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Zechariah 8-14
Common English Bible
Zechariah 8-14
Common English Bible
8 The word from the Lord of heavenly forces came to me:[a]
2 The Lord of heavenly forces proclaims:
I care passionately about Zion; I burn with passion for her. 3 The Lord proclaims: I have returned to Zion; I will settle in Jerusalem. Jerusalem will be called the city of truth; the mountain of the Lord of heavenly forces will be the holy mountain.
4 The Lord of heavenly forces proclaims:
Old men and old women will again dwell in the plazas of Jerusalem. Each of them will have a staff in their hand because of their great age. 5 The city will be full of boys and girls playing in its plazas.
6 The Lord of heavenly forces proclaims:
Even though it may seem to be a miracle for the few remaining among this people in these days, should it seem to be a miracle for me? says the Lord of heavenly forces.
7 The Lord of heavenly forces proclaims:
I’m about to deliver my people from the land of the east and the land of the west. 8 I’ll bring them back so they will dwell in Jerusalem. They will be my people, and I will be their God—in truth and in righteousness.
9 The Lord of heavenly forces proclaims:
Be strong, you who are now hearing these words from the mouths of the prophets spoken on the day when the foundations for the house of the Lord of heavenly forces were laid. 10 Before this time, there were no wages for people or animals; there was no relief from distress about going out or coming in, because I set everyone against their own neighbor. 11 But now, unlike those earlier days, I’ll be with the few remaining among this people, says the Lord of heavenly forces.
12 The seed is healthy:
the vine will give its fruit.
The land will give its produce;
the heavens will give its dew.
I will give the remnant of this people all these things.
13 Just as you were a curse among the nations, house of Judah and house of Israel,
so now I will deliver you; you will be a blessing.
Don’t fear, but be strong.
14 The Lord of heavenly forces proclaims:
Just as I planned evil against you when your ancestors angered me, says the Lord of heavenly forces, and did not relent, 15 so now I have changed course and again plan to do good to Jerusalem and the house of Judah. Don’t be afraid.
16 These are the things you should do: Speak the truth to each other; make truthful, just, and peaceable decisions within your gates. 17 Don’t plan evil for each other. Don’t adore swearing falsely, for all of these are things that I hate, says the Lord.
18 The word of the Lord of heavenly forces came to me:
19 The Lord of heavenly forces proclaims:
The fasts of the fourth, fifth, seventh, and tenth months will become times of joy and gladness, pleasant feasts for the house of Judah. Love truth and peace!
20 The Lord of heavenly forces proclaims:
Peoples will still come, the inhabitants of many cities. 21 The inhabitants of one city will go to another saying, “Let’s go and seek the favor of the Lord, and look for the Lord of heavenly forces. I’m going too.” 22 Many peoples and mighty nations will come to seek the Lord of heavenly forces in Jerusalem and to seek the favor of the Lord.
23 The Lord of heavenly forces proclaims:
In those days ten men from nations with entirely different languages will grab hold of a Judean’s clothes and say, “Let’s go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.”
Fate of the nations
9 A pronouncement. The Lord’s word is against the land of Hadrach,
and Damascus is its resting place,
for the city of Aram[b] and all the tribes of Israel belong to the Lord.
2 Hamath also borders on it.
Tyre and Sidon, indeed, each is exceedingly wise.
3 Tyre built a fortress for herself.
She piled up silver like dust
and gold like mud in the streets,
4 but the Lord will take her possessions away
and knock her wealth into the sea.
She will be devoured with fire.
5 Ashkelon will look and be afraid.
Gaza will writhe in agony,
and also Ekron, because her hope has dried up.
The king will perish from Gaza;
Ashkelon won’t be inhabited.
6 An illegitimate child will dwell in Ashdod;
I will eliminate the pride of the Philistines.
7 I will remove bloody food from his mouth
and pieces of unclean food from between his teeth.
He will be a survivor who belongs to our God.
He will be like a chieftain in Judah;
Ekron will be like a Jebusite.
8 I will encamp before my house as a guard
against anyone departing or returning.
A slave driver will no longer pass through against them,
for I have seen you[c] with my eyes.
Joy and protection for Judah and Ephraim
9 Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion.
Sing aloud, Daughter Jerusalem.
Look, your king will come to you.
He is righteous and victorious.
He is humble and riding on an ass,
on a colt, the offspring of a donkey.
