Beginning
What the Lord Will Do for Zion
8 Yahweh Tsebaoth spoke his word.
2 This is what Yahweh Tsebaoth says:
I am very jealous about Zion.
I am fiercely possessive of it.
3 This is what Yahweh says:
I will return to Zion and live in Jerusalem.
Jerusalem will be called the City of Truth.
The mountain of Yahweh Tsebaoth will be called the holy mountain.
4 This is what Yahweh Tsebaoth says:
Old men and old women will again sit in the streets of Jerusalem.
Each will have a cane in hand because of old age.
5 The city will be filled with boys and girls playing in the streets.
6 This is what Yahweh Tsebaoth says:
It may seem impossible to the few remaining people in those days,
but will it seem impossible to me? declares Yahweh Tsebaoth.
7 This is what Yahweh Tsebaoth says:
I am going to save my people
from the land where the sun rises
and from the land where the sun sets.
8 I will bring them back, and they will live in Jerusalem.
They will be my people, and I will be their Elohim, who is faithful and just.
9 This is what Yahweh Tsebaoth says:
Be strong so that the temple might be rebuilt,
you people who are presently listening
to the words from the mouths of the prophets
who spoke when the foundation
for the house of Yahweh Tsebaoth was laid.
10 Before that time there was no money to hire any person or animal.
No one who traveled was safe from the enemy.
I turned every person against his neighbor.
11 But now I won’t deal with the few remaining people
as I did in earlier times, declares Yahweh Tsebaoth.
12 Seeds will thrive in peacetime.
Vines will produce their grapes.
The land will yield its crops.
The sky will produce its dew.
I will give the few remaining people
all these things as an inheritance.
13 Just as you, people of Judah and people of Israel,
have been a curse among the nations,
so I will now save you,
and you will become a blessing.
Don’t be afraid. Let your hands work hard.
14 This is what Yahweh Tsebaoth says:
When your ancestors made me angry,
I made plans to destroy you, declares Yahweh Tsebaoth,
and I didn’t change my plans.
15 So now I have again made plans, but this time to do good
to Jerusalem and the people of Judah.
Don’t be afraid.
16 You must do these things:
Speak the truth to each other.
Give correct and fair verdicts for peace in your courts.
17 Don’t even think of doing evil to each other.
Don’t enjoy false testimony.
I hate all these things, declares Yahweh.
Many Nations Will Come to the Lord’s People
18 Yahweh Tsebaoth spoke his word to me again.
19 This is what Yahweh Tsebaoth says:
The fast in the fourth month, the fast in the fifth month,
the fast in the seventh month, and the fast in the tenth month
will become joyful and glad occasions
as well as happy festivals for the nation of Judah.
So love truth and peace.
20 This is what Yahweh Tsebaoth says:
People and citizens from many cities are going to come.
21 The citizens of one city will come to another city, saying,
“Let’s make a habit of going to ask Yahweh for a blessing
and to seek Yahweh Tsebaoth.
I’m also going.”
22 Many people and powerful nations will come
to seek Yahweh Tsebaoth in Jerusalem
and to ask Yahweh for a blessing.
23 This is what Yahweh Tsebaoth says:
In those days ten people from every language found among the nations
will take hold of the clothes of a Jew. They will say,
“Let us go with you
because we have heard that Elohim is with you.”
The Lord Protects His House
9 This is the divine revelation.
The word of Yahweh is against the land of Hadrach
and will rest on Damascus
2 and also Hamath, which borders on it,
and Tyre and Sidon, though they are very wise.
(The eyes of humanity and of all the tribes of Israel are on Yahweh.)[a]
3 Tyre built itself a fortress.
It piled up silver like dust
and gold like mud in the streets.
4 Adonay will take away its possessions.
He will throw its wealth into the sea
and burn the city down.
5 Ashkelon will see this and be afraid.
Gaza will also be in great pain,
also Ekron, because its hope will fade.
Gaza will lose its king.
Ashkelon will no longer be lived in.
6 A mixed race will live in Ashdod,
and I will cut off the Philistines’ arrogance.
7 I will remove the blood from their mouths
and the disgusting things from between their teeth.
