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16 “‘Therefore, this is what the Lord says: I have returned to show mercy to Jerusalem. My Temple will be rebuilt, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, and measurements will be taken for the reconstruction of Jerusalem.[a]

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Footnotes

  1. 1:16 Hebrew and the measuring line will be stretched out over Jerusalem.

“And now the Lord says: I am returning to Mount Zion, and I will live in Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will be called the Faithful City; the mountain of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will be called the Holy Mountain.

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10 The Lord says, “Shout and rejoice, O beautiful Jerusalem,[a] 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.

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Footnotes

  1. 2:10 Hebrew O daughter of Zion.

24 “My servant David will be their king, and they will have only one shepherd. They will obey my regulations and be careful to keep my decrees. 25 They will live in the land I gave my servant Jacob, the land where their ancestors lived. They and their children and their grandchildren after them will live there forever, generation after generation. And my servant David will be their prince forever. 26 And I will make a covenant of peace with them, an everlasting covenant. I will give them their land and increase their numbers,[a] and I will put my Temple among them forever. 27 I will make my home among them. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 28 And when my Temple is among them forever, the nations will know that I am the Lord, who makes Israel holy.”

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Footnotes

  1. 37:26 Hebrew reads I will give them and increase their numbers; Greek version lacks the entire phrase.

14 So the Jewish elders continued their work, and they were greatly encouraged by the preaching of the prophets Haggai and Zechariah son of Iddo. The Temple was finally finished, as had been commanded by the God of Israel and decreed by Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes, the kings of Persia. 15 The Temple was completed on March 12,[a] during the sixth year of King Darius’s reign.

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Footnotes

  1. 6:15 Aramaic on the third day of the month Adar, of the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar. A number of events in Ezra can be cross-checked with dates in surviving Persian records and related accurately to our modern calendar. This day was March 12, 515 B.c.

“Zerubbabel is the one who laid the foundation of this Temple, and he will complete it. Then you will know that the Lord of Heaven’s Armies has sent me.

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In a burst of anger I turned my face away for a little while.
    But with everlasting love I will have compassion on you,”
    says the Lord, your Redeemer.

“Just as I swore in the time of Noah
    that I would never again let a flood cover the earth,
so now I swear
    that I will never again be angry and punish you.
10 For the mountains may move
    and the hills disappear,
but even then my faithful love for you will remain.
    My covenant of blessing will never be broken,”
    says the Lord, who has mercy on you.

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Future Prosperity of Jerusalem

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

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

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Footnotes

  1. 2:1 Verses 2:1-13 are numbered 2:5-17 in Hebrew text.

Measuring as he went, he took me along the stream for 1,750 feet[a] and then led me across. The water was up to my ankles.

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Footnotes

  1. 47:3 Hebrew 1,000 cubits [530 meters]; also in 47:4, 5.

As he brought me nearer, I saw a man whose face shone like bronze standing beside a gateway entrance. He was holding in his hand a linen measuring cord and a measuring rod.

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Restoration for God’s People

25 “So now, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will end the captivity of my people[a]; I will have mercy on all Israel, for I jealously guard my holy reputation! 26 They will accept responsibility for[b] their past shame and unfaithfulness after they come home to live in peace in their own land, with no one to bother them. 27 When I bring them home from the lands of their enemies, I will display my holiness among them for all the nations to see. 28 Then my people will know that I am the Lord their God, because I sent them away to exile and brought them home again. I will leave none of my people behind. 29 And I will never again turn my face from them, for I will pour out my Spirit upon the people of Israel. I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken!”

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Footnotes

  1. 39:25 Hebrew of Jacob.
  2. 39:26 A few Hebrew manuscripts read They will forget.

Who determined its dimensions
    and stretched out the surveying line?

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14 So the Lord sparked the enthusiasm of Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the enthusiasm of Jeshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the enthusiasm of the whole remnant of God’s people. They began to work on the house of their God, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies,

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35 “The distance around the entire city will be 6 miles.[a] And from that day the name of the city will be ‘The Lord Is There.’[b]

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Footnotes

  1. 48:35a Hebrew 18,000 [cubits] [9.6 kilometers].
  2. 48:35b Hebrew Yahweh Shammah.

10 “This is what the Lord says: You have said, ‘This is a desolate land where people and animals have all disappeared.’ Yet in the empty streets of Jerusalem and Judah’s other towns, there will be heard once more 11 the sounds of joy and laughter. The joyful voices of bridegrooms and brides will be heard again, along with the joyous songs of people bringing thanksgiving offerings to the Lord. They will sing,

‘Give thanks to the Lord of Heaven’s Armies,
    for the Lord is good.
    His faithful love endures forever!’

For I will restore the prosperity of this land to what it was in the past, says the Lord.

12 “This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: This land—though it is now desolate and has no people and animals—will once more have pastures where shepherds can lead their flocks.

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39 A measuring line will be stretched out over the hill of Gareb and across to Goah. 40 And the entire area—including the graveyard and ash dump in the valley, and all the fields out to the Kidron Valley on the east as far as the Horse Gate—will be holy to the Lord. The city will never again be captured or destroyed.”

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22 How long will you wander,
    my wayward daughter?
For the Lord will cause something new to happen—
    Israel will embrace her God.[a]

23 This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: “When I bring them back from captivity, the people of Judah and its towns will again say, ‘The Lord bless you, O righteous home, O holy mountain!’ 24 Townspeople and farmers and shepherds alike will live together in peace and happiness. 25 For I have given rest to the weary and joy to the sorrowing.”

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Footnotes

  1. 31:22 Hebrew a woman will surround a man.

26 But I carry out the predictions of my prophets!
    By them I say to Jerusalem, ‘People will live here again,’
and to the towns of Judah, ‘You will be rebuilt;
    I will restore all your ruins!’
27 When I speak to the rivers and say, ‘Dry up!’
    they will be dry.
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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11 It will be haunted by the desert owl and the screech owl,
    the great owl and the raven.[a]
For God will measure that land carefully;
    he will measure it for chaos and destruction.

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Footnotes

  1. 34:11 The identification of some of these birds is uncertain.

Songs of Praise for Salvation

12 In that day you will sing:
    “I will praise you, O Lord!
You were angry with me, but not any more.
    Now you comfort me.

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