Beginning
The Lord Will Bless Jerusalem
8 The Lord of heaven’s armies spoke his word to me again. 2 This is what the Lord of heaven’s armies says: “I have a very strong love for Jerusalem. My strong love for her is like a fire burning in me.”
3 This is what the Lord says: “I will return to Jerusalem. I will live in Jerusalem. Then it will be called the City of Truth. And the mountain of the Lord of heaven’s armies will be called the Holy Mountain.”
4 This is what the Lord of heaven’s armies says: “Old men and old women will again sit along Jerusalem’s streets. Each will carry a cane because of his age. 5 And the streets will be filled with boys and girls playing.”
6 This is what the Lord of heaven’s armies says: “Those who are left alive then may think it is too difficult to happen. But it is not too difficult for me,” says the Lord of heaven’s armies. 7 This is what the Lord of heaven’s armies says: “I will save my people from countries in the east and west. 8 I will bring them back. And they will live in Jerusalem. They will be my people. And I will be their good and loyal God.”
9 This is what the Lord of heaven’s armies says: “Be strong, you who are hearing these words today. The prophets spoke these words when the foundation was laid for the building of the Temple. 10 Before that time there was no money to hire men or animals. People could not safely come and go because of the enemies. I had turned everyone against his neighbor. 11 But I will not do to these people who are left alive what I did in the past,” says the Lord of heaven’s armies.
12 “Their seeds will come up. Their grapevines will have fruit. The ground will give good crops. And the sky will send rain. I will give all this to those who are left alive. 13 Judah and Israel, your names have been used as curses. But I will save you. And you will be a blessing. So don’t be afraid. Be strong.”
14 This is what the Lord of heaven’s armies says: “Your ancestors made me angry. So I planned to punish you. I had no mercy,” says the Lord of heaven’s armies. 15 “But now I am planning to do good to Jerusalem and Judah. So don’t be afraid. 16 But do these things: Tell each other the truth. In the courts judge with truth and complete fairness. 17 Do not make plans to hurt your neighbors. And don’t make false promises. I hate all these things,” says the Lord.
18 The Lord of heaven’s armies spoke his word to me again. 19 This is what the Lord of heaven’s armies says: “You have special days when you give up eating. These days are in the fourth, fifth, seventh and tenth months. Those days will become good, joyful, happy feasts in Judah. But you must love truth and peace.”
20 This is what the Lord of heaven’s armies says: “Many people from many cities will still come to Jerusalem. 21 People from one city will say to those from another city, ‘We are going to pray to the Lord. We want to ask the Lord of heaven’s armies for help. Come and go with us.’ 22 Many people and powerful nations will come to Jerusalem. They will worship the Lord of heaven’s armies. They will pray to the Lord.”
23 This is what the Lord of heaven’s armies says: “At that time, ten men from different countries with different languages will come. They will take hold of one Jew by his coat. They will say to him, ‘Let us go with you. We have heard that God is with you.’”
Punishment on Israel’s Enemies
9 This message is the word of the Lord.
The message is against the land of Hadrach.
And it is against the city of Damascus.
The tribes of Israel and all people
belong to the Lord.
2 The Lord’s message is also against the city of Hamath, which is on the border of the land of Hadrach.
The Lord’s message is against Tyre and Sidon, with their skill.
3 Tyre has built a strong, walled city.
The people have piled up silver like dust.
They have as much gold as mud in the streets.
4 But the Lord will take away all she has.
He will destroy her power on the sea.
That city will be destroyed by fire.
5 The city of Ashkelon will see it and be afraid.
The people of Gaza will shake with fear.
And the people of Ekron will lose hope.
No king will be left in Gaza.
And no one will live in Ashkelon anymore.
6 Foreigners will live in Ashdod.
And I will destroy the pride of the Philistines.
7 I will stop them from drinking blood.
They will not eat any other forbidden food.
Those left alive will belong to God.
They will be leaders in Judah.
And Ekron will become part of my people like the Jebusites.
8 I will protect my Temple
from armies who come and go.
No one will hurt my people again
because now I am guarding it.
The King Is Coming
9 Rejoice, people of Jerusalem.
Shout for joy, people of Jerusalem.
Your king is coming to you.
He does what is right, and he saves.
He is gentle and riding on a donkey.
He is on the colt of a donkey.
10 I will take away the chariots from Ephraim
and the horses from Jerusalem.
The bows used in war will be broken.
The king will talk to the nations about peace.
His kingdom will go from sea to sea,
and from the Euphrates River to the ends of the earth.
11 My people, I made an agreement with you
and sealed it with the blood of sacrifices.
Because of this, I will set your prisoners free from captivity,
which is like a dry pit.
12 You prisoners who have hope,
return to your place of safety.
Today I am telling you
that I will give you back twice as much as before.
13 I will use Judah like a bow.
And Ephraim will be like the arrows.
Jerusalem, I will use your men
to fight the men of Greece.
I will make you like the sword of a warrior.
14 Then the Lord will appear to them.
He will shoot his arrows like lightning.
The Lord God will blow the trumpet.
And he will march in the storms of the south.
