Jerusalem, Holy City of the Future

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

(A)‘I am [a]zealous for Zion with great [b]zeal;
With great [c]fervor I am zealous for her.’

“Thus says the Lord:

(B)‘I will return to Zion,
And (C)dwell in the midst of Jerusalem.
Jerusalem (D)shall be called the City of Truth,
(E)The Mountain of the Lord of hosts,
(F)The Holy Mountain.’

“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 [d]great age.
The streets of the city
Shall be (H)full of boys and girls
Playing in its streets.’

“Thus says the Lord of hosts:

‘If it is [e]marvelous in the eyes of the remnant of this people in these days,
(I)Will it also be marvelous in My eyes?’
Says the Lord of hosts.

“Thus says the Lord of hosts:

‘Behold, (J)I will save My people from the land of the [f]east
And from the land of the [g]west;
I will (K)bring them back,
And they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem.
(L)They shall be My people
And I will be their God,
(M)In truth and righteousness.’

“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 (O)the prophets,
Who spoke in (P)the 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 (Q)wages 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 (R)But now I will not treat the remnant of this people as in the former days,’ says the Lord of hosts.

12 ‘For(S) the [h]seed shall be prosperous,
The vine shall give its fruit,
(T)The ground shall give her increase,
And (U)the 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 (V)a curse among the nations,
O house of Judah and house of Israel,
So I will save you, and (W)you 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 [i]punish 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 (Z)do:
(AA)Speak each man the truth to his neighbor;
Give judgment in your gates for truth, justice, and peace;
17 (AB)Let none of you think evil in [j]your 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:

(AC)‘The fast of the fourth month,
(AD)The fast of the fifth,
(AE)The fast of the seventh,
(AF)And the fast of the tenth,
Shall be (AG)joy and gladness and cheerful feasts
For the house of Judah.
(AH)Therefore 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,
(AI)“Let us continue to go and pray before the Lord,
And seek the Lord of hosts.
I myself will go also.”
22 Yes, (AJ)many 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 (AK)from every language of the nations shall (AL)grasp the [k]sleeve of a Jewish man, saying, “Let us go with you, for we have heard (AM)that God is with you.” ’ ”

Footnotes

  1. Zechariah 8:2 Or jealous
  2. Zechariah 8:2 Or jealousy
  3. Zechariah 8:2 Lit. heat or rage
  4. Zechariah 8:4 Lit. many days
  5. Zechariah 8:6 Or wonderful
  6. Zechariah 8:7 Lit. rising sun
  7. Zechariah 8:7 Lit. setting sun
  8. Zechariah 8:12 Lit. seed of peace
  9. Zechariah 8:14 Lit. bring calamity to you
  10. Zechariah 8:17 Lit. his
  11. Zechariah 8:23 Lit. wing, corner of a garment

Qualifications of Overseers

This is a faithful saying: If a man desires the position of a [a]bishop, he desires a good work. A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior, hospitable, able to teach; not [b]given to wine, not violent, [c]not greedy for money, but gentle, not quarrelsome, not [d]covetous; one who rules his own house well, having his children in submission with all reverence (for if a man does not know how to rule his own house, how will he take care of the church of God?); not a [e]novice, lest being puffed up with pride he fall into the same condemnation as the devil. Moreover he must have a good testimony among those who are outside, lest he fall into reproach and the (A)snare of the devil.

Qualifications of Deacons

Likewise deacons must be reverent, not double-tongued, (B)not given to much wine, not greedy for money, holding the [f]mystery of the faith with a pure conscience. 10 But let these also first be tested; then let them serve as deacons, being found blameless. 11 Likewise, their wives must be reverent, not [g]slanderers, temperate, faithful in all things. 12 Let deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well. 13 For those who have served well as deacons (C)obtain for themselves a good standing and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus.

The Great Mystery

14 These things I write to you, though I hope to come to you shortly; 15 but if I am delayed, I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and [h]ground of the truth. 16 And without controversy great is the [i]mystery of godliness:

(D)God[j] was manifested in the flesh,
(E)Justified in the Spirit,
(F)Seen by angels,
(G)Preached among the Gentiles,
(H)Believed on in the world,
(I)Received up in glory.

