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Zechariah

About this book
Chapter 2

1 I looked again, and there was a man with a measuring line in his hand.⁠ 2 I asked, “Where are you going?” He replied, “To measure Jerusalem in order to determine its width and its length.” 3 At this point the angelic messenger who spoke to me went out, and another messenger came to meet him 4 and said to him, “Hurry, speak to this young man as follows: ‘Jerusalem will no longer be enclosed by walls because of the multitude of people and animals there. 5 But I,’ the Lord says, ‘will be a wall of fire surrounding Jerusalem and the source of glory in her midst.’” 6 “You there! Flee from the northland!” says the Lord, “for like the four winds of heaven I have scattered you,” says the Lord.⁠ 7 “Escape, Zion, you who live among the Babylonians!” 8 For the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: “For his own glory he has sent me to the nations that plundered you—for⁠ anyone who touches you touches the pupil of his eye.⁠ 9 Yes, look here, I am about to punish them so that they will be looted by their own slaves.” Then you will know that the Lord of Heaven’s Armies has sent me. 10 “Sing out and be happy, Zion my daughter! For look, I have come; I will settle in your midst,” says the Lord.⁠ 11 “Many nations will join themselves to the Lord on the day of salvation, and they will also be my people.⁠ Indeed, I will settle in the midst of you all. Then you will know that the Lord of Heaven’s Armies has sent me to you. 12 The Lord will take possession of Judah as his portion in the holy land and he will choose Jerusalem once again. 13 Be silent in the Lord’s presence, all people everywhere, for he is being moved to action in his holy dwelling place.”⁠

Texts in conversation

Compare Zephaniah 1:7 and Zechariah 2:13

Hebrew Bible

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Summary

Zephaniah and Zechariah both similarly call for silence before God, announcing a divine appearance. Zephaniah uses this to signal judgment on Judah, while Zechariah frames it as a moment when all people must be still as God acts from his temple.

Passages

Zephaniah 1:7

Hebrew Bible
5 I will remove those who worship the stars in the sky from their rooftops, those who swear allegiance to the Lord while taking oaths in the name of their ‘king,’ 6 and those who turn their backs on the Lord and do not want the Lord’s help or guidance.” 7 Be silent before the Sovereign Lord, for the Lord’s day of judgment is almost here. The Lord has prepared a sacrificial meal; he has ritually purified his guests. 8 “On the day of the Lord’s sacrificial meal, I will punish the princes and the king’s sons, and all who wear foreign styles of clothing. 9 On that day I will punish all who leap over the threshold, who fill the house of their master with wealth taken by violence and deceit.
600–501 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Zephaniah

Zechariah 2:13

Hebrew Bible
11 “Many nations will join themselves to the Lord on the day of salvation, and they will also be my people. Indeed, I will settle in the midst of you all. Then you will know that the Lord of Heaven’s Armies has sent me to you. 12 The Lord will take possession of Judah as his portion in the holy land and he will choose Jerusalem once again. 13 Be silent in the Lord’s presence, all people everywhere, for he is being moved to action in his holy dwelling place.”
500–401 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Zechariah

References

"... verses 7-9, the day of YHWH: the call 'Be silent' was used in the cult to announce the theophany (Habakkuk 2:20; Zechariah 2:13) but here YHWH's appearance among his people is not for salvation but for judgement. There will be a festal sacrifice but the people of Judah will find no substitutionary victim, they themselves will be the victims (whoever the 'guests' may be). But just as the priests were singled out for attack in verse 4 so here the royal establishment is held responsible. The failure to specify the king might be because Josiah was still a minor, but the phrase 'the king's sons' may be a generic term like 'sons of the prophets', here signifying the whole royal establishment ..."
John Barton and John Muddiman, eds., The Oxford Bible Commentary (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001), 605.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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Zephaniah 1:7 and Zechariah 2:13

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