Jerusalem, Holy City of the Future

8 Again the word of the Lord of hosts came, saying, 2 “Thus says the Lord of hosts:

a‘I am 1zealous for Zion with great 2zeal;

With great 3fervor I am zealous for her.’

3 “Thus says the Lord:

b‘I will return to Zion,

And cdwell in the midst of Jerusalem.

Jerusalem dshall be called the City of Truth,

eThe Mountain of the Lord of hosts,

fThe Holy Mountain.’

4 “Thus says the Lord of hosts:

g‘Old men and old women shall again sit

In the streets of Jerusalem,

Each one with his staff in his hand

Because of 4great age.

5 The streets of the city

Shall be hfull of boys and girls

Playing in its streets.’

6 “Thus says the Lord of hosts:

‘If it is 5marvelous in the eyes of the remnant of this people in these days,

iWill it also be marvelous in My eyes?’

Says the Lord of hosts.

7 “Thus says the Lord of hosts:

‘Behold, jI will save My people from the land of the 6east

And from the land of the 7west;

8 I will kbring them back,

And they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem.

lThey shall be My people

And I will be their God,

mIn truth and righteousness.’

9 “Thus says the Lord of hosts:

n‘Let your hands be strong,

You who have been hearing in these days

These words by the mouth of othe prophets,

Who spoke in pthe day the foundation was laid

For the house of the Lord of hosts,

That the temple might be built.

10 For before these days

There were no qwages for man nor any hire for beast;

There was no peace from the enemy for whoever went out or came in;

For I set all men, everyone, against his neighbor.

11 rBut now I will not treat the remnant of this people as in the former days,’ says the Lord of hosts.

12 ‘For sthe 8seed shall be prosperous,

The vine shall give its fruit,

tThe ground shall give her increase,

And uthe heavens shall give their dew—

I will cause the remnant of this people

To possess all these.

13 And it shall come to pass

That just as you were va curse among the nations,

O house of Judah and house of Israel,

So I will save you, and wyou shall be a blessing.

Do not fear,

Let your hands be strong.’

14 “For thus says the Lord of hosts:

x‘Just as I determined to 9punish you

When your fathers provoked Me to wrath,’

Says the Lord of hosts,

y‘And I would not relent,

15 So again in these days

I am determined to do good

To Jerusalem and to the house of Judah.

Do not fear.

16 These are the things you shall zdo:

aSpeak each man the truth to his neighbor;

Give judgment in your gates for truth, justice, and peace;

17 bLet none of you think evil in 1your heart against your neighbor;

And do not love a false oath.

For all these are things that I hate,’

Says the Lord.”

18 Then the word of the Lord of hosts came to me, saying, 19 “Thus says the Lord of hosts:

c‘The fast of the fourth month,

dThe fast of the fifth,

eThe fast of the seventh,

fAnd the fast of the tenth,

Shall be gjoy and gladness and cheerful feasts

For the house of Judah.

hTherefore love truth and peace.’

20 “Thus says the Lord of hosts:

‘Peoples shall yet come,

Inhabitants of many cities;

21 The inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying,

i“Let us continue to go and pray before the Lord,

And seek the Lord of hosts.

I myself will go also.”

22 Yes, jmany peoples and strong nations

Shall come to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem,

And to pray before the Lord.’

23 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘In those days ten men kfrom every language of the nations shall lgrasp the 2sleeve of a Jewish man, saying, “Let us go with you, for we have heard mthat God is with you.” ’ ”

Israel Defended Against Enemies

9 The 1burden of the word of the Lord—

Against the land of Hadrach,

And aDamascus its resting place

(For bthe eyes of men

And all the tribes of Israel

Are on the Lord);

2 Also against cHamath, which borders on it,

And against dTyre and eSidon, though they are very fwise.

3 For Tyre built herself a tower,

Heaped up silver like the dust,

And gold like the mire of the streets.

4 Behold, gthe Lord will cast her out;

He will destroy hher power in the sea,

And she will be devoured by fire.

5 Ashkelon shall see it and fear;

Gaza also shall be very sorrowful;

And iEkron, for He dried up her expectation.

The king shall perish from Gaza,

And Ashkelon shall not be inhabited.

6 “A 2mixed race shall settle jin Ashdod,

And I will cut off the pride of the kPhilistines.

7 I will take away the blood from his mouth,

And the abominations from between his teeth.

But he who remains, even he shall be for our God,

And shall be like a leader in Judah,

And Ekron like a Jebusite.

8 lI will camp around My house

Because of the army,

Because of him who passes by and him who returns.

No more shall an oppressor pass through them,

For now I have seen with My eyes.

The Coming King

9 “Rejoice mgreatly, O daughter of Zion!

Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem!

Behold, nyour King is coming to you;

He is just and having salvation,

Lowly and riding on a donkey,

A colt, the foal of a donkey.

10 I owill cut off the chariot from Ephraim

And the horse from Jerusalem;

The pbattle bow shall be cut off.