Footnotes

  1. 1 Timothy 3:1 Lit. overseer
  2. 1 Timothy 3:3 addicted
  3. 1 Timothy 3:3 NU omits not greedy for money
  4. 1 Timothy 3:3 loving money
  5. 1 Timothy 3:6 new convert
  6. 1 Timothy 3:9 hidden truth
  7. 1 Timothy 3:11 malicious gossips
  8. 1 Timothy 3:15 foundation, mainstay
  9. 1 Timothy 3:16 hidden truth
  10. 1 Timothy 3:16 NU Who

Desolation of Israel

11 Open (A)your doors, O Lebanon,
That fire may devour your cedars.
Wail, O cypress, for the (B)cedar has fallen,
Because the mighty trees are ruined.
Wail, O oaks of Bashan,
(C)For the thick forest has come down.
There is the sound of wailing (D)shepherds!
For their glory is in ruins.
There is the sound of roaring lions!
For the [a]pride of the Jordan is in ruins.

Prophecy of the Shepherds

Thus says the Lord my God, “Feed the flock for slaughter, whose owners slaughter them and (E)feel no guilt; those who sell them (F)say, ‘Blessed be the Lord, for I am rich’; and their shepherds do (G)not pity them. 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 [b]attack the land, and I will not deliver them from their hand.”

So I fed the flock for slaughter, [c]in particular (H)the poor of the flock. I took for myself two staffs: the one I called [d]Beauty, and the other I called [e]Bonds; and I fed the flock. I [f]dismissed the three shepherds (I)in one month. My soul loathed them, and their soul also abhorred me. Then I said, “I will not feed you. (J)Let 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, [g]Beauty, 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 (K)the[h] poor 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 [i]agreeable to you, give me my wages; and if not, refrain.” So they (L)weighed out for my wages thirty pieces of silver.

13 And the Lord said to me, “Throw it to the (M)potter”—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, [j]Bonds, that I might break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.

15 And the Lord said to me, (N)“Next, take for yourself the implements of a foolish shepherd. 16 For indeed I will raise up a shepherd in the land who will not care for those who are cut off, nor seek the young, nor heal those that are broken, nor feed those that still stand. But he will eat the flesh of the fat and tear their hooves in (O)pieces.

17 “Woe(P) to the worthless shepherd,
Who leaves the flock!
A sword shall be against his arm
And against his right eye;
His arm shall completely wither,
And his right eye shall be totally blinded.”

Footnotes

  1. Zechariah 11:3 Or floodplain, thicket
  2. Zechariah 11:6 Lit. strike
  3. Zechariah 11:7 So with MT, Tg., Vg.; LXX for the Canaanites
  4. Zechariah 11:7 Or Grace
  5. Zechariah 11:7 Or Unity
  6. Zechariah 11:8 Or destroyed, lit. cut off
  7. Zechariah 11:10 Or Grace
  8. Zechariah 11:11 So with MT, Tg., Vg.; LXX the Canaanites
  9. Zechariah 11:12 good in your sight
  10. Zechariah 11:14 Or Unity

The New Priestly Service

Now this is the main point of the things we are saying: We have such a High Priest, (A)who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, a Minister of (B)the [a]sanctuary and of (C)the true tabernacle which the Lord erected, and not man.

For (D)every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices. Therefore (E)it is necessary that this One also have something to offer. For if He were on earth, He would not be a priest, since there are priests who offer the gifts according to the law; who serve (F)the copy and (G)shadow of the heavenly things, as Moses was divinely instructed when he was about to make the tabernacle. For He said, (H)“See that you make all things according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.” But now (I)He has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a (J)better covenant, which was established on better promises.

A New Covenant(K)

For if that (L)first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second. Because finding fault with them, He says: (M)“Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they did not continue in My covenant, and I disregarded them, says the Lord. 10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the (N)Lord: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and (O)I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 11 (P)None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, ‘Know the (Q)Lord,’ for all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them. 12 For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, (R)and their sins [b]and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”

13 (S)In that He says, “A new covenant,” He has made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.

Footnotes

  1. Hebrews 8:2 Lit. holies
  2. Hebrews 8:12 NU omits and their lawless deeds

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