Beginning
What the Lord will Do for Zion
8 This is this message from the Lord of the Heavenly Armies:
2 “This is what the Lord of the Heavenly Armies says: ‘I’m greatly jealous about Zion, and that makes me furious about her.’
3 “This is what the Lord says: ‘I will return to Zion and I will live in the midst of Jerusalem. And Jerusalem will be called, “The City of Truth” and the mountain of the Lord of the Heavenly Armies will be called,[a] “The Holy Mountain”.’
4 “This is what the Lord of the Heavenly Armies says: ‘There will yet be old men and old women sitting in the parks[b] of Jerusalem, each one of them holding canes in their hands due to their old age! 5 The city parks[c] will be filled with boys and girls. They will play in the city’s[d] open parks.’
6 “This is what the Lord of the Heavenly Armies says: ‘It may seem impossible to the survivors of this people, but is it impossible for me?’ declares the Lord of the Heavenly Armies.
7 “This is what the Lord of the Heavenly Armies says: ‘Look! After having saved my people from the land of the east and from the land of the west, 8 I will also bring them back to live in the midst of Jerusalem. They will be my people and I will truly be their righteous God.’”
An Exhortation to Rebuild the Temple
9 “This is what the Lord of the Heavenly Armies says: ‘Be strong so the Temple can be built, you who are now listening to this message spoken by the prophets when the foundation was laid to the Temple of the Lord of the Heavenly Armies. 10 Before then, everyone was unemployed—even the draft animals—and no one was safe coming or going because of the enemy, because I caused everyone to oppose each other.[e]
11 “‘But now I will not treat the survivors of this people as I did formerly,’ declares the Lord of the Heavenly Armies. 12 ‘For there will be a sowing of peace: the vine will produce its fruit, the earth will produce its full[f] yield, the sky will produce its dew, and I will make the survivors of this people inherit all these things. 13 Furthermore, house of Judah and house of Israel, even though you used to be a curse among the nations, now I will surely save you, and you will be a blessing. Stop being afraid. Instead, grow stronger.’”[g]
The Lord will Do Good to Jerusalem and Judah
14 “This is what the Lord of the Heavenly Armies says: ‘Just as I intended to bring harm to you when your ancestors angered me,’ says the Lord of the Heavenly Armies, ‘and I did not relent, 15 so I have decided at this time[h] to do good things for Jerusalem and for the house of Judah. So stop being afraid. 16 Here’s what you must do: tell the truth to your neighbors, administer true and peaceful justice in your courtrooms,[i] 17 don’t plot evil in your heart against a neighbor, and don’t tolerate[j] false testimonies,[k] because I hate all these things,’ declares the Lord.”
18 Once again this message from the Lord come to me: 19 “This is what the Lord of the Heavenly Armies says: ‘The fasts that occur in the fourth, fifth, seventh, and tenth months will be joyful and glad times for the house of Judah, replete with[l] cheerful festivals. Therefore, love truth and peace.’”
Future Visits by Nations to Jerusalem
20 “This is what the Lord of the Heavenly Armies says: ‘In the future, people will come, including residents of many cities, 21 and they will travel from one place to another place and say, “Let’s go quickly to pray in the presence of the Lord and to inquire of the Lord of the Heavenly Armies.’ And I will go, too. 22 Many people and powerful nations will come to inquire of the Lord of the Heavenly Armies in Jerusalem, and to pray in the presence of the Lord.”’”
23 “This is what the Lord of the Heavenly Armies says: ‘In the future, ten men speaking[m] all the languages of the nations will grab hold of one Jewish person by the hem of his garment and say, “Let us go up to Jerusalem[n] with you, because we heard that God is with you.”’”
Judgment on Israel’s Enemies
9 A declaration: this message from the Lord in the land of Hadrach,[o]
with Damascus its confederate,[p]
because the eyes of humanity[q] will look to[r] the Lord,
along with those of[s] all the tribes of Israel.
2 Also Hamath, which borders on it—
along with Tyre and Sidon—
indeed they are very wise.
3 “Tyre built itself a fortification,
hoarding silver like dust
and pure gold like mud in a street.
4 Look! The Lord will evict her,
striking at her power in the sea,
and she will be consumed by fire.
5 Ashkelon will see it happen and will be terrified;
Gaza will tremble greatly.
Ekron will be ashamed of her expectations,
Gaza’s king will perish,
and Ashkelon will become uninhabited.
6 A strange people[t] will inhabit Ashdod,
and I will eliminate the arrogance of Philistia.
