The Branch is Crowned

9 And the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, 10 “Collectg from the exiles—from Heldai, Tobijah, and from Jedaiah, all of whom came from Babylon—and go on that day, go to the house of Josiah son of Zephaniah. 11 Take the silver and gold and make a crown, and set it on the head of Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest. 12 And say to him, ‘Thus says Yahweh of hosts: “Look, here is a man whose name is Branch,h and from his place he will sprout, and he will build the temple of Yahweh. 13 And he will build the temple of Yahweh, and he will bear majesty and will sit and rule on his throne. And he shall be a priest on his throne, and the counsel of peace will be between the two of them.” ’i 14 And the crown will be for Helem,j for Tobijah, for Jedaiah, and for Henk son of Zephaniah, as a memorial in the temple of Yahweh. 15 And those who are far off will come and build the temple of Yahweh, and you will know that Yahweh of hosts has sent me to you. And it will happen if you will listen diligently to the voice of Yahweh your God.”

7 ⌊And then⌋,a in the fourth year of King Darius, the word of Yahweh came to Zechariah on the fourth day of the ninth month, which is Kislev. 2 And the people of Bethel sent Sharezer and Regem-Melech, and theirb men, to entreat ⌊the favor⌋c of Yahweh, 3 saying to the ⌊priests of the house of Yahweh of hosts⌋d and to the prophets, “Should I mourn in the fifth month and keep myself separatee as I have done for these many years?” 4 And the word of Yahweh of hosts came to me, saying, 5 “Say to all the people of the land and to the priests: ‘When you fasted and lamented in the fifth and seventh months for these seventy years, did you really fast for me? 6 And when you eat and drink, are you not eating and drinking for yourselves? 7 Are not these the words that Yahweh proclaimed ⌊through⌋f the former prophets, when Jerusalem and ⌊its surrounding towns⌋g were inhabited and at ease, and the Negevh and the Shephelahi were inhabited?’ ”

8 And the word of Yahweh came to Zechariah, saying, 9 “Thus says Yahweh of hosts: ‘Judge with trustworthy justice, and showj steadfast love and compassion ⌊to one another⌋.k 10 You must not oppress the widow, the orphan, the foreigner, and the needy. You must not devise evil in your heart ⌊against one another⌋.’l 11 But they refused to listen, and turnedm a stubborn shoulder and ⌊stopped their ears from listening⌋.n 12 ⌊They made their hearts adamant⌋o in order not to hear the lawp and the words that Yahweh of hosts had sent by his spirit throughq the former prophets; therefore great wrath came from Yahweh of hosts. 13 ‘Thus, just as Ir called and they would not hear, so they will call and I will not hear,’ says Yahweh of hosts. 14 ‘And I scattered them with a wind among all the nations that they had not known; the land was made desolate behind them— no one crossing through it or returning—and they made the desirable lands a desolation.’ ”

Yahweh’s Promise to Jerusalem

8 And the word of Yahweh of hosts came, saying, 2 “Thus says Yahweh of hosts: ‘⌊I am exceedingly jealous for Zion⌋;a I am jealous for it with great wrath.’ 3 Thus says Yahweh: ‘I have returned to Zion, and I will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem; and Jerusalem will be called the faithful city,b and the mountain of Yahweh of hosts will be called the holy mountain.’ 4 Thus says Yahweh of hosts: ‘Old men and old women shall again sit in the public squares of Jerusalem, each with staff in handc ⌊because of great age⌋.d 5 And the public squares of the city will be filled with boys and girls playing in its public squares.’ 6 Thus says Yahweh of hosts: ‘Even if it seems impossiblee ⌊to the remnant⌋f of this people in those days, should it also seem impossibleg ⌊to me⌋?’h ⌊declares⌋i Yahweh of hosts. 7 Thus says Yahweh of hosts: ‘Look! I am going to save my people from the land of the east, and from the land of the west, 8 and I will bring them and they will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. They will be my people and I will be their God in faithfulnessj and in righteousness.’

9 “Thus says Yahweh of hosts: ‘Let your hands be strong, youk who are hearing in these days these words from the mouth of the prophets who were present on the day ⌊the foundation was laid for the rebuilding of the temple, the house of Yahweh of hosts⌋.l 10 For before those days there was no wage for people or for animals, and there was no safety from the enemy for those who went out or those who came in, and I sent each person against ⌊one another⌋.m 11 But now ⌊I will not deal with the remnant of this people as in the former days⌋,’n ⌊declares⌋o Yahweh of hosts. 12 ‘For there will be a sowing of peace; the vine will give its fruit, and the soil will give its produce, and the heavens will give their dew. And I will cause the remnant of this people to inherit all these things. 13 ⌊And then⌋,p just as you were a curse among the nations, O house of Judah and house of Israel, so will I save you, and you will be a blessing. You must not be afraid; let your hands be strong!’ ”

14 For thus says Yahweh of hosts: “Just as I planned to bring disasterq on you when your ancestorsr provoked me to anger,” says Yahweh of hosts, “and I did not regret it, 15 ⌊so again I have planned⌋s in these days to do good to Jerusalem and the house of Judah. Do not be afraid! 16 These are the things that you must do: speak truth, each of you, with his neighbor; practice trustworthy judgment and peace in your gates. 17 Do not devise evil in your hearts against your neighbor, and do not love ⌊a false oath⌋,t because all these are things I hate,” ⌊declares⌋u Yahweh.

18 And the word of Yahweh of hosts came to me, saying 19 “Thus says Yahweh of hosts: ‘The fast of the fourth month, the fifth month, the seventh month, and the tenth month will be for the house of Judah jubilation and joy and merry festivals; therefore love truth and peace.’ 20 Thus says Yahweh of hosts: ‘It will happen again that nations and the inhabitants of many cities will come. 21 And the inhabitants of one city will go to another city, saying, “Let us go immediately to entreat ⌊the favor of⌋v Yahweh, to seek Yahweh of hosts—I also will go!” 22 And many peoples and powerfulw nations will come to seek Yahweh of hosts in Jerusalem, and to entreat ⌊the favor of⌋x Yahweh.’ 23 Thus says Yahweh of hosts: ‘In those days ten men from ⌊the nations of every language⌋y will take hold of the hem of a Judean man,z saying, “Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you!” ’ ”

9 An oracle. The word of Yahweh is against the land of Hadrach,

and Damascus is its resting place.

For to Yahweh belongs the eye of humankind,a

and all the tribes of Israel,

2 and also Hamath, which borders on it;

Tyre and Sidon—yes, they are very wise!b

3 Tyre has built a fortification for itself,c

and it heaped up silver like dust,

and gold like the mud of the streets.

4 Look! The Lord will drive itd out

and will hurl itse outer ramparts into the sea,

and itf will be consumed by fire.

5 Ashkelon will see and will be afraid,

and Gaza will writhe exceedingly,

and Ekron also, because its hope is ruined.g

And the king from Gaza will perish,

and Ashkelon will not be inhabited.

6 A mongrel peopleh will dwell in Ashdod,

and I will cut down the pride of the Philistines.

7 I will remove itsi blood from itsj mouth,

and itsk abominations from between itsl teeth.

And itm too will be a remnant for our God;

and itn will be like a tribal chiefo in Judah,

and Ekron will be like the Jebusite.

8 But I will encamp at my templep like a guard,

against those crossing through and returning;

no oppressor will cross through them again,

for now I have seen with my own eyes.