What Does Zechariah 8:15 Mean?
So I have returned, and in these days I have purposed to do good for Jerusalem and the house of Judah. Fear not.
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
So again have I thought in these days to do well unto Jerusalem and to the house of Judah: fear ye not.THE KEY
The verb translated “thought” names a deliberate design, so the promised good is a formed purpose aimed at Jerusalem’s twofold wholeness.
THE MEANING
You are addressed from within a deliberate intention to do good. Jerusalem (יְרוּשָׁלַיִם, Yerushalayim) holds שָׁלוֹם (shalom, wholeness) within its twofold name, while Judah (יְהוּדָה, Yehudah, praise) is included in the same purpose. “Fear ye not” rests on this declared direction: the intention is toward good now.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
Fear is not evidence that harm is the only future being prepared for you; this verse names an active purpose of good.
THE ROOT
זָמַמְתִּי
zamamti
GROWS FROM
זמם
z-m-m
to devise, plan, or purpose deliberately
“purposed” in this verse is zamamti. English “thought” can sound fleeting, but זָמַמְתִּי (zamamti) names an intention deliberately devised. The same root describes the purpose in the preceding verse, revealing that what changes is the direction of the design.
ALSO GROWS
zamam: to devise or plan
זָמַם
This form shows that the verse speaks of formed intention, not passing sentiment.
mezimmah: plan, purpose, or device
מְזִמָּה
The same word for a plan can describe a scheme or a considered purpose; here its aim is doing good.
לְהֵיטִיב
leheitiv
GROWS FROM
יטב
y-ṭ-b
to be good, make good, or act for benefit
“to do well” in this verse is leheitiv. “Do well” can sound like vague favorable treatment, but this root points to good taking effect as action, making good and benefiting. The purpose is directed toward lived good for Jerusalem and Judah.
ALSO GROWS
yitav: may be good or pleasing
יִיטַב
This form presents goodness as a state that can become real, not merely an abstract quality.
meitiv: one who does good; a benefactor
מֵיטִיב
This branch shows goodness expressed through someone’s beneficial action.
THE PATTERN
“Fear not” is grounded in a declared intention to do good, help, or give.
And it shall come to pass, as you were a curse among the nations, O house of Judah and house of Israel, so will I deliver you, and you shall be a blessing. Fear not, but let your hands take hold.Do not fear, for I am with you. Do not look about in dismay, for I am your God. I will grip you, and I will help you, and I will hold you up with the right hand of my alignment.Do not tremble, little flock, for your Father delights to give you the governance.THE THREAD
For thus says the LORD of hosts. As I purposed to do harm to you when your fathers provoked me to wrath, says the LORD of hosts, and I did not relent.The phrase rendered “I thought” in both verses comes from זָמַם (zamam, to devise or purpose). The same root names an intention toward harm in verse 14 and an intention toward good here, revealing that the decisive change is the direction of the purpose.
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