7 I will remove the blood from its mouth,
along with its abominations from between its teeth.
Its survivors will be dedicated to our God;
It will be like a clan of Judah,
and Ekron will be as a Jebusite.[u]
8 I will set a garrison around my Temple,
to hinder those who might come and go,
and to guard against oppressors who intend to invade;
for I have taken note of this with my eyes.”
The Coming of Zion’s King
9 “Rejoice greatly, daughter of Zion;
cry out, daughter of Jerusalem!
Look! Your king is coming to you.
He is righteous,
and he is able to save.
He is humble,
and is riding on a colt,
the foal of a donkey.
10 I will banish[v] chariots from Ephraim
and horses from Jerusalem.
War weapons[w] will be banished,
and your king[x] will speak peace to the nations.
His dominion will extend from sea to sea,
and from the River to the farthest portion of the earth.
11 Now concerning you and my blood covenant with you,
I have liberated your prisoners
from a waterless pit.
12 Return to your fortress, you prisoners who have hope.
Even today I am telling you:
In return I will repay you double.
13 For I have bent Judah as if it were my bow,
loading it with Ephraim.
I raised up your sons, Zion,
against your sons, Greece,
wielding you like a mighty warrior’s sword.”
Israel’s Lord Appears
14 The Lord will appear over them—
his arrow will shoot like lightning.
The Lord God will blow the trumpet,
and go out with the southern windstorm.
15 The Lord of the Heavenly Armies will defend them;
they will devour and conquer those who sling stones.
They will drink and be boisterous like those who are drunk.
They will be filled to the brim with blood,[y]
like the corners of the altar.
16 The Lord their God will save them at that time[z]
as his very own flock of people,
because they are his crown jewels,
exalted throughout his land.
17 For how great is his goodness,
and how great is his beauty!
Grain will make the young men thrive,
and new wine the virgins.
The Lord’s Care for Judah
10 “Ask the Lord for rain in the spring[aa]—
the Lord who fashions lightning thunderstorms,
giving rain showers to mankind[ab]
along with grain in the fields.[ac]
2 Truly the family idols[ad] talk nonsense
and the diviners discern lies,
describing delusional dreams.
Since their comfort is vacuous,
they wander off on their own like sheep,
because there is no shepherd.
3 “Against the shepherds my anger rises—
I am punishing the leaders[ae] also,
because the Lord of the Heavenly Armies has visited his flock, the house of Judah,
appointing them as his royal war horse for battle.
4 From them arises[af] the cornerstone and tent peg,
from them the battle bow,
from them arise all sorts of oppressive rulers.
5 They will be like mighty soldiers
who trample mud in the streets during battle.
They will fight because the Lord is with them,
and the opposing[ag] horsemen will be confused.
6 “I will fortify the house of Judah,
and the house of Joseph I will save.
I will surely bring them back,
because I care about them.
They will be as if I had never cast them away.
Since I am the Lord their God,
I will answer them.
7 “The people of Ephraim will become like mighty soldiers;
they will be glad, like those who have wine.
Their children will see this and rejoice;
their hearts will find joy in the Lord.
8 I will whistle for them, gathering them together,
because I have redeemed them,
and they will multiply as they were before.[ah]
9 I will scatter them among the nations,
and so they will remember me in distant countries.
They will rear their children,
and they will return.
10 I will bring them once again out of the land of Egypt,
gathering them from Assyria.
I will bring them into the land of Gilead and Lebanon,
but there will not be enough space for them.
11 They[ai] will pass through the sea of affliction,
and they[aj] will strike the waves[ak] in that sea.
All of the depths of the Nile will evaporate,
Assyria’s arrogance will be brought down low,
and the ruling power[al] of Egypt will disappear.
12 “I will strengthen them in the Lord,
and they will march here and there in his name,”
declares the Lord.
Destruction of Lebanon and Bashan
11 Open your doors, Lebanon,
and fire will consume your cedars.[am]
2 Wail, cypress tree,
for the cedar has fallen
while the stately trees are destroyed.
Wail, oak trees of Bashan,
for the old growth forest has been cut down.
3 Hear[an] the wailing of the shepherds,
for the magnificence of the forest[ao] is ruined!
Hear[ap] the roar of the lions,
for the Jordan’s arrogance is ruined!
