.
Genesis 8:11
and that evening it came back to him with a fresh olive leaf in its mouth. Then Noah knew that the ground was almost dry.
Genesis 8:13
When Noah was six hundred and one years old, in the first day of the first month of that year, the water was dried up from the land. Noah removed the covering of the boat and saw that the land was dry.
Job 38:37
Who has the wisdom to count the clouds? Who can pour water from the jars of the sky
Proverbs 8:28
when he made the clouds above and put the deep underground springs in place.
Jonah 2:3
You threw me into the sea, down, down into the deep sea. The water was all around me, and your powerful waves flowed over me.
Matthew 8:9
I, too, am a man under the authority of others, and I have soldiers under my command. I tell one soldier, ‘Go,' and he goes. I tell another soldier, ‘Come,' and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,' and my servant does it.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Thus saith the Lord of hosts,.... This prophecy, according to Kimchi and Ben Melech, respects time to come; the days of the Messiah, in the war of Gog and Magog, when they shall come up against Jerusalem, and the Lord shall pour out his great wrath upon them; and it seems right to interpret it, not only literally of Jerusalem, but spiritually of the church in Gospel times:

I was jealous for Zion with great jealousy; the Arabic version reads, "for Jerusalem, and for Zion"; as in Zechariah 1:14,

Zechariah 1:14- ::

and I was jealous for her with great fury: that is, against her enemies; the Babylonians and Chaldeans now, and the antichristian powers in Gospel times. The Targum paraphrases it, "against the people that provoked her to jealousy"; the past tense is put for the future, as Kimchi and Ben Melech observe.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Thus saith the Lord of hosts - Jerome: “At each word and sentence, in which good things, for their greatness, almost incredible are promised, the prophet premises, “Thus saith the Lord of hosts,” as if he would say, Think not that what I pledge you are my own, and refuse me not credence as man. What I unfold are the promises of God.”

I was jealous - Literally, “I have been and am jealous for.” . He repeats in words slightly varied, but in the same rhythm, the declaration of tits tender love wherewith He opened the series of visions, thereby assuring beforehand that this was, like that, an answer of peace. The form of words shows, that this was a jealousy for, not with her; yet it was one and the same strong, yea infinite love, whereby God, as He says, “clave unto their fathers to love them and chose their seed after them out of all nations” Deuteronomy 10:15. His jealousy of their sins was part of that love, whereby, (Dionysius), “without disturbance of passion or of tranquillity, He inflicted rigorous punishment, as a man fearfully reproves a wife who sins.” They are two different forms of love according to two needs. Rup.: “The jealousy (Zelus) of God is good, to love people and hate the sins of people. Contrariwise the jealousy of the devil is evil, to hate people and love the sins of people.” Osorius: “Since God’s anger had its origin in the vehemence of His love (for this sort of jealousy arises from the greatness of love), there was hope that the anger might readily be appeased toward her.”

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Zechariah 8:2. I was jealous — Some refer this to the Jews themselves. They were as the spouse of Jehovah: but they were unfaithful, and God punished them as an injured husband might be expected to punish an unfaithful wife. Others apply it to the enemies of the Jews. Though I gave them a commission to afflict you, yet they exceeded their commission: I will therefore deal with them in fury - in vindictive justice.


 
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