10 He[d] will cut off the chariot from Ephraim
and the warhorse from Jerusalem.
The bow used in battle will be cut off;
he will speak peace to the nations.
His rule will stretch from sea to sea,
and from the river to the ends of the earth.
11 Moreover,[e] by the blood of your covenant,
I will release your prisoners from the waterless pit.
12 Return to the stronghold, prisoners of hope.
Moreover, declare today that I will return double to you.
13 Indeed, I myself will bend Judah as a bow;
I will fill it with Ephraim.
Zion, I will rouse your sons against your sons. Greece, I will make you
like a warrior’s sword.
14 The Lord will appear above them;
his arrow will go forth like lightning.
The Lord God will blow the horn;
he will march forth on the stormy winds of the south.
15 The Lord of heavenly forces will protect them.
They will devour and subdue like sling stones.[f]
They will drink, mumbling like one having wine.
They will be filled like a bowl, like the corners of the altar.
16 The Lord their God will deliver them on that day as the flock of his people;
they will be the jewels in a crown dotting his land.
17 What is his goodness,
and what is his beauty?
Grain will make his young men flourish;
so too wine his young women.
Fate of Judah and Ephraim
10 Ask the Lord for rain when it is time for the spring rain.
The Lord is the one who makes the thunderstorms.
He gives them rain showers.
He gives vegetation in the field to each of them.[g]
2 The household divine images
speak idolatry, and diviners see lies.
They interpret dreams falsely
and provide empty comfort.
Therefore, they wander like sheep,
but they are oppressed because there is no shepherd.
3 My anger burns hot against the shepherds;
I will punish the goats.
The Lord of heavenly forces will take care of his splendor, the house of Judah.
He will make them like his majestic horse in battle.
4 The cornerstone, the tent peg, and the bow used in battle will come from Judah.
Every oppressor will leave Judah simultaneously.
5 Judah will be like warriors,
trampling through the muddy streets during battle.
They will do battle because the Lord is with them.
All the cavalry will be ashamed.
6 I will strengthen the house of Judah
and deliver the house of Joseph.
I will bring them back[h] because I have compassion on them.
They will be as though I hadn’t rejected them, for I am the Lord their God;
I will respond to them.
7 Ephraim will be like a warrior.
They will be as glad as if they were drinking wine.
Their children will watch and be glad.
Their hearts will rejoice in the Lord.
8 I will whistle for them and gather them,
because I have ransomed them.
They will be as numerous as they were previously.
9 Though I sowed them among the peoples,
they will remember me in the distant places
where they are living with their children until they return.
10 I will bring them back from the land of Egypt;
I will collect them from Assyria.
I will bring them to the land of Gilead and Lebanon
until there is no more room for them.
11 They[i] will pass through the sea of distress
and strike the sea with waves.[j]
All the depths of the river will dry up.
The pride of Assyria will be brought down;
the scepter of Egypt will turn away.
12 I will strengthen them in the Lord,
and they will walk in his name, says the Lord.
11 Open your doors, Lebanon, so that fire will devour your cedars.
2 Scream, cypress, for the cedar has fallen;
those majestic ones have been devastated.
Scream, oaks of Bashan, for the deep forest has fallen.
3 The sound of screaming appears among the shepherds
because their majesty has been devastated.
The sound of roaring can be heard among the young lions
because the pride of the Jordan has been devastated.
The shepherd’s two staffs
4 This is what the Lord my God says:
Shepherd the flock intended for slaughter.
5 Those who buy them will kill them,
but they will go unpunished.
Those who sell them will say,
“Blessed is the Lord, for I have become rich.”
And their own shepherds won’t spare them.
6 In fact, I will no longer spare the inhabitants of the land, says the Lord.
But look what I am about to bring upon humanity,
upon each of them by their neighbor’s hand and by the hand of their king:
They will beat the land to pieces,
but I won’t rescue anyone from their hand.
7 So I shepherded the flock intended for slaughter,
the afflicted of the flock.[k]
I took two staffs for myself.
I named one Delight;
the other I named Harmony.
I shepherded the flock.
8 I removed three shepherds in one month
when I grew impatient with them.
Moreover, they detested me.
9 Then I said, “I won’t shepherd you.
Let the dying die,
and let what is to be removed be removed.
Let those who are left devour the flesh of their neighbor.”
10 Then I took the staff Delight,
and I chopped it up in order to break my covenant that I had made with all the peoples.
