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12 Some of you will rebuild the deserted ruins of your cities.
    Then you will be known as a rebuilder of walls
    and a restorer of homes.

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They will rebuild the ancient ruins,
    repairing cities destroyed long ago.
They will revive them,
    though they have been deserted for many generations.

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33 “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: When I cleanse you from your sins, I will repopulate your cities, and the ruins will be rebuilt.

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14 I will bring my exiled people of Israel
    back from distant lands,
and they will rebuild their ruined cities
    and live in them again.
They will plant vineyards and gardens;
    they will eat their crops and drink their wine.

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17 But now I said to them, “You know very well what trouble we are in. Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire. Let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem and end this disgrace!”

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A Promise of Restoration

11 “In that day I will restore the fallen house[a] of David.
    I will repair its damaged walls.
From the ruins I will rebuild it
    and restore its former glory.

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Footnotes

  1. 9:11a Or kingdom; Hebrew reads tent.

“But the mountains of Israel will produce heavy crops of fruit for my people—for they will be coming home again soon! See, I care about you, and I will pay attention to you. Your ground will be plowed and your crops planted. 10 I will greatly increase the population of Israel, and the ruined cities will be rebuilt and filled with people. 11 I will increase not only the people, but also your animals. O mountains of Israel, I will bring people to live on you once again. I will make you even more prosperous than you were before. Then you will know that I am the Lord.

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38 “The day is coming,” says the Lord, “when all Jerusalem will be rebuilt for me, from the Tower of Hananel to the Corner Gate.

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The Lord will comfort Israel[a] again
    and have pity on her ruins.
Her desert will blossom like Eden,
    her barren wilderness like the garden of the Lord.
Joy and gladness will be found there.
    Songs of thanksgiving will fill the air.

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Footnotes

  1. 51:3 Hebrew Zion; also in 51:16.

Promises of Israel’s Restoration

This is what the Lord says:

“At just the right time, I will respond to you.[a]
    On the day of salvation I will help you.
I will protect you and give you to the people
    as my covenant with them.
Through you I will reestablish the land of Israel
    and assign it to its own people again.

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Footnotes

  1. 49:8 Greek version reads I heard you. Compare 2 Cor 6:2.

25 Now listen and understand! Seven sets of seven plus sixty-two sets of seven[a] will pass from the time the command is given to rebuild Jerusalem until a ruler—the Anointed One[b]—comes. Jerusalem will be rebuilt with streets and strong defenses,[c] despite the perilous times.

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Footnotes

  1. 9:25a Hebrew Seven sevens plus sixty-two sevens.
  2. 9:25b Or an anointed one; similarly in 9:26. Hebrew reads a messiah.
  3. 9:25c Or and a moat, or and trenches.

Therefore, O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Sovereign Lord. He speaks to the hills and mountains, ravines and valleys, and to ruined wastes and long-deserted cities that have been destroyed and mocked by the surrounding nations.

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Let the ruins of Jerusalem break into joyful song,
    for the Lord has comforted his people.
    He has redeemed Jerusalem.

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28 When I say of Cyrus, ‘He is my shepherd,’
    he will certainly do as I say.
He will command, ‘Rebuild Jerusalem’;
    he will say, ‘Restore the Temple.’”

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Continued Opposition to Rebuilding

Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem the Arab, and the rest of our enemies found out that I had finished rebuilding the wall and that no gaps remained—though we had not yet set up the doors in the gates.

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I replied, “If it please the king, and if you are pleased with me, your servant, send me to Judah to rebuild the city where my ancestors are buried.”

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Enemies Oppose the Rebuilding

[a]Sanballat was very angry when he learned that we were rebuilding the wall. He flew into a rage and mocked the Jews, saying in front of his friends and the Samarian army officers, “What does this bunch of poor, feeble Jews think they’re doing? Do they think they can build the wall in a single day by just offering a few sacrifices?[b] Do they actually think they can make something of stones from a rubbish heap—and charred ones at that?”

Tobiah the Ammonite, who was standing beside him, remarked, “That stone wall would collapse if even a fox walked along the top of it!”

Then I prayed, “Hear us, our God, for we are being mocked. May their scoffing fall back on their own heads, and may they themselves become captives in a foreign land! Do not ignore their guilt. Do not blot out their sins, for they have provoked you to anger here in front of[c] the builders.”

At last the wall was completed to half its height around the entire city, for the people had worked with enthusiasm.

[d]But when Sanballat and Tobiah and the Arabs, Ammonites, and Ashdodites heard that the work was going ahead and that the gaps in the wall of Jerusalem were being repaired, they were furious.

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Footnotes

  1. 4:1 Verses 4:1-6 are numbered 3:33-38 in Hebrew text.
  2. 4:2 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
  3. 4:5 Or for they have thrown insults in the face of.
  4. 4:7 Verses 4:7-23 are numbered 4:1-17 in Hebrew text.

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