“Then the angel of Yahweh
Said.
‘O Yahweh of hosts!
How long will you
Withhold your mercy
From Jerusalem?
How long will you
Withhold your mercy
From the cities of Judah?
You have been angry
These seventy years.’
Yahweh replied
With gracious words,
With comforting words,
To the angel
Who talked with me.
Then the angel
Who talked with me,
Said to me.
‘Proclaim this message!
Thus says Yahweh of hosts.
I am very jealous
For Jerusalem,
For Zion.’”
Now the angel of Yahweh spoke about the problems of Jerusalem and Judah. Why had Yahweh been angry at these places for 70 years? This was approximately the time between the destruction of Jerusalem in 587 BCE and then 520 BCE. However, Yahweh replied to the angel with gracious and comforting words. Then the angel of Yahweh turned to Zechariah. He told him to proclaim a message that Yahweh of hosts was jealous about Jerusalem and Zion. They were not going to be abandoned.
Eugene Finnegan Bible Project 