Then only a few of them will be left for our Elohim
like a tribe in Judah,
and Ekron will be like a Jebusite.
8 I will camp in front of my house
as a guard against those who come and go.
No oppressors will pass through them,
because I have seen it with my own eyes.[b]
The Lord Sends His King
9 Rejoice with all your heart, people of Zion!
Shout in triumph, people of Jerusalem!
Look! Your Melek is coming to you:
He is righteous and victorious.
He is humble and rides on a donkey,
on a colt, a young pack animal.
10 He[c] will make sure there are no chariots in Ephraim
or war horses in Jerusalem.
There will be no battle bows.
He will announce peace to the nations.
He will rule from sea to sea
and from the Euphrates River to the ends of the earth.
11 I will set your captives free from the waterless pit
because of the blood that sealed my promise[d] to you.
12 Return to your fortress, you captives who have hope.
Today I tell you that I will return to you double blessings.
13 I will bend Judah as my bow
and draw my bow with Ephraim as its arrow.
I will stir up your people, Zion, against your people, Greece,
and I will use you like a warrior’s sword.
14 Yahweh will appear over them,
and his arrow will go out like lightning.
Adonay Yahweh will blow the ram’s horn
and will march in the storms from the south.
15 Yahweh Tsebaoth will defend them.
They will destroy and trample the stones used in slings.
They will drink and shout as if they were drunk.
They will be filled like a sacrificial bowl
used for sprinkling the corners of the altar.
16 On that day Yahweh their Elohim will rescue them
as the flock of his people.
They will certainly sparkle in his land like jewels in a crown.
17 They will be beautiful and lovely.[e]
Young men will prosper on grain,
and young women will prosper on new wine.
The Lord’s People Will Be Victorious
10 Ask Yahweh for rain in the springtime.
Yahweh makes thunderstorms.
He gives everyone rain showers for the plants in the field.
2 The idols speak lies.
The fortunetellers see false visions.
They speak about false dreams.
They give useless comfort.
That is why people wander around like sheep.
They are troubled because there is no shepherd.
3 “My burning anger is directed against the shepherds.
I will punish the male goats.
Yahweh Tsebaoth takes care of his flock, the people of Judah.
He makes them like his splendid war horse.”
4 From them will come a cornerstone,
from them a tent peg,
from them a battle bow,
from them every leader.
5 Together they will be like warriors
who trample the enemy in the mud on the streets.
They will fight because Yahweh is with them.
They will put to shame those who ride on horses.
6 “I will strengthen the people of Judah.
I will rescue Joseph’s people.
I will bring them back, because I have compassion for them.
It will be as though I had never rejected them,
because I am Yahweh their Elohim, and I will answer them.
7 The people of Ephraim will be like mighty warriors.
Their hearts will be glad as if they had some wine to drink.
Their sons will see it and be glad.
Their hearts will find joy in Yahweh.
8 I will signal them with a whistle
and gather them because I have reclaimed them.
They will be as numerous as they have ever been.
9 Although I have scattered them among the nations,
they will remember me even in faraway places.
They will live with their children and then return.
10 I will bring them back from Egypt.
I will gather them from Assyria.
I will bring them to Gilead and to Lebanon,
and there won’t be enough room for them.”
11 Yahweh will pass through a sea of distress,
strike the waves in the sea,
and dry up all the deep places of the Nile River.
The pride of Assyria will be humiliated,
and the scepter of Egypt will depart.
12 “I will strengthen them in Yahweh.
They will live in his name,” declares Yahweh.
Zechariah Is Told to Take Care of the Sheep
11 Open your doors, Lebanon,
so that fire will be able to burn down your cedars.
2 Cry, cypress trees,
because the cedars have fallen
and the stately trees have been destroyed.
Cry, oak trees of Bashan,
because your dense forest has fallen down.
3 Listen! The shepherds are crying,
because their rich pastures are destroyed.
Listen! The young lions are roaring,
because the lush banks of the Jordan are destroyed.
4 This is what Yahweh my Elohim says: Take care of the sheep that are about to be slaughtered. 5 Those who buy them will kill them and go unpunished. Those who sell them will say, “Praise Yahweh! I’ve become rich!” Even their own shepherds will have no pity on them.