11 It was broken on that day.
As a result, the afflicted[l] of the flock knew that it was the Lord’s word.
12 And I said to them,
“If it appears good to you, give me my wages;
but if not, then stop.”
So they weighed out my wages, thirty shekels of silver.
13 The Lord said to me,
“Put it in the treasury.[m]
They value me at too magnificent a price.”
So I took the thirty shekels[n] of silver
and put them in the treasury of the Lord’s house.
14 Then I chopped up my second staff Harmony,
to break the alliance between Judah and Israel.
15 Then the Lord said to me,
“Take for yourself again the equipment of a foolish shepherd,
16 because I am about to appoint a shepherd in the land.
He won’t tend to those who have been removed.
He won’t seek the young or heal the broken.
He won’t sustain the one standing.
Instead, he will devour the flesh of the fat ones, even tearing off their hooves.
17 Doom, foolish shepherd who forsakes the flock.
A sword will strike[o] his arm and his right eye.
His arm will wither completely;
his right eye will become blind.”
Jerusalem on that day
12 A pronouncement. The Lord’s word against Israel,
an utterance of the Lord
who stretches out the heavens,
who establishes the earth,
and who fashions the spirit of humanity within it:
2 I am about to make Jerusalem a cup that will stagger all the surrounding nations.
There will be a siege against Judah and against Jerusalem.
3 On that day I will make Jerusalem into a heavy stone[p] for all the peoples.
All who carry it will hurt themselves;
nevertheless, the nations of the earth will conspire against it.
4 On that day, says the Lord, I will strike every horse with confusion
and its rider with madness.
I will keep my eyes open for the house of Judah;
I will strike blind every horse of the peoples.
5 The chieftains of Judah will say to themselves, We are strong;
the inhabitants of Jerusalem will say,
The Lord their God of heavenly forces is strong.[q]
6 On that day I will place the chieftains of Judah like a pot on a wood fire and like a burning torch among the bundles of grain.
They will devour all the surrounding nations to the right and the left.
Jerusalem will dwell again in its place, in Jerusalem.
7 The Lord will first deliver the tents of Judah so that the splendor of David’s house
and the splendor of Jerusalem’s inhabitants won’t overshadow Judah.
8 On that day the Lord will protect the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
Anyone among them who stumbles on that day will become like David,
and David’s house will become like God,
like the Lord’s messenger in front of them.
9 On that day I intend to destroy all the nations who come against Jerusalem,
10 but I will pour out a spirit of grace and mercy on David’s house
and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
They will look to me concerning the one whom they pierced;
they will mourn over him like the mourning for an only child.
They will mourn bitterly over him like the bitter mourning over the death of[r] an oldest child.
11 On that day, the mourning in Jerusalem
will be as great as the mourning of Hadad-Rimmon in the Megiddo Valley.
12 The land will mourn, each of the clans by itself:
the clan of David’s house by themselves, and their women by themselves;
the clan of Nathan’s house by themselves, and their women by themselves;
13 the clan of Levi’s house by themselves, and their women by themselves;
and the Shimeites’ clan by themselves, and their women by themselves;
14 and all the remaining clans, each clan by itself, and their women by themselves.
13 On that day, a fountain will open
to cleanse[s] the sin and impurity of David’s house and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
2 On that day, says the Lord of heavenly forces,
I will eliminate the names of the idols from the land;
they will no longer be remembered.
Moreover, I will remove the prophets and the sinful spirit from the land.
3 If anyone again prophesies,
then that person’s birth father and mother will say,
“You won’t live, for you have told a lie in the name of the Lord.”
That person’s own birth father and mother will stab him when he prophesies.
4 On that day each of the prophets will be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies
and won’t put on a shaggy coat in order to deceive.
5 Each will say, “I’m not a prophet.
I’m a man who works the ground, for the soil has been my occupation since I was young.”
6 Someone will say to him,
“What are these wounds between your hands?”
And he will say, “These happened when I was hit in my friends’ home.”
7 Sword, arise against my shepherd,
against the man responsible for[t] my community, says the Lord of heavenly forces!
Strike the shepherd in order to scatter the flock!
I will turn my hand against the little ones.
8 Throughout all the land, says the Lord,
two-thirds will be cut off and die;
but one-third will be left in it.
9 I will put the third part into the fire.
I will refine them like one refines silver;
I will test them like one tests gold.
They will call on my name, and I will respond to them.
I will say, “They are my people.”
