Zechariah 8:4 - Exposition

There shall yet old men … dwell ( sit ), etc. A picture of happy security and plenty, in vivid contrast to the desolation deplored in Lamentations 2:1-22 .; 5. In the days of the Maccabees it is noted, among other tokens of peace and prosperity, that "the ancient men sat all in the streets, communing together of good things" (1 Macc 14:9). For very age; Hebrew, for multitude of days. People shall reach the utmost limits of human life. According to the old Law, length of days was the reward of obedience ( Genesis 15:15 ; Exodus 20:12 ; Deuteronomy 4:40 ), and an early death was inflicted as a punishment of sin ( Deuteronomy 28:20 ; Psalms 54:1-7 :23; Psalms 78:33 ). Such promises are made also in Messianic times ( Isaiah 65:20 ), though in a different sense.