Zechariah 8:1–17

What the Lord Will Do for Zion

¹The Lord of Armies spoke his word. 

²This is what the Lord of Armies says: 

I am very jealous about Zion. 

I am fiercely possessive of it. 

³This is what the Lord says: 

I will return to Zion and live in Jerusalem. 

Jerusalem will be called the City of Truth. 

The mountain of the Lord of Armies will be called the holy mountain. 

⁴This is what the Lord of Armies says: 

Old men and old women will again sit in the streets of Jerusalem. 

Each will have a cane in hand because of old age. 

⁵The city will be filled with boys and girls playing in the streets. 

⁶This is what the Lord of Armies says: 

It may seem impossible to the few remaining people in those days, 

but will it seem impossible to me? declares the Lord of Armies. 

⁷This is what the Lord of Armies says: 

I am going to save my people 

from the land where the sun rises 

and from the land where the sun sets. 

⁸I will bring them back, and they will live in Jerusalem. 

They will be my people, and I will be their God, who is faithful and just. 

⁹This is what the Lord of Armies says: 

Be strong so that the temple might be rebuilt, 

you people who are presently listening 

to the words from the mouths of the prophets 

who spoke when the foundation 

for the house of the Lord of Armies was laid. 

¹⁰Before that time there was no money to hire any person or animal. 

No one who traveled was safe from the enemy. 

I turned every person against his neighbor. 

¹¹But now I won’t deal with the few remaining people 

as I did in earlier times, declares the Lord of Armies. 

¹²Seeds will thrive in peacetime. 

Vines will produce their grapes. 

The land will yield its crops. 

The sky will produce its dew. 

I will give the few remaining people 

all these things as an inheritance. 

¹³Just as you, people of Judah and people of Israel, 

have been a curse among the nations, 

so I will now save you, 

and you will become a blessing. 

Don’t be afraid. Let your hands work hard. 

¹⁴This is what the Lord of Armies says: 

When your ancestors made me angry, 

I made plans to destroy you, declares the Lord of Armies, 

and I didn’t change my plans. 

¹⁵So now I have again made plans, but this time to do good 

to Jerusalem and the people of Judah. 

Don’t be afraid. 

¹⁶You must do these things: 

Speak the truth to each other. 

Give correct and fair verdicts for peace in your courts. 

¹⁷Don’t even think of doing evil to each other. 

Don’t enjoy false testimony. 

I hate all these things, declares the Lord.