Future Prosperity of Jerusalem

2 ^[a]When I looked again, I saw a man with a measuring line in his hand. ² “Where are you going?” I asked.

He replied, “I am going to measure Jerusalem, to see how wide and how long it is.”

³ Then the angel who was with me went to meet a second angel who was coming toward him. ⁴ The other angel said, “Hurry, and say to that young man, ‘Jerusalem will someday be so full of people and livestock that there won’t be room enough for everyone! Many will live outside the city walls. ⁵ Then I, myself, will be a protective wall of fire around Jerusalem, says the Lord. And I will be the glory inside the city!’”

The Exiles Are Called Home

⁶ The Lord says, “Come away! Flee from Babylon in the land of the north, for I have scattered you to the four winds. ⁷ Come away, people of Zion, you who are exiled in Babylon!”

⁸ After a period of glory, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies sent me^[b] against the nations who plundered you. For he said, “Anyone who harms you harms my most precious possession.^{[c] 9} I will raise my fist to crush them, and their own slaves will plunder them.” Then you will know that the Lord of Heaven’s Armies has sent me.

¹⁰ The Lord says, “Shout and rejoice, O beautiful Jerusalem,^[d] for I am coming to live among you. ¹¹ Many nations will join themselves to the Lord on that day, and they, too, will be my people. I will live among you, and you will know that the Lord of Heaven’s Armies sent me to you. ¹² The land of Judah will be the Lord’s special possession in the holy land, and he will once again choose Jerusalem to be his own city. ¹³ Be silent before the Lord, all humanity, for he is springing into action from his holy dwelling.”

Cleansing for the High Priest

3 Then the angel showed me Jeshua^[e] the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord. The Accuser, Satan,^[f] was there at the angel’s right hand, making accusations against Jeshua. ² And the Lord said to Satan, “I, the Lord, reject your accusations, Satan. Yes, the Lord, who has chosen Jerusalem, rebukes you. This man is like a burning stick that has been snatched from the fire.”

³ Jeshua’s clothing was filthy as he stood there before the angel. ⁴ So the angel said to the others standing there, “Take off his filthy clothes.” And turning to Jeshua he said, “See, I have taken away your sins, and now I am giving you these fine new clothes.”

⁵ Then I said, “They should also place a clean turban on his head.” So they put a clean priestly turban on his head and dressed him in new clothes while the angel of the Lord stood by.

⁶ Then the angel of the Lord spoke very solemnly to Jeshua and said, ⁷ “This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: If you follow my ways and carefully serve me, then you will be given authority over my Temple and its courtyards. I will let you walk among these others standing here.

⁸ “Listen to me, O Jeshua the high priest, and all you other priests. You are symbols of things to come. Soon I am going to bring my servant, the Branch. ⁹ Now look at the jewel I have set before Jeshua, a single stone with seven facets.^[g] I will engrave an inscription on it, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, and I will remove the sins of this land in a single day.

¹⁰ “And on that day, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, each of you will invite your neighbor to sit with you peacefully under your own grapevine and fig tree.”