He shall speak peace to the nations;

His dominion shall be q‘from sea to sea,

And from the River to the ends of the earth.’

God Will Save His People

11 “As for you also,

Because of the blood of your covenant,

I will set your rprisoners free from the waterless pit.

12 Return to the stronghold,

sYou prisoners of hope.

Even today I declare

That I will restore tdouble to you.

13 For I have bent Judah, My bow,

Fitted the bow with Ephraim,

And raised up your sons, O Zion,

Against your sons, O Greece,

And made you like the sword of a mighty man.”

14 Then the Lord will be seen over them,

And uHis arrow will go forth like lightning.

The Lord God will blow the trumpet,

And go vwith whirlwinds from the south.

15 The Lord of hosts will wdefend them;

They shall devour and subdue with slingstones.

They shall drink and roar as if with wine;

They shall be filled with blood like 3basins,

Like the corners of the altar.

16 The Lord their God will xsave them in that day,

As the flock of His people.

For ythey shall be like the 4jewels of a crown,

zLifted like a banner over His land—

17 For ahow great is 5its goodness

And how great 5its bbeauty!

cGrain shall make the young men thrive,

And new wine the young women.

Restoration of Judah and Israel

10 Ask athe Lord for brain

In cthe time of the 1latter rain.

The Lord will make 2flashing clouds;

He will give them showers of rain,

Grass in the field for everyone.

2 For the didols 3speak delusion;

The diviners envision elies,

And tell false dreams;

They fcomfort in vain.

Therefore the people wend their way like gsheep;

They are 4in trouble hbecause there is no shepherd.

3 “My anger is kindled against the ishepherds,

jAnd I will punish the 5goatherds.

For the Lord of hosts kwill visit His flock,

The house of Judah,

And lwill make them as His royal horse in the battle.

4 From him comes mthe cornerstone,

From him nthe tent peg,

From him the battle bow,

From him every 6ruler together.

5 They shall be like mighty men,

Who otread down their enemies

In the mire of the streets in the battle.

They shall fight because the Lord is with them,

And the riders on horses shall be put to shame.

6 “I will strengthen the house of Judah,

And I will save the house of Joseph.

pI will bring them back,

Because I qhave mercy on them.

They shall be as though I had not cast them aside;

For I am the Lord their God,

And I rwill hear them.

7 Those of Ephraim shall be like a mighty man,

And their sheart shall rejoice as if with wine.

Yes, their children shall see it and be glad;

Their heart shall rejoice in the Lord.

8 I will twhistle for them and gather them,

For I will redeem them;

uAnd they shall increase as they once increased.

9 “I vwill 7sow them among the peoples,

And they shall wremember Me in far countries;

They shall live, together with their children,

And they shall return.

10 xI will also bring them back from the land of Egypt,

And gather them from Assyria.

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

yUntil no more room is found for them.

11 zHe shall pass through the sea with affliction,

And strike the waves of the sea:

All the depths of 8the River shall dry up.

Then athe pride of Assyria shall be brought down,

And bthe scepter of Egypt shall depart.

12 “So I will strengthen them in the Lord,

And cthey shall walk up and down in His name,”

Says the Lord.

Desolation of Israel

11 Open ayour doors, O Lebanon,

That fire may devour your cedars.

2 Wail, O cypress, for the bcedar has fallen,

Because the mighty trees are ruined.

Wail, O oaks of Bashan,

cFor the thick forest has come down.

3 There is the sound of wailing dshepherds!

For their glory is in ruins.

There is the sound of roaring lions!

For the 1pride of the Jordan is in ruins.

Prophecy of the Shepherds

4 Thus says the Lord my God, “Feed the flock for slaughter, 5 whose owners slaughter them and efeel no guilt; those who sell them fsay, ‘Blessed be the Lord, for I am rich’; and their shepherds do gnot pity them. 6 For I will no longer pity the inhabitants of the land,” says the Lord. “But indeed I will give everyone into his neighbor’s hand and into the hand of his king. They shall 2attack the land, and I will not deliver them from their hand.”

7 So I fed the flock for slaughter, 3in particular hthe poor of the flock. I took for myself two staffs: the one I called 4Beauty, and the other I called 5Bonds; and I fed the flock. 8 I 6dismissed the three shepherds iin one month. My soul loathed them, and their soul also abhorred me. 9 Then I said, “I will not feed you. jLet what is dying die, and what is perishing perish. Let those that are left eat each other’s flesh.” 10 And I took my staff, 7Beauty, and cut it in two, that I might break the covenant which I had made with all the peoples. 11 So it was broken on that day. Thus kthe 8poor of the flock, who were watching me, knew that it was the word of the Lord. 12 Then I said to them, “If it is 9agreeable to you, give me my wages; and if not, refrain.” So they lweighed out for my wages thirty pieces of silver.

13 And the Lord said to me, “Throw it to the mpotter”—that princely price they set on me. So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the Lord for the potter. 14 Then I cut in two my other staff, 1Bonds, that