6 Yahweh declares, “I will no longer have pity on those who live in the land. I am going to hand the people over to their neighbors and their king, who will crush the land. And I won’t rescue any of them from their power.”
7 So I became the shepherd of the sheep that were to be slaughtered and also of the oppressed sheep. I took two shepherd staffs and named one Favor and the other Unity. And I took care of the sheep. 8 I got rid of three shepherds in one month. I became impatient with the sheep, and they also became disgusted with me. 9 So I said, “I won’t be your shepherd. Let those that are dying die. Let those that are missing stay missing. And let those that are left devour each other.”
10 Then I took my staff called Favor and broke it in pieces, to break the promise[f] that I had made to all the nations. 11 So it was broken on that day, and the oppressed among the sheep who were watching me realized that it was the word of Yahweh.
12 Then I said to them, “If it’s alright with you, pay me my wages. But if it’s not, don’t.” And they paid me my wages—30 pieces of silver.
13 Yahweh told me, “Give it to the potter.” So I took the 30 pieces of silver. Such a magnificent price was set by them! I gave the pieces of silver to the potter at the house of Yahweh.
14 Then I broke my second staff, called Unity, in pieces, to break off the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.
15 Then Yahweh said to me, “Use the equipment of a foolish shepherd again. 16 I’m about to place a shepherd in the land. He will not take care of those that are dying. He will not search for the young. He will not heal those that have broken their legs or support those that can still stand. But he will eat the meat of the fat animals and tear off their hoofs.
17 “How horrible it will be for the foolish shepherd who abandoned the sheep.
A sword will strike his arm and his right eye.
His arm will be completely withered.
His right eye will be completely blind.”
The Lord Will Save Jerusalem
12 This is the prophetic revelation, the word of Yahweh about Israel. Yahweh—who spread out the heavens, laid the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit in a person—says, 2 “I’m going to make Jerusalem like a cup of wine that makes all the surrounding people stagger. They will attack Judah along with Jerusalem. 3 On that day I will make Jerusalem a stone too heavy for all the nations to lift. All who try to lift it will be severely injured. All the nations in the world will gather to fight against Jerusalem.”
4 Yahweh declares, “On that day I will strike every horse with panic and every rider with madness. I will watch over the people of Judah, but I will strike all the horses of the nations blind. 5 Then the leaders of Judah will think to themselves, ‘The people who live in Jerusalem are strong because of Yahweh Tsebaoth, their Elohim.’
6 “On that day I will make the leaders of Judah like a fire on a pile of wood and like a burning torch among freshly cut straw. They will burn up all the surrounding nations to the right and to the left. But the people of Jerusalem will remain safe in Jerusalem.
7 “Yahweh will save Judah’s tents first so that the honor of David’s family and the honor of those who live in Jerusalem will not be greater than the honor of Judah. 8 On that day Yahweh will defend those who live in Jerusalem so that even those who stumble will be like David, and David’s family will be like Elohim, like the Messenger of Yahweh ahead of them.
9 “On that day I will seek to destroy all the nations who attack Jerusalem.
The People of Jerusalem Will Look at the One They Stabbed
10 “I will pour out the Ruach of blessing and mercy on David’s family and on those who live in Jerusalem. They will look at me, whom they have stabbed. Then they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only son, and they will cry bitterly for him as one cries for a firstborn son. 11 On that day the mourning in Jerusalem will be as intense as the mourning at Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. 12 The land will mourn, each family by itself: the family of David by itself, and the wives by themselves; the family of Nathan by itself, and the wives by themselves; 13 the family of Levi by itself, and the wives by themselves; the family of Shimei by itself, and the wives by themselves. 14 All the families that are left will mourn, each by itself, and the wives by themselves.”
13 The Lord declares, “On that day a fountain will be opened for David’s family and for those who live in Jerusalem to wash away their sin and stain.
False Prophets Will Be Judged
2 “On that day,” declares Yahweh Tsebaoth, “I will wipe away the names of the idols from the land. They will no longer be remembered. I will also remove the false prophets and the unclean[g] spirit from the land.
