Zechariah 8–14

The Lord Promises to Bless Jerusalem

8The word of the Lord Almighty came to me.

²This is what the Lord Almighty says: “I am very jealous^a for Zion; I am burning with jealousy for her.”

³This is what the Lord says: “I will return^b to Zion^c and dwell in Jerusalem.^d Then Jerusalem will be called the Faithful City,^e and the mountain^f of the Lord Almighty will be called the Holy Mountain.^g”

⁴This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Once again men and women of ripe old age will sit in the streets of Jerusalem,^h each of them with cane in hand because of their age. ⁵The city streets will be filled with boys and girls playing there.ⁱ”

⁶This is what the Lord Almighty says: “It may seem marvelous to the remnant of this people at that time,^j but will it seem marvelous to me?^k” declares the Lord Almighty.

⁷This is what the Lord Almighty says: “I will save my people from the countries of the east and the west.^{l 8}I will bring them back^m to liveⁿ in Jerusalem; they will be my people,^o and I will be faithful and righteous to them as their God.^p”

⁹This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Now hear these words, ‘Let your hands be strong^q so that the temple may be built.’ This is also what the prophets^r said who were present when the foundation^s was laid for the house of the Lord Almighty. ¹⁰Before that time there were no wages^t for people or hire for animals. No one could go about their business safely^u because of their enemies, since I had turned everyone against their neighbor. ¹¹But now I will not deal with the remnant of this people as I did in the past,”^v declares the Lord Almighty.

¹²“The seed will grow well, the vine will yield its fruit,^w the ground will produce its crops,^x and the heavens will drop their dew.^y I will give all these things as an inheritance^z to the remnant of this people.^{a 13}Just as you, Judah and Israel, have been a curse^ab among the nations, so I will save^c you, and you will be a blessing.^bd Do not be afraid,^e but let your hands be strong.^f”

¹⁴This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Just as I had determined to bring disaster^g on you and showed no pity when your ancestors angered me,” says the Lord Almighty, ¹⁵“so now I have determined to do good^h again to Jerusalem and Judah.ⁱ Do not be afraid. ¹⁶These are the things you are to do: Speak the truth^j to each other, and render true and sound judgment^k in your courts;^{l 17}do not plot evil^m against each other, and do not love to swear falsely.ⁿ I hate all this,” declares the Lord.

¹⁸The word of the Lord Almighty came to me.

¹⁹This is what the Lord Almighty says: “The fasts of the fourth,^o fifth,^p seventh^q and tenth^r months will become joyful^s and glad occasions and happy festivals for Judah. Therefore love truth^t and peace.”

²⁰This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Many peoples and the inhabitants of many cities will yet come, ²¹and the inhabitants of one city will go to another and say, ‘Let us go at once to entreat^u the Lord and seek^v the Lord Almighty. I myself am going.’ ²²And many peoples and powerful nations will come to Jerusalem to seek the Lord Almighty and to entreat him.”^w

²³This is what the Lord Almighty says: “In those days ten people from all languages and nations will take firm hold of one Jew by the hem of his robe and say, ‘Let us go with you, because we have heard that God is with you.’ ”^x

Judgment on Israel’s Enemies

9A prophecy:^y

The word of the Lord is against the land of Hadrak

and will come to rest on Damascus^z—

for the eyes of all people and all the tribes of Israel

are on the Lord—^a

²and on Hamath^a too, which borders on it,

and on Tyre^b and Sidon,^c though they are very skillful.

³Tyre has built herself a stronghold;

she has heaped up silver like dust,

and gold like the dirt of the streets.^d

⁴But the Lord will take away her possessions

and destroy^e her power on the sea,

and she will be consumed by fire.^f

⁵Ashkelon^g will see it and fear;

Gaza will writhe in agony,

and Ekron too, for her hope will wither.

Gaza will lose her king

and Ashkelon will be deserted.

⁶A mongrel people will occupy Ashdod,

and I will put an end^h to the pride of the Philistines.

⁷I will take the blood from their mouths,

the forbidden food from between their teeth.

Those who are left will belong to our Godⁱ

and become a clan in Judah,

and Ekron will be like the Jebusites.^j

⁸But I will encamp^k at my temple

to guard it against marauding forces.^l

Never again will an oppressor overrun my people,

for now I am keeping watch.^m

The Coming of Zion’s King

⁹Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion!ⁿ

Shout,^o Daughter Jerusalem!

See, your king comes to you,^p

righteous and victorious,^q

lowly and riding on a donkey,^r

on a colt, the foal of a donkey.^s

¹⁰I will take away the chariots from Ephraim

and the warhorses from Jerusalem,

and the battle bow will be broken.^t

He will proclaim peace^u to the nations.

His rule will extend from sea to sea

and from the River^b to the ends of the earth.^v

¹¹As for you, because of the blood of my covenant^w with you,

I will free your prisoners^x from the waterless pit.^y

¹²Return to your fortress,^z you prisoners of hope;

even now I announce that I will restore twice^a as much to you.