The Shepherd
4 This is what the Lord my God says: “Shepherd the flock marked for[aq] slaughter. 5 Their buyers slaughter them without being punished, continuing to sell them as they say, ‘Bless the Lord!’ and, ‘I’m rich!’ Meanwhile, their shepherds show them no compassion. 6 Therefore I will no longer show compassion upon those who live in the land,” declares the Lord. “Look! I will deliver every single person into the control[ar] of his neighbor and into the control[as] of the king. Even though they assault the land, I will not deliver it from their control.”[at]
7 So I became shepherd of the flock marked for[au] slaughter, paying attention to the oppressed of the flock. I took two staffs—naming one “Pleasant” and the other one “Union”—and then I pastured the flock. 8 In a single month I got rid of three shepherds because I grew tired of them, and they despised me. 9 So I said, “I will no longer be your shepherd. Let those who are about to die perish, and let what is about to be destroyed be destroyed. As for the survivors, let them devour each other.”
10 Then I took the staff that I had named “Pleasant” and broke it, showing I was breaking my covenant that I had made with all of the people. 11 It was broken at that time[av] so the oppressed of the flock who were observing me would know that it had been a message from the Lord.
12 I told them, “If it’s alright with you, pay me what I’ve earned. But if it isn’t, don’t.”
So they paid out what I had earned—30 pieces of silver.[aw]
13 Then the Lord told me, “Throw the money[ax] into the treasury[ay]—that magnificent value they placed on me!”
So I took the 30 shekels of[az] silver and threw them into the treasury[ba] of the Temple of the Lord. 14 Then I broke my second staff—the one I had named “Union”—breaking the union between the house of Judah and the house of Israel.
God’s Curse on the Worthless Shepherd
15 The Lord told me, “Pick up the tools of a worthless shepherd again, 16 for I am now raising up a shepherd in the land who will neither search for the lost, nor care for the young, nor fix the broken, nor sustain the healthy. Instead, he will devour the meat of the best of the sheep, tearing off their hoofs.”
17 “Woe to the worthless shepherd,
who deserts the flock!
May the sword strike his arm
and his right eye.
May his arm wither
and his right eye be completely blind.”
The Lord will Deliver Jerusalem
12 A declaration: a message from the Lord to Israel. “The Lord, who stretches out the heavens, who lays the foundation of the earth, and who frames the spirit of man within himself, declares, 2 ‘Look, I am making Jerusalem an unstable cup[bb] toward all of its surrounding armies when they lay siege against Judah and Jerusalem. 3 It will come about at that time[bc] that I will make Jerusalem a heavy weight; so everyone who burdens themselves with it will be crushed,[bd] even though all of the nations of the earth gather themselves against it. 4 At that time,’[be] declares the Lord, ‘I will strike every horse with panic and every rider with insanity. I will keep my eyes on the house of Judah, but I will blind every horse of the invading[bf] armies. 5 The leaders of Judah will say to themselves, “Those who live in Jerusalem are my strength through the Lord of the Heavenly Armies, their God.” 6 ‘At that time,[bg] I will make the leaders of Judah like a brazier filled with blazing wood, or like a torch setting fire to harvested grain. They will devour all the invading[bh] armies, both on the right hand and on the left. As a result, Jerusalem will again be inhabited in its rightful place—as the real[bi] Jerusalem.’”
7 The Lord will deliver the tents of Judah first, so that neither the glory of the house[bj] of David nor the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem overshadows Judah. 8 At that time,[bk] the Lord will defend those who live in Jerusalem, and the one who is feeble among them at that time will be like David. The entire house of David will be like God—indeed, like the angel of the Lord in their midst!
9 “‘At that time,[bl] I will search out and destroy all of the nations who have come against Jerusalem. 10 I will pour out on the house of David and on the residents of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and of supplications, and they will look to me—the one whom they pierced.’”[bm]
Mourning in Jerusalem
Then they will mourn for him, as for an only son. They will grieve bitterly for him, as for a firstborn son. 11 At that time,[bn] Jerusalem will mourn deeply, like the mourning about Hadad-rimmon[bo] that took place in the plain of Megiddo. 12 And so the land will mourn, families by families, alone by themselves—the family of the house of David by itself with their wives by themselves, the family of the house of Nathan by itself with their wives by themselves, 13 the family of the house of Levi by itself with their wives by themselves, the family of Shimei by itself with their wives by themselves— 14 all of the surviving families by themselves, along with their wives by themselves. 13 1 At that time,[bp] a fountain will be opened for the house of David and for those who live in Jerusalem so they can be cleansed from[bq] sin and ceremonial impurity.