15 The Lord of heaven’s armies will protect them.
They will destroy the enemy with slingshots.
They will drink and shout like drunk men.
They will be filled like a bowl
used for sprinkling blood at the corners of the altar.
16 On that day the Lord their God will save them
as if his people were sheep.
They will shine in his land
like jewels in a crown.
17 They will be so pretty and beautiful.
The young men will grow strong on the grain.
And the young women will grow strong on new wine.
The Lord’s Promises
10 Ask the Lord for rain in the springtime.
The Lord makes the clouds.
He sends the showers.
And he gives everyone green fields.
2 Idols tell lies.
Fortune-tellers see false visions.
They tell about false dreams.
The comfort they give is worth nothing.
So the people are like lost sheep.
They are abused because there is no shepherd.
3 The Lord says, “I am angry at my shepherds.
I will punish the leaders.
I, the Lord of heaven’s armies, will care
for my flock, which is the people of Judah.
I will make them like my proud war horses.
4 From Judah will come the cornerstone
and the tent peg.
From him will come the battle bow.
From him will come every ruler.
5 They will be like soldiers
marching to battle through muddy streets.
The Lord is with them.
So they will fight and defeat the horsemen.
6 “I will strengthen the people of Judah.
And I will save the people of Joseph.
I will bring them back
because I care for them.
It will be as though
I had never left them.
I am the Lord their God,
and I will answer their calls for help.
7 The people of Ephraim will be strong like soldiers.
They will be glad as when they have drunk wine.
Their children will see it and rejoice.
They will be happy in the Lord.
8 I will call my people
and gather them together.
I will save them.
And there will be as many of them as there used to be.
9 I have scattered them among the nations.
But in those faraway places, they will remember me.
They and their children will live and return.
10 I will bring them back from Egypt.
I will gather them from Assyria.
I will bring them to Gilead and Lebanon.
There won’t be enough room in the land for them all.
11 They will come through their sea of trouble.
The waves of the sea will be calm.
And the Nile River will dry up.
I will defeat Assyria’s pride.
I will destroy Egypt’s power over other countries.
12 I will make my people strong.
And they will live as I say,” says the Lord.
11 Lebanon, open your gates
so fire may burn your cedar trees.[a]
2 Cry, pine trees, because the cedar has fallen.
The tall trees are ruined.
Cry, oaks in Bashan,
because the mighty forest has been cut down.
3 Listen to the shepherds crying.
Their rich pastures are destroyed.
Listen to the lions roaring.
The thick bushes near the Jordan River are ruined.
4 This is what the Lord my God says: “Feed the sheep that are about to be killed. 5 Their buyers kill them and are not punished. Those who sell them say, ‘Praise the Lord. I am rich.’ Even the shepherds don’t feel sorry for their sheep. 6 Even I don’t feel sorry anymore for the people of this country,” says the Lord. “I will let everyone be under the power of his neighbor and king. They will bring trouble to the country. And I will not stop them.”
7 So I fed the sheep about to be killed, particularly the weakest ones. Then I took two sticks. I called one Favor. I called the other Union. And I fed the sheep. 8 In one month I got rid of three shepherds. The flock hated me, and I got impatient with them. 9 I said, “I will no longer take care of you like a shepherd. Let those that are dying die. Let those that are to be destroyed be destroyed. Let those that are left eat each other.”
10 Then I broke the stick named Favor. This broke the agreement God made with his people. 11 That day it was broken. Those weak sheep were watching me. They knew this message was from the Lord.
12 Then I said, “If you want to pay me, then pay me. If not, then don’t.” So they paid me 30 pieces of silver.
13 The Lord said to me, “Throw the money to the potter.” That is how little they thought I was worth.[b] So I threw the money to the potter in the Temple of the Lord.
14 Then I broke the second stick named Union. This broke the tie between Judah and Israel.
15 Then the Lord said to me, “Become a foolish shepherd again. 16 I am going to get a new shepherd for the country. He will not care for the dying sheep. He will not look for the young ones. He will not heal the injured ones. He will not feed the healthy. But he will eat the best sheep and tear off their hooves.
17 “How terrible it will be for the useless shepherd.
He abandoned the flock.
May war destroy his power and wisdom.
May his power become useless.
May his wisdom be taken away.”
Jerusalem Will Be Saved
12 This message is the word of the Lord to Israel. The Lord stretched out the skies. He laid the foundations of the earth. He put man’s spirit in him. And the Lord says this: 2 “I will make Jerusalem like a cup of poison to the nations around her. They will come and attack Jerusalem and Judah. 3 One day all the nations on earth will come together to attack Jerusalem. But I will make Jerusalem like a heavy rock. Anyone who tries to move it will get hurt. 4 At that time I will scare every horse. And its rider will panic,” says the Lord. “I will watch over Judah. But I will blind all the horses of the enemies. 5 Then the leaders of Judah will say to themselves, ‘The people of Jerusalem are strong. This is because the Lord of heaven’s armies is their God.’
6 “At that time I will make the leaders of Judah like a fire burning a stack of wood. They will be like a fire burning straw. They will destroy all the people around them left and right. But Jerusalem will remain safe.
