Zechariah 12 - Malachi 3

English Standard Version

The Lord Will Give Salvation

12 ^(A)The oracle of the word of the Lord concerning Israel: Thus declares the Lord, ^(B)who stretched out the heavens and ^(C)founded the earth and ^(D)formed the spirit of man within him: ² “Behold, I am about to make Jerusalem ^(E)a cup of staggering to ^(F)all the surrounding peoples. The siege of Jerusalem ^(G)will also be against Judah. ^3 (H)On that day I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples. ^(I)All who lift it will surely hurt themselves. And ^(J)all the nations of the earth will gather against it. ^4 (K)On that day, declares the Lord, ^(L)I will strike every horse ^(M)with panic, and its rider ^(N)with madness. But for the sake of the house of Judah I will keep my eyes open, when I strike every horse of the peoples ^(O)with blindness. ⁵ Then the clans of Judah shall say to themselves, ‘The inhabitants of Jerusalem have strength through the Lord of hosts, their God.’

^6 (P)“On that day I will make the clans of Judah ^(Q)like a blazing pot in the midst of wood, like a flaming torch among sheaves. And ^(R)they shall devour to the right and to the left all the surrounding peoples, while ^(S)Jerusalem shall again be inhabited in its place, in Jerusalem.

⁷ “And the Lord will give salvation to the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem may not surpass that of Judah. ^8 (T)On that day ^(U)the Lord will protect the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that ^(V)the feeblest among them on that day shall be like David, and the house of David shall be like God, ^(W)like the angel of the Lord, going before them. ^9 (X)And on that day ^(Y)I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.

Him Whom They Have Pierced

¹⁰ “And ^(Z)I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and ^(AA)pleas for mercy, so that, ^(AB)when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, ^(AC)they shall mourn for him, ^(AD)as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn. ^11 (AE)On that day ^(AF)the mourning in Jerusalem will be as great ^(AG)as the mourning for Hadad-rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. ¹² The land shall mourn, ^(AH)each family^[a] by itself: the family of the house of David by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of ^(AI)Nathan by itself, and their wives by themselves; ¹³ the family of the house of Levi by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of ^(AJ)the Shimeites by itself, and their wives by themselves; ¹⁴ and all the families that are left, each by itself, and their wives by themselves.

13 ^(AK)“On that day there shall be ^(AL)a fountain opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and uncleanness.

Idolatry Cut Off

² “And ^(AM)on that day, declares the Lord of hosts, ^(AN)I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, so that ^(AO)they shall be remembered no more. And also ^(AP)I will remove from the land the prophets and the spirit of uncleanness. ³ And if anyone again prophesies, his father and mother who bore him will say to him, ^(AQ)‘You shall not live, for you speak lies in the name of the Lord.’ And his father and mother who bore him shall pierce him through when he prophesies.

⁴ “On that day ^(AR)every prophet will be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies. He will not put on a hairy cloak in order to deceive, ⁵ but he will say, ^(AS)‘I am no prophet, I am a worker of the soil, for a man sold me in my youth.’^{[b] 6} And if one asks him, ‘What are these wounds on your back?’^[c] he will say, ‘The wounds I received in the house of my friends.’

The Shepherd Struck

The Coming Day of the Lord

14 Behold, ^(BA)a day is coming for the Lord, when the spoil taken from you will be divided in your midst. ² For ^(BB)I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and ^(BC)the city shall be taken ^(BD)and the houses plundered ^(BE)and the women raped. ^(BF)Half of the city shall go out into exile, but the rest of the people shall not be cut off from the city. ^3 (BG)Then the Lord will go out and fight against those nations as when he fights on a day of battle. ^4 (BH)On that day his feet shall stand ^(BI)on ^(BJ)the Mount of Olives that lies before Jerusalem on the east, and ^(BK)the Mount of Olives shall be split in two from east to west by ^(BL)a very wide valley, so that one half of the Mount shall move northward, and the other half southward. ⁵ And you shall flee to the valley of my mountains, for the valley of the mountains shall reach to Azal. And you shall flee as you fled from ^(BM)the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the Lord my God will come, and all the holy ones with him.^[d]

^6 (BN)On that day ^(BO)there shall be ^(BP)no light, cold, or frost.^{[e] 7 (BQ)}And there shall be a unique^[f] day, ^(BR)which is known to the Lord, neither day nor night, but ^(BS)at evening time there shall be light.

^8 (BT)On that day ^(BU)living waters shall flow out from Jerusalem, half of them to ^(BV)the eastern sea^[g] and half of them to ^(BW)the western sea.^{[h] (BX)}It shall continue in summer as in winter.

⁹ And ^(BY)the Lord will be king over all the earth. ^(BZ)On that day the Lord will be ^(CA)one and ^(CB)his name one.

^10 (CC)The whole land shall be turned into a plain from ^(CD)Geba to ^(CE)Rimmon south of Jerusalem. But ^(CF)Jerusalem shall remain aloft ^(CG)on its site from ^(CH)the Gate of Benjamin to the place of the former gate, to ^(CI)the Corner Gate, and from ^(CJ)the Tower of Hananel to the king's winepresses. ¹¹ And it shall be inhabited, for ^(CK)there shall never again be a decree of utter destruction.^{[i] (CL)}Jerusalem shall dwell in security.

