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Zechariah 2

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1 5 And I lifted my eyes, and saw, and behold, a man, and in his hand a measuring cord.

2 6 And I said, whither goest thou? And he said to me, To measure Jerusalem, to see what is her breadth, and what is her length.

3 7 And behold, the angel who spoke with me went·​·out, and another angel went·​·out to meet him,

4 8 and said to him, Run, speak to the lad yonder, saying, Jerusalem shall dwell in the countryside from the multitude of man and beast in her midst.

5 9 And I, says Jehovah, will be to her a wall of fire all around, and will be the glory in the midst of her.

6 10 Oh, oh, flee from the land of the north, says Jehovah, for I have spread you as the four winds of the heavens, says Jehovah.

7 11 Oh, Zion! Deliver thyself, thou who art dwelling with the daughter of Babylon.

8 12 For thus says Jehovah of Armies: He has sent me after the glory, to the nations which spoiled you; for he who touches on you touches on the daughter of His eye.

9 13 For, behold, I will wave My hand over them, and they shall be a spoil to their servants; and you shall know that Jehovah of Armies has sent me.

10 14 Sing·​·aloud and be·​·glad, O daughter of Zion; for, lo, I come, and I will reside in the midst of thee, says Jehovah.

11 15 And many nations shall be joined to Jehovah in that day, and shall be My people; and I will reside in the midst of thee, and thou shalt know that Jehovah of Armies has sent me to thee.

12 16 And Jehovah shall take· Judah ·for·​·an·​·inheritance, His part on the holy ground, and shall choose Jerusalem yet·​·again.

13 17 Keep·​·silent, O all flesh, before Jehovah; for He is stirred·​·up out·​·of His holy abode.

   


Thanks to the Kempton Project for the permission to use this New Church translation of the Word.

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People (nation)

  

The Bible generally uses two different terms for large groups: “people” and “nations.” When it uses “nation,” it is talking about a group with the desire for good as its ultimate underlying motivation; when it uses the term “people” it is talking about a group whose deep motivation is to seek true ideas and concepts. As with all symbolism in the Bible, this can be also used in a negative sense, to describe groups with the lust for evil or those driven by false concepts. It can also be used in the abstract, with “nation” representing desires for good themselves and “people” representing true ideas themselves. In a way, these meanings make sense if we look at the two words themselves. “People” brings to mind a collection of individuals, and that is somewhat how it is with ideas -- you can have many of them that inter-relate, but also stand somewhat on their own, individually. “Nation” is a more unified term, reflecting the way that a desire for good tends to unify other feelings.