And they will say, “The Lord is our God.”
The day of the Lord
14 A day is coming that belongs to the Lord,
when that which has been plundered from you will be divided among you.
2 I will gather all the nations to Jerusalem for the battle,
the city will be captured,
the houses will be plundered,
and the women will be raped.
Half of the city will go forth into exile,
but what is left of the people won’t be eliminated from the city.
3 The Lord will go out and fight against those nations as when he fights on a day of battle.
4 On that day he will stand upon the Mount of Olives, to the east of Jerusalem.
The Mount of Olives will be split in half by a very large valley running from east to west.
Half of the mountain will move north,
and the other half will move south.
5 You will flee through the valley of my mountain,
because the valley of the mountains will reach to Azal.
You will flee just as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Judah’s King Uzziah.
The Lord my God will come, and all the holy ones with him.[u]
6 On that day, there will be no light.
Splendid things will disappear.[v]
7 On one day known to the Lord, there will be neither day nor night,
but at evening time there will be light.
8 On that day, running water will flow out from Jerusalem,
half of it to the Dead Sea[w]
and half of it to the Mediterranean;[x]
this will happen during the summer and the fall.
9 The Lord will become king over all the land.
On that day the Lord will be one,
and the Lord’s name will be one.
10 The entire land will become like the desert[y]
from Geba to Rimmon, south of Jerusalem.
Jerusalem will be high up and firmly in place
from the Benjamin Gate to the place of the former gate,
to the Corner Gate, and from the Hananel Tower to the king’s wine vats.
11 People will dwell in it;
it will never again be destroyed.
Jerusalem will dwell securely.
12 This will be the plague with which the
Lord will strike all the peoples who
swarmed against Jerusalem:
their flesh will rot, even while standing on their feet;
their eyes will rot in their sockets;
and their tongues will rot in their mouths.
13 On that day, a great panic brought on by the Lord will fall upon them;
they will all grasp at the hand of their neighbors;
neighbors will attack each other.
14 Even Judah will fight in Jerusalem.
The wealth of all the surrounding nations will be collected:
gold, silver, and a great abundance of garments.
15 This[z] plague will also affect the horses, mules, camels, donkeys, and any cattle in those camps during this plague.
16 All those left from all the nations who attacked Jerusalem will go up annually to pay homage to the king, the Lord of heavenly forces, and to celebrate the Festival of Booths.
17 Whoever among the families of the earth doesn’t go up to Jerusalem to pay homage to the king, the Lord of heavenly forces, upon them no rain will fall.
18 And if the family of Egypt doesn’t go up and doesn’t present itself, then no rain[aa] will fall on them. There will[ab] be a plague like the one with which the Lord struck the nations that didn’t go up to celebrate the Festival of Booths.
19 This would be the sin of Egypt and the sin of all the nations who don’t go up to celebrate the Festival of Booths.
20 On that day, Holy to the Lord will be inscribed[ac] on the bells of the horses,
and the pots in the Lord’s house will be holy[ad] like the bowls before the altar.
21 Every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah will be holy to the Lord of heavenly forces.
All those who sacrifice will come.
They will take some of the pots and cook with them.
There will no longer be any merchants[ae] in the house of the Lord of heavenly forces on that day.
Footnotes
- Zechariah 8:1 Heb lacks to me.
- Zechariah 9:1 Or eyes of humanity
- Zechariah 9:8 Heb lacks you.
- Zechariah 9:10 LXX; MT I
- Zechariah 9:11 Heb uncertain
- Zechariah 9:15 Heb uncertain
- Zechariah 10:1 Heb lacks of them.
- Zechariah 10:6 Or I will restore them
- Zechariah 10:11 LXX; MT he
- Zechariah 10:11 Heb uncertain
- Zechariah 11:7 Heb uncertain
- Zechariah 11:11 Cf Zech 11:7
- Zechariah 11:13 Syr; MT to the potter
- Zechariah 11:13 Heb lacks shekels.
- Zechariah 11:17 Heb lacks will strike.
- Zechariah 12:3 Heb uncertain
- Zechariah 12:5 Heb uncertain
- Zechariah 12:10 Heb lacks the death of.
- Zechariah 13:1 Heb lacks to cleanse.
- Zechariah 13:7 Heb lacks responsible for.
- Zechariah 14:5 Or you
- Zechariah 14:6 Heb uncertain
- Zechariah 14:8 Or eastern