And the squares of the city shall be crowded with boys and girls playing in the squares.Zechariah 8:5 (The Israel Bible™)וּרְחֹבוֹת הָעִיר יִמָּלְאוּ יְלָדִים וִילָדוֹת מְשַׂחֲקִים בִּרְחֹבֹתֶיהָHear the verse in Hebrewu'-re-KHO-bot ha-IR YEE-ma-LU ye-la-DEEM ve-ye-la-DOT me-sa-kha-KEEM BEER-kho-vot-TAY-ha
Prophecy is Alive
We know more about Zecharya (Zechariah) than we do about most other prophets. Like Ezekiel and Jeremiah, he was a priest, and his grandfather, Ido, is mentioned among the priests in Ezra and Nechemya. His contemporaries include the prophet Chagai, who began prophesying two months before him, and the high priest Yehoshua. However, his message differs from that of Chagai, whose single-minded focus was the encouragement of the Jewish people to build the Temple. To this message, Zecharya adds a religious and moral dimension. He encourages the people to repent, emphasizes that God’s rule stands in contrast to military might – “Not by might, nor by power, but by My spirit” (4:6).
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