Again the word of the Lord of hosts came to me, saying,

2  Thus saith the Lord of hosts;

aI was jealous for Zion with great jealousy,

And I was jealous for her bwith great fury.

3  Thus saith the Lord; cI am returned unto Zion,

And dwill dwell in the midst of Jerusalem:

And Jerusalem shall be called ea city of truth;

And fthe mountain of the Lord of hosts gthe holy mountain.

4  Thus saith the Lord of hosts;

hThere shall yet old men and old women dwell iin the streets of Jerusalem,

And every man with his staff in his hand †for very age.

5  And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls

Playing in the streets thereof.

6  Thus saith the Lord of hosts;

If it be ||marvellous in the eyes of kthe remnant of this people in these days,

lShould it also be ||marvellous in mine eyes? saith the Lord of hosts.

7 Thus saith the Lord of hosts;

Behold, mI will save my people nfrom the east country,

And nfrom †the west country;

8  And I will bring them, and they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem:

And othey shall be my people, and I will be their God,

pIn truth and in righteousness.

9 Thus saith the Lord of hosts; qLet your hands be strong, ye that hear in these days these words by the mouth of rthe prophets, which were in sthe day that the foundation of the house of the Lord of hosts was laid, that the temple might be built. 10 ssFor before these days ||there was no thire for man, nor any hire for beast; uneither was there any peace to him that went out or came in because of the affliction: for I set all men every one against his neighbour. 11 But now I will not be unto kthe residue of this people as in the former days, saith the Lord of hosts. 12 For vthe seed shall be †wprosperous; xthe vine shall give zher fruit, and ythe ground shall give her increase, and zthe heavens shall give their dew; and I will acause the remnant of this people to possess all these things. 13 And it shall come to pass, that as ye were ba curse among the heathen, O house of Judah, and house of Israel; so cwill I save you, and dye shall be a blessing: efear not, but let fyour hands be strong. 14 For thus saith the Lord of hosts; gAs I thought to punish you, when your fathers hprovoked me to wrath, saith the Lord of hosts, iand I repented not: 15 gSo again have I thought in these days to do well unto Jerusalem and to the house of Judah: efear ye not. 16 These are the things that ye shall do; jSpeak ye every man the truth to his neighbour; †execute the judgment of ktruth and kpeace lin your gates: 17 And mlet none of you nimagine evil in your hearts against his neighbour; and olove no false oath: for all these are things that I hate, saith the Lord.

18 And the word of the Lord of hosts came unto me, saying, 19 Thus saith the Lord of hosts; The fast of pthe fourth month, and the fast of qthe fifth, and the fast of rthe seventh, and the fast of sthe tenth, shall be to the house of Judah tjoy and gladness, and cheerful ||feasts; therefore love kthe truth and kpeace.

20 Thus saith the Lord of hosts;

It shall yet come to pass, that there shall come people,

And the inhabitants of many cities:

21  And the inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying,

uLet us go ||†speedily †to pray before the Lord,

And to seek the Lord of hosts: I will go also.

22  Yea, vmany people and strong nations shall come

To seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem,

And †to pray before the Lord.

23  Thus saith the Lord of hosts;

In those days it shall come to pass, that wten men xshall take hold out yof all languages of the nations,

Even xshall take hold of zthe skirt of him that is a Jew, saying,

We will go with you: for we have heard athat God is with you.