C. F. Keil and Franz Delitzsch on Zechariah 8:13

Zec 8:13

The whole blessing is finally summed up in one expression in Zec 8:13 : “And it will come to pass, as ye were a curse among the nations, O house of Judah and house of Israel, so will I endow you with salvation, that ye may be a blessing. Fear not, let your hands be strong.” The formula, to be a curse among the nations, is to be interpreted according to Jer 24:9; Jer 25:9; Jer 42:18; 2Ki 22:19, as equivalent to being the object of a curse, i.e., so smitten by God as to serve as the object of curses. In harmony with this, the phrase to “become a blessing” is equivalent to being so blessed as to be used as a benedictory formula (cf. Gen 48:22; Jer 29:22). This promise is made to the remnant of Judah and Israel, and therefore of all the twelve tribes, who are to become partakers of the future salvation in undivided unity (cf. Zec 9:10, Zec 9:13; Zec 10:6; Zec 11:14). Israel is therefore to look forward to the future without alarm.