7 “The Lord will save the people of Judah first. Then the people in Jerusalem, David’s city, won’t have more honor than Judah. 8 At that time the Lord will protect the people in Jerusalem. Then even the weakest of them will be strong like David. And the family of David will be like God. They will be like an angel of the Lord leading the people. 9 At that time I will go to destroy all the nations that attack Jerusalem.
Crying for the One They Stabbed
10 “I will give David’s family and people in Jerusalem a spirit of kindness and mercy. They will look at me, the one they have stabbed. And they will cry like someone crying over the death of an only child. They will be as sad as someone who has lost a firstborn son. 11 At that time there will be much crying in Jerusalem. It will be like the crying for Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. 12 The land will cry. Each family will cry alone. The family of David and their wives will cry. The family of Nathan and their wives will cry. 13 The family of Levi and their wives will cry. The family of Shimei and their wives will cry. 14 And all the rest of the families and their wives will cry.
13 “At that time a fountain will be opened. It will be for David’s descendants and for the people of Jerusalem. It will cleanse them of their sins and wrongs.”
2 The Lord of heaven’s armies says, “At that time I will get rid of the names of the idols from the land. No one will remember them anymore. I will also remove the prophets and unclean spirits. 3 A person might continue to prophesy. If he does, his own father and mother will tell him, ‘You have told lies using the Lord’s name. So you must die.’ When he prophesies, his own parents should stab him.
4 “At that time the prophets will be ashamed of their visions and prophecies. They won’t wear the prophet’s clothes made of hair to trick people. 5 They will say, ‘I am not a prophet. I am a farmer. I have been a farmer since I was young.’ 6 But someone will ask, ‘What are the deep cuts on your body?’ And he will answer, ‘I was hurt at my friend’s house.’
The Shepherd Is Killed
7 “Sword, hit the shepherd.
Attack the man who is my friend,”
says the Lord of heaven’s armies.
“Kill the shepherd,
and the sheep will scatter.
I will punish the little ones.”
8 The Lord says, “Two-thirds of the people
through all the land will die.
And one-third will be left.
9 I will test the ones left with fire.
I will purify them like silver.
I will test them like gold.
Then they will call on me.
And I will answer them.
I will say, ‘You are my people.’
And they will say, ‘The Lord is our God.’”
The Day of Punishment
14 The Lord’s day of judging is coming. The wealth you have taken will be divided among you.
2 I will bring all the nations together to fight Jerusalem. They will capture the city and rob the houses. The women will be raped. Half the people will be taken away as captives. But the rest won’t be taken from the city.
3 Then the Lord will go to war against those nations. He will fight as in a day of battle. 4 On that day he will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem. The Mount of Olives will split in two. A deep valley will run east and west. Half the mountain will move north. And half will move south. 5 You will run through this mountain valley to the other side. You will run as you ran from the earthquake. That was when Uzziah was king of Judah. Then the Lord my God will come. And all the holy ones will be with him.
6 On that day there will be no light, cold or frost. 7 There will be no other day like it. The Lord knows when it will come. There will be no day or night. Even at evening it will still be light.
8 At that time fresh water will flow from Jerusalem. Half of it will flow east to the Dead Sea. And half of it will flow west to the Mediterranean Sea. It will flow summer and winter.
9 Then the Lord will be king over the whole world. At that time there will be only one Lord. And his name will be the only name.
10 All the land south of Jerusalem from Geba to Rimmon will be turned into a plain. Jerusalem will be raised up. But it will stay in the same place. The city will reach from the Benjamin Gate to the First Gate to the Corner Gate. It will go from the Tower of Hananel to the king’s winepresses. 11 People will live there. It will never be destroyed again. Jerusalem will be safe.
12 But the Lord will punish the nations that fought against Jerusalem. He will bring a terrible disease on them. Their flesh will rot away while they are still standing up. Their eyes will rot in their sockets. And their tongues will rot in their mouths. 13 At that time the Lord will cause panic. Everybody will grab his neighbor. They will attack each other. 14 The people of Judah will fight in Jerusalem. And the wealth of the nations around them will be collected. There will be much gold, silver and clothes. 15 A similar disease will strike the horses, mules, camels and donkeys. All the animals in the camps will have the disease.
16 Some of the people who came to fight Jerusalem will be left alive. They will come back to Jerusalem year after year. They will come to worship the King, the Lord of heaven’s armies. They will celebrate the Feast of Shelters. 17 Some people from the nations might not go to Jerusalem. They might not worship the King, the Lord of heaven’s armies. Then rain will not fall on their land. 18 The Egyptians might not go to Jerusalem. They might not celebrate the Feast of Shelters. Then the Lord will send them the same terrible disease the other nations got. 19 This will be the punishment. It will be for Egypt and any nation which does not go to celebrate the Feast of Shelters.
20 At that time the horses’ bells will have written on them: Holy to the Lord. The cooking pots in the Temple of the Lord will be like the holy altar bowls. 21 Every pot in Jerusalem and Judah will be holy to the Lord of heaven’s armies. And everyone who offers sacrifices will be able to cook in them. At that time there will not be any traders in the Temple of the Lord of heaven’s armies.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.