Albert Barnes Commentary Zechariah 8:1

"And the word of Jehovah of hosts came [to me], saying," — Zechariah 8:1 (ASV)

Dionysius: “After the Lord had, in the preceding chapter, rebuked the Jewish people in many ways, He now comforts them with renewed promises, like a good physician who, after a bitter medicine, uses sweet and soothing remedies; just as that most loving Samaritan poured in wine and oil.”

The chapter is divided into two portions, each marked by the words The Word of the Lord of hosts came or came to me. The first portion (Zechariah 8:1–17) declares the reversal of the former judgments and the complete, though conditional, restoration of God’s favor. The second portion (Zechariah 8:18–23) contains the answer to the original question regarding those fasts, in the declaration of the joy and the spread of the Gospel.

The first main portion, again, has a sevenfold subordinate division, and the second has a threefold one, each marked by the opening phrase, Thus says the Lord of hosts.