3 “If a man still prophesies, his father and his mother, who gave birth to him, will say, ‘You don’t deserve to live because you speak lies in the name of Yahweh.’ Then his father and his mother, who gave birth to him, will stab him when he prophesies.
4 “On that day every prophet will be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies. He won’t deceive people by dressing like a prophet in a coat made of hair. 5 He will say, ‘I am not a prophet. I’m a farmer. I’ve owned this land since I was a child.’
6 “When someone asks him, ‘What are these scars on your chest?’ he will answer, ‘I was hurt at my friend’s house.’
The Shepherd Struck, the Sheep Scattered
7 “Arise, sword, against my shepherd,
against the man who is my friend,” declares Yahweh Tsebaoth.
“Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.
Then I will turn my hand against the little ones.”
8 Yahweh declares,
“Throughout the land two-thirds will be cut off and die.
Yet, one-third will be left in it.
9 I will bring this third of the people through the fire.
I will refine them as silver is refined.
I will test them as gold is tested.
They will call on me, and I will answer them.
I will say, ‘They are my people.’
They will reply, ‘Yahweh is our Elohim.’”
The Lord Will Fight the Nations
14 A day is going to come for Yahweh when the loot you have taken will be divided among you. 2 I will gather all the nations to Jerusalem for battle. The city will be captured, the houses looted, and the women raped. Half of the people in the city will go into exile, but the rest of the people won’t be taken from the city.
3 Then Yahweh will go out and fight against those nations as he does when he fights a battle. 4 On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, just east of Jerusalem. The Mount of Olives will be split in two, forming a very large valley from east to west. Half of the mountain will move toward the north, and the other half will move toward the south. 5 Then you will flee to the valley of my mountains, because this valley between the mountains will go as far as Azel.[h] You will flee as you did from the earthquake at the time of King Uzziah of Judah. Yahweh my Elohim will come, and all the holy ones will be with him.
6 On that day there will be neither heat nor freezing cold.[i] 7 There will be one day—a day known to Yahweh—with no difference between day and night. It will be light even in the evening.
Living Water from Jerusalem
8 On that day living water will flow out from Jerusalem, half of it to the Dead Sea and the other half to the Mediterranean Sea. It will continue in summer and in winter.
9 Yahweh will be Melek over all the earth. On that day Yahweh will be the only Lord and his name the only name.
10 The whole earth will become like the plains from Geba to Rimmon, south of Jerusalem. Jerusalem will rise and remain on its site, from Benjamin Gate to the place of First Gate, Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the king’s winepresses. 11 People will live there, and it will never be threatened with destruction. Jerusalem will live securely.
12 This will be the plague Yahweh will use to strike all the people from the nations that have gone to war against Jerusalem. Their flesh will rot while they are standing on their feet. Their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths.
13 On that day a large-scale panic from Yahweh will spread among them. One person will grab the hand of another, and one will attack the other. 14 Judah will also fight in Jerusalem. The wealth of all the surrounding nations will be collected, a very large amount of gold, silver, and clothes. 15 A similar plague will also affect horses, mules, camels, donkeys, and all other animals in those camps.
16 Everyone who is left from all the nations that attacked Jerusalem will come every year to worship the Melek, Yahweh Tsebaoth, and to celebrate the Festival of Booths. 17 If any of the families on the earth won’t go to Jerusalem to worship the Melek, Yahweh Tsebaoth, then rain won’t fall on them. 18 If the people of Egypt won’t go or enter Jerusalem, then rain won’t fall on them. The plague Yahweh uses to strike the nations will affect those who won’t come to celebrate the Festival of Booths. 19 This will be the punishment for Egypt’s sin and for the sin of all the nations that won’t go to celebrate the Festival of Booths.
20 On that day “Holy to Yahweh” will be written on the bells of the horses. And the cooking pots in the house of Yahweh will be like the bowls in front of the altar. 21 Yes, every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah will be holy to Yahweh Tsebaoth. All who come to sacrifice will take some of them and cook in them. On that day there will no longer be any Canaanite[j] in the house of Yahweh Tsebaoth.
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.