¹³I will bend Judah as I bend my bow^b

and fill it with Ephraim.^c

I will rouse your sons, Zion,

against your sons, Greece,^d

and make you like a warrior’s sword.^e

The Lord Will Appear

¹⁴Then the Lord will appear over them;^f

his arrow will flash like lightning.^g

The Sovereign Lord will sound the trumpet;^h

he will march in the stormsⁱ of the south,

¹⁵and the Lord Almighty will shield^j them.

They will destroy

and overcome with slingstones.^k

They will drink and roar as with wine;^l

they will be full like a bowl^m

used for sprinkling^c the cornersⁿ of the altar.

¹⁶The Lord their God will save his people on that day^o

as a shepherd saves his flock.

They will sparkle in his land

like jewels in a crown.^p

¹⁷How attractive and beautiful they will be!

Grain will make the young men thrive,

and new wine the young women.

The Lord Will Care for Judah

10Ask the Lord for rain in the springtime;

it is the Lord who sends the thunderstorms.

He gives showers of rain^q to all people,

and plants of the field^r to everyone.

²The idols^s speak deceitfully,

diviners^t see visions that lie;

they tell dreams^u that are false,

they give comfort in vain.^v

Therefore the people wander like sheep

oppressed for lack of a shepherd.^w

³“My anger burns against the shepherds,

and I will punish the leaders;^x

for the Lord Almighty will care

for his flock, the people of Judah,

and make them like a proud horse in battle.^y

⁴From Judah will come the cornerstone,^z

from him the tent peg,^a

from him the battle bow,^b

from him every ruler.

⁵Together they^a will be like warriors in battle

trampling their enemy into the mud of the streets.^c

They will fight because the Lord is with them,

and they will put the enemy horsemen to shame.^d

⁶“I will strengthen^e Judah

and save the tribes of Joseph.

I will restore them

because I have compassion^f on them.^g

They will be as though

I had not rejected them,

for I am the Lord their God

and I will answer^h them.

⁷The Ephraimites will become like warriors,

and their hearts will be glad as with wine.ⁱ

Their children will see it and be joyful;

their hearts will rejoice^j in the Lord.

⁸I will signal^k for them

and gather them in.

Surely I will redeem them;

they will be as numerous^l as before.

⁹Though I scatter them among the peoples,

yet in distant lands they will remember me.^m

They and their children will survive,

and they will return.

¹⁰I will bring them back from Egypt

and gather them from Assyria.ⁿ

I will bring them to Gilead^o and Lebanon,

and there will not be room^p enough for them.

¹¹They will pass through the sea of trouble;

the surging sea will be subdued

and all the depths of the Nile will dry up.^q

Assyria’s pride^r will be brought down

and Egypt’s scepter^s will pass away.^t

¹²I will strengthen^u them in the Lord

and in his name they will live securely,^v”

declares the Lord.

11Open your doors, Lebanon,^w

so that fire^x may devour your cedars!

²Wail, you juniper, for the cedar has fallen;

the stately trees are ruined!

Wail, oaks^y of Bashan;

the dense forest^z has been cut down!^a

³Listen to the wail of the shepherds;

their rich pastures are destroyed!

Listen to the roar of the lions;^b

the lush thicket of the Jordan is ruined!^c

Two Shepherds

⁴This is what the Lord my God says: “Shepherd the flock marked for slaughter.^{d 5}Their buyers slaughter them and go unpunished. Those who sell them say, ‘Praise the Lord, I am rich!’ Their own shepherds do not spare them.^{e 6}For I will no longer have pity on the people of the land,” declares the Lord. “I will give everyone into the hands of their neighbors^f and their king. They will devastate the land, and I will not rescue anyone from their hands.”^g

⁷So I shepherded the flock marked for slaughter,^h particularly the oppressed of the flock. Then I took two staffs and called one Favor and the other Union, and I shepherded the flock. ⁸In one month I got rid of the three shepherds.

The flock detestedⁱ me, and I grew weary of them ⁹and said, “I will not be your shepherd. Let the dying die, and the perishing perish.^j Let those who are left eat^k one another’s flesh.”

¹⁰Then I took my staff called Favor^l and broke it, revoking^m the covenant I had made with all the nations. ¹¹It was revoked on that day, and so the oppressed of the flock who were watching me knew it was the word of the Lord.

¹²I told them, “If you think it best, give me my pay; but if not, keep it.” So they paid me thirty pieces of silver.ⁿ

¹³And the Lord said to me, “Throw it to the potter”—the handsome price at which they valued me! So I took the thirty pieces of silver^o and threw them to the potter at the house of the Lord.^p

¹⁴Then I broke my second staff called Union, breaking the family bond between Judah and Israel.

¹⁵Then the Lord said to me, “Take again the equipment of a foolish shepherd. ¹⁶For I am going to raise up a shepherd over the land who will not care for the…