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

The Beast from the Sea

13 Then [a]I stood on the sand of the sea. And I saw (A)a beast rising up out of the sea, (B)having [b]seven heads and ten horns, and on his horns ten crowns, and on his heads a (C)blasphemous name. Now the beast which I saw was like a leopard, his feet were like the feet of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. The (D)dragon gave him his power, his throne, and great authority. And I saw one of his heads (E)as if it had been mortally wounded, and his deadly wound was healed. And (F)all the world marveled and followed the beast. So they worshiped the dragon who gave authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, (G)“Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?”

And he was given (H)a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and he was given authority to [c]continue for (I)forty-two months. Then he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, (J)His tabernacle, and those who dwell in heaven. It was granted to him (K)to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And (L)authority was given him over every [d]tribe, tongue, and nation. All who dwell on the earth will worship him, (M)whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain (N)from the foundation of the world.

(O)If anyone has an ear, let him hear. 10 (P)He who leads into captivity shall go into captivity; (Q)he who kills with the sword must be killed with the sword. (R)Here is the [e]patience and the faith of the saints.

The Beast from the Earth

11 Then I saw another beast (S)coming up out of the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon. 12 And he exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence, and causes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, (T)whose deadly wound was healed. 13 (U)He performs great signs, (V)so that he even makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men. 14 (W)And he deceives [f]those who dwell on the earth (X)by those signs which he was granted to do in the sight of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who was wounded by the sword (Y)and lived. 15 He was granted power to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak (Z)and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed. 16 He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, (AA)to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, 17 and that no one may buy or sell except one who has [g]the mark or (AB)the name of the beast, (AC)or the number of his name.

18 (AD)Here is wisdom. Let him who has (AE)understanding calculate (AF)the number of the beast, (AG)for it is the number of a man: His number is 666.

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Footnotes

  1. Revelation 13:1 NU he
  2. Revelation 13:1 NU, M ten horns and seven heads
  3. Revelation 13:5 M make war
  4. Revelation 13:7 NU, M add and people
  5. Revelation 13:10 perseverance
  6. Revelation 13:14 M my own people
  7. Revelation 13:17 NU, M the mark, the name

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