¹² And this shall be ^(CM)the plague with which the Lord will strike all the peoples that wage war against Jerusalem: their flesh will rot while they are still standing on their feet, their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths.

¹³ And ^(CN)on that day a great panic from the Lord shall fall on them, so that ^(CO)each will seize the hand of another, and the hand of the one will be raised against the hand of the other. ¹⁴ Even ^(CP)Judah will fight at Jerusalem.^[j] And ^(CQ)the wealth of all the surrounding nations shall be collected, gold, silver, and garments in great abundance. ¹⁵ And ^(CR)a plague like this plague shall fall on the horses, the mules, the camels, the donkeys, and whatever beasts may be in those camps.

¹⁶ Then everyone who survives of all the nations that have come against Jerusalem ^(CS)shall go up year after year to worship ^(CT)the King, the Lord of hosts, and ^(CU)to keep ^(CV)the Feast of Booths. ¹⁷ And if ^(CW)any of the families of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship ^(CX)the King, the Lord of hosts, ^(CY)there will be no rain on them. ¹⁸ And if the family of Egypt does not go up and present themselves, then on them there shall be no rain;^[k] there shall be ^(CZ)the plague with which the Lord afflicts the nations that do not go up ^(DA)to keep the Feast of Booths. ¹⁹ This shall be the punishment to Egypt and the punishment to all the nations that do not go up ^(DB)to keep the Feast of Booths.

²⁰ And ^(DC)on that day there shall be inscribed on the bells of the horses, ^(DD)“Holy to the Lord.” And the pots in the house of the Lord shall be as the bowls before the altar. ²¹ And every pot in Jerusalem and Judah shall be ^(DE)holy to the Lord of hosts, so that all who sacrifice may come and take of them and boil the meat of the sacrifice in them. And ^(DF)there shall no longer be ^(DG)a trader^[l] in the house of the Lord of hosts ^(DH)on that day.

1 The oracle of the word of the Lord to Israel by Malachi.^[m]

The Lord's Love for Israel

^2 (DI)“I have loved you,” says the Lord. ^(DJ)But you say, “How have you loved us?” “Is not Esau ^(DK)Jacob's brother?” declares the Lord. “Yet ^(DL)I have loved Jacob ³ but Esau I have hated. ^(DM)I have laid waste his hill country and left his heritage to jackals of the desert.” ⁴ If Edom says, “We are shattered but we will rebuild the ruins,” the Lord of hosts says, “They may build, but I will tear down, and they will be called ‘the wicked country,’ and ‘the people with whom the Lord is angry forever.’” ^5 (DN)Your own eyes shall see this, and you shall say, “Great is the Lord beyond the border of Israel!”

The Priests' Polluted Offerings

^6 (DO)“A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If then I am ^(DP)a father, where is my honor? And if I am ^(DQ)a master, where is my fear? says the Lord of hosts to you, O priests, who despise my name. ^(DR)But you say, ‘How have we despised your name?’ ^7 (DS)By offering polluted food upon my altar. ^(DT)But you say, ‘How have we polluted you?’ By saying that ^(DU)the Lord's table may be despised. ^8 (DV)When you offer blind animals in sacrifice, is that not evil? And when you offer those that are lame or sick, is that not evil? Present that to your governor; will he accept you or show you favor? says the Lord of hosts. ⁹ And now ^(DW)entreat the favor of God, that he may be gracious to us. With such a gift from your hand, ^(DX)will he show favor to any of you? says the Lord of hosts. ^10 (DY)Oh that there were one among you who would shut the doors, that you might not kindle fire on my altar in vain! I have no pleasure in you, says the Lord of hosts, ^(DZ)and I will not accept an offering from your hand. ¹¹ For from the rising of the sun to its setting my name ^(EA)will be^[n] great among the nations, and in every place incense will be offered to my name, and a pure offering. For my name ^(EB)will be great among the nations, says the Lord of hosts. ¹² But you profane it when you say that ^(EC)the Lord's table is polluted, and its fruit, that is, its food may be despised. ¹³ But you say, ^(ED)‘What a weariness this is,’ and you snort at it, says the Lord of hosts. ^(EE)You bring what has been taken by violence or is lame or sick, and this you bring as your offering! Shall I accept that from your hand? says the Lord. ¹⁴ Cursed be the cheat who has ^(EF)a male in his flock, and ^(EG)vows it, and yet sacrifices to the Lord what is blemished. For ^(EH)I am a great King, says the Lord of hosts, and my name ^(EI)will be feared among the nations.