Cessation of Prophecy
2 “At that time,”[br] declares the Lord of the Heavenly Armies, “I will eliminate the names of the idols from the land, and they will not be remembered anymore. I will also force both prophet and demon[bs] to leave the land. 3 It will also come about that if any man would dare to[bt] prophesy, then his father and his mother who bore him will respond to him, ‘You will not live, because you are speaking lies in the name of the Lord.’ Then his father and mother who bore him will stab him for prophesying. 4 Furthermore, it will come about at that time[bu] that every prophet will become ashamed of his vision as he prophesies. They will wear no rough garments intended to deceive others.”[bv]
The Injured Servant of Mankind
5 “He[bw] will say, ‘I am no mere[bx] prophet. A servant of mankind am I, because a man dedicated to this[by] have I been from my youth.’
6 “Someone will say to him, ‘What are these injuries to your hands?’
“He will reply, ‘…what I received at my friend’s house.’
7 “Arise, sword, against my shepherd,
against the mighty one who is related to me,”
declares the Lord of the Heavenly Armies.
“Strike the shepherd,
the sheep will be scattered,
and I will turn against the insignificant ones.
8 It will come about in all of the land,”
declares the Lord,
“that two thirds of the people living there will die,
but a third will survive who live there.
9 And I will bring that surviving third through,
testing them as if through fire,
purifying them like silver,
assaying them like gold.
They will call on my name,
and I will answer them.
I will say, ‘This is my people,’
and they will say, ‘The Lord is my God.’”
The Lord Comes to the Mount of Olives
14 “Look! A day is coming for the Lord, when your plunder will be divided among you. 2 I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem, to lay siege against it. The city will be captured, the houses will be ransacked, the women raped, and half of the city will go into exile, but the remaining people will not be cut off from the city. 3 Then the Lord will go out to battle against those nations, waging war as in a day of battle. 4 His feet will stand in that day on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem. Then the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming[bz] a very large valley, with half of the mountain moving toward the north and half toward the south. 5 You will run away through my mountain valley, because the valley of the mountains will extend as far as Azal. You will flee, as you fled from the earthquake during the reign of King Uzziah of Judah. And so the Lord my God will come, and all his holy ones will be accompanying you.”
A Unique Day
6 “At that time,[ca] the daylight will be neither bright nor overcast. 7 It will be a unique day, known only to the Lord—neither daytime nor nighttime—and it will come about at twilight there will be light! 8 At that time,[cb] flowing waters will run perennially[cc] from Jerusalem, half toward the Dead[cd] Sea and half to the Mediterranean[ce] Sea. 9 The Lord will be king over all the earth at that time.[cf] There[cg] will be one Lord, and his name the only one. 10 The entire land will become like the Arabah plain from Geba[ch] to Rimmon, south of Jerusalem. It will be raised up and inhabited where it is, from the Gate of Benjamin to the First Gate, then to the Corner Gate, to the Hananel Tower, and to the king’s winepresses. 11 People[ci] will live there, there will be no more destruction, and Jerusalem will be safely inhabited.”
God’s Judgment on Jerusalem’s Attackers
12 “This will be the plague with which the Lord inflicts all of the people who have attacked Jerusalem: he will cause their flesh to rot away, even while they’re standing on their feet. He will cause their eyes to rot away in their sockets, and their tongues to rot away in their mouths. 13 At that time,[cj] they will be stricken with a terrible panic from the Lord. Everyone will attack each other. 14 Judah, too, will fight at Jerusalem. Then the wealth of the surrounding nations will be gathered up: gold, silver, and clothing in great abundance. 15 A similar plague will also strike horses, mules, camels, donkeys, and all of the animals in those camps.”
Discipline of the Nations
16 “It will come about that all of the survivors of the nations who came against Jerusalem will come there from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of the Heavenly Armies, and to observe the Festival of Tents. 17 If anyone from the families of the earth will not come to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of the Heavenly Armies, there will be no rain for them. 18 If the people of Egypt do not come to Jerusalem[ck] to take part, they will have no annual Nile overflow.[cl] A plague will come from the Lord to strike the nations who do not come to observe the Festival of Tents. 19 This will be the punishment for Egypt and all nations who do not come to observe the Festival of Tents.”
Holiness to the Lord
20 “At that time,[cm] there will be written on the bells of the horses:
Holiness to the Lord
and the pots in the Temple of the Lord will be like the bowls in front of the altar— 21 every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah will be consecrated to the Lord of the Heavenly Armies. Everyone who offers sacrifices will come, will take them, and will cook in them. Furthermore, at that time,[cn] there will no longer be a Canaanite in the Temple of the Lord of the Heavenly Armies.”
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