Zechariah 8–14

Yahweh’s Promise to Jerusalem

8And 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.’ ³Thus 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.’ ⁴Thus says Yahweh of hosts: ‘Old men and old women shall again sit in the public squares of Jerusalem, each with staff in hand^c 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.’ ⁶Thus says Yahweh of hosts: ‘Even if it seems impossible^e to the remnant^f of this people in those days, should it also seem impossible^g to me?’^h declaresⁱ Yahweh of hosts. ⁷Thus 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, ⁸and 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 faithfulness^j and in righteousness.’

⁹“Thus says Yahweh of hosts: ‘Let your hands be strong, you^k 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. ¹³And 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!’ ”

¹⁴For thus says Yahweh of hosts: “Just as I planned to bring disaster^q on you when your ancestors^r provoked me to anger,” says Yahweh of hosts, “and I did not regret it, ¹⁵so again I have planned^s in these days to do good to Jerusalem and the house of Judah. Do not be afraid! ¹⁶These are the things that you must do: speak truth, each of you, with his neighbor; practice trustworthy judgment and peace in your gates. ¹⁷Do 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.

¹⁸And 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.’ ²⁰Thus says Yahweh of hosts: ‘It will happen again that nations and the inhabitants of many cities will come. ²¹And 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!” ²²And many peoples and powerful^w nations will come to seek Yahweh of hosts in Jerusalem, and to entreat the favor of^x Yahweh.’ ²³Thus 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!” ’ ”

9An 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,

²and also Hamath, which borders on it;

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

³Tyre has built a fortification for itself,^c

and it heaped up silver like dust,

and gold like the mud of the streets.

⁴Look! The Lord will drive it^d out

and will hurl its^e outer ramparts into the sea,

and it^f will be consumed by fire.

⁵Ashkelon 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.

⁶A mongrel people^h will dwell in Ashdod,

and I will cut down the pride of the Philistines.

⁷I will remove itsⁱ blood from its^j mouth,

and its^k abominations from between its^l teeth.

And it^m too will be a remnant for our God;

and itⁿ will be like a tribal chief^o in Judah,

and Ekron will be like the Jebusite.

⁸But I will encamp at my temple^p 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.

⁹Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!

Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem!

Look! Your king comes to you;

he is righteous and victorious,

humble and riding on a donkey,

and on a male donkey, the foal of^q a female donkey!

¹⁰And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim,

and the horse from Jerusalem;

the battle bow will be cut down,

and he will announce peace to the nations.

His dominion will be from sea to sea,

and from the River^r to the ends of the earth.

¹¹As for you also, because of the blood of your covenant,

I will release your prisoners from the waterless pit.^s

¹²Return to the fortress,

O prisoners of hope;

today I am declaring that I will repay you double.

¹³For I have bent Judah as my bow;

I have set Ephraim as an arrow.

I will set in motion your sons, O Zion,

against your sons, O Javan.^t

I will wield you like the sword of a warrior.

¹⁴Then Yahweh will appear over them,

and his arrow will go forth like lightning;

and my Lord Yahweh will blow the trumpet,

and he shall go out in the storm winds of the south.

¹⁵Yahweh of hosts will defend them,

and they will devour and subdue the slingstones;^u

they will drink, they will make noise^v like wine,

and they will be full like the sacrificial basin,^w

drenched like the corners of an altar.

¹⁶And Yahweh their God will save them on that day,

as the flock of his people;

for they are like the stones of a diadem,

glittering on his land.

¹⁷For how great is his goodness, and how great is his beauty!

Grain will make the young men thrive,

and new wine the young women.

Yahweh Gives Rain

10Ask rain from Yahweh in the season of the spring rain—

Yahweh, who makes storm clouds,

and he gives showers of rain to them,

to everyone vegetation in the field.

²Because the household gods^a speak deceit,

and those who practice divination see a lie,

and the dreamers of vanity speak in vain.

Therefore the people wander like sheep;^b

they are afflicted because there is no shepherd.

³My anger burns^c against the shepherds,

and I will punish the leaders,^d

because Yahweh of hosts watches over his flock,^e

the house of Judah;

and he will make them like his majestic horse in war.

⁴From them^f the cornerstone will go out,

from them^g the tent peg,

from them^h the battle bow,

from themⁱ every ruler,

all together.

⁵And they will be like warriors,

trampling in the mud of the streets in the battle.

They will fight, because Yahweh is with them,

and they will put to shame the riders on horses.

⁶And I will strengthen the house of Judah,

and the house of Joseph I will save.

And I will bring them back, because I have compassion on them,

and they will be as if I had not rejected them,

for I am Yahweh their God, and I will answer them.

⁷And the people of Ephraim will be like a warrior,

and their heart will be glad as with wine.

And their children will see and rejoice;

their heart will shout in exultation in Yahweh.

⁸I will whistle to them and gather them,

for I have redeemed them,

and they will become numerous as they have been numerous before.

⁹Though I sow^j them among the nations,

in the distant places they will remember me,

and they will stay alive with their children, and they will return.

¹⁰And I will bring them back from the land of Egypt,

and from Assyria I will gather them.

To the land of Gilead and Lebanon I will bring them,

until no room will be found for them there.

¹¹And he^k will pass through the sea of distress,

and he will strike the waves of the sea,

and all the depths of the Nile will dry up.

The pride of Assyria will be brought low,

and the scepter of Egypt will depart.

¹²I will make them strong in Yahweh,

and in his name they will walk,

declares^l Yahweh.

11Open your doors, O Lebanon,

so that fire will devour your cedars!

²Wail, O juniper,^a for the cedar has fallen,

for the magnificent trees are ruined!

Wail, oaks of Bashan,

for the impenetrable forest has come down!

³Listen to the wailing of the shepherds,

for their splendor is ruined!

Listen to the roar of the young lions,

for the thickets of the Jordan are ruined!

The Two Shepherds

⁴Thus says Yahweh my God: “Shepherd the flock^b doomed to slaughter. ⁵The ones buying them kill them and go unpunished, and the ones selling them say, ‘Blessed be Yahweh, for I have become rich.’ Their own shepherds have no compassion for them. ⁶For I will no longer have compassion on the inhabitants of the land,” declares^c Yahweh. “Look, I am going to cause humankind to fall, each into the hand of his neighbor, and into the hand of his king; and they will devastate the land, and I will not deliver anyone from their hand.”

⁷And I shepherded the flock^d doomed to slaughter, even^e the afflicted^f of the flock.^g I took two staffs, one I called Kindness, and the other I called Unity, and I shepherded the flock.^{h 8}And I got rid of three shepherds in one month, for I grew impatientⁱ with them, and they also became tired of me.^{j 9}So I said, “I will not shepherd you! The one dying will die, and the one to be destroyed will be destroyed. And the ones remaining, let them devour the flesh of each other.”^{k 10}And I took my staff Kindness and broke it, to break my covenant that I had made^l with all the peoples. ¹¹And it was broken on that day. Then the afflicted^m of the flock,ⁿ the ones who were watching me, knew that it was the word of Yahweh. …