The Lord Rebukes the Priests

2 “And now, ^(EJ)O priests, ^(EK)this command is for you. ^2 (EL)If you will not listen, if you will not take it to heart to give honor to my name, says the Lord of hosts, then I will send ^(EM)the curse upon you and I will curse ^(EN)your blessings. Indeed, I have already cursed them, because you do not lay it to heart. ³ Behold, ^(EO)I will rebuke your offspring,^[o] and ^(EP)spread dung on your faces, the ^(EQ)dung of your offerings, and you shall be taken away with it.^{[p] 4} So shall you know that I have sent ^(ER)this command to you, that ^(ES)my covenant with Levi may stand, says the Lord of hosts. ⁵ My covenant with him was one of life and ^(ET)peace, and I gave them to him. ^(EU)It was a covenant of fear, and he feared me. He stood in awe of my name. ^6 (EV)True instruction^[q] was in his mouth, and no wrong was found on his lips. He walked with me in peace and uprightness, and he ^(EW)turned many from iniquity. ⁷ For ^(EX)the lips of a priest should guard knowledge, and people^[r] should seek instruction from his mouth, for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts. ⁸ But you have turned aside from the way. ^(EY)You have caused many to stumble by your instruction. You have corrupted ^(EZ)the covenant of Levi, says the Lord of hosts, ⁹ and so ^(FA)I make you despised and abased before all the people, inasmuch as you do not keep my ways but ^(FB)show partiality in your instruction.”

Judah Profaned the Covenant

¹⁰ Have we not all ^(FC)one Father? Has not ^(FD)one God created us? Why then are we ^(FE)faithless to one another, profaning the covenant of our fathers? ¹¹ Judah has been ^(FF)faithless, and abomination has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem. For ^(FG)Judah has profaned the sanctuary of the Lord, which he loves, and has married the daughter of a foreign god. ¹² May the Lord cut off from the tents of Jacob any descendant^[s] of the man who does this, who ^(FH)brings an offering to the Lord of hosts!

¹³ And this second thing you do. ^(FI)You cover the Lord's altar with tears, with weeping and groaning because he no longer regards the offering or accepts it with favor from your hand. ^14 (FJ)But you say, “Why does he not?” Because the Lord ^(FK)was witness between you and the wife of your youth, ^(FL)to whom ^(FM)you have been faithless, though she is your companion and your wife by covenant. ^15 (FN)Did he not make them one, with a portion of the Spirit in their union?^[t] And what was the one God^[u] seeking?^{[v] (FO)}Godly offspring. So guard yourselves^[w] in your spirit, and let none of you be ^(FP)faithless to the wife of your youth. ¹⁶ “For ^(FQ)the man who does not love his wife but divorces her,^[x] says the Lord, the God of Israel, covers^[y] his garment with violence, says the Lord of hosts. So guard yourselves in your spirit, and ^(FR)do not be faithless.”

The Messenger of the Lord

^17 (FS)You have wearied the Lord with your words. ^(FT)But you say, “How have we wearied him?” ^(FU)By saying, “Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and he delights in them.” Or by asking, ^(FV)“Where is the God of justice?”

3 ^(FW)“Behold, I send ^(FX)my messenger, and ^(FY)he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord ^(FZ)whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and ^(GA)the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts. ² But ^(GB)who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For ^(GC)he is like a refiner's fire and like fullers' soap. ³ He will sit ^(GD)as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring ^(GE)offerings in righteousness to the Lord.^{[z] 4 (GF)}Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old and as in former years.

⁵ “Then I will draw near to you for judgment. I will be ^(GG)a swift witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those ^(GH)who oppress the hired worker in his wages, ^(GI)the widow and the fatherless, against those who thrust aside the sojourner, and do not fear me, says the Lord of hosts.

Robbing God

⁶ “For ^(GJ)I the Lord do not change; ^(GK)therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed. ^7 (GL)From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them. ^(GM)Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts. ^(GN)But you say, ‘How shall we return?’ ⁸ Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. ^(GO)But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ ^(GP)In your tithes and contributions. ^9 (GQ)You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you. ^10 (GR)Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby ^(GS)put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open ^(GT)the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need. ¹¹ I will rebuke ^(GU)the devourer^[aa] for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of your soil, and your vine in the field shall not fail to bear, says the Lord of hosts. ¹² Then ^(GV)all nations will call you blessed, for you will be ^(GW)a land of delight, says the Lord of hosts.

^13 (GX)“Your words have been hard against me, says the Lord. ^(GY)But you say, ‘How have we spoken against you?’ ¹⁴ You have said, ^(GZ)‘It is vain to serve God. ^(HA)What is the profit of our keeping his charge or of walking as in mourning before the Lord of hosts? ¹⁵ And now we call ^(HB)the arrogant blessed. ^(HC)Evildoers not only prosper but ^(HD)they put God to the test and they escape.’”

The Book of Remembrance

¹⁶ Then those who feared the Lord ^(HE)spoke with one another. The Lord paid attention and heard them, and ^(HF)a book of remembrance was written before him of those who feared the Lord and esteemed his name. ¹⁷ “They shall be mine, says the Lord of hosts, ^(HG)in the day when I make up ^(HH)my treasured possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him. ¹⁸ Then once more you shall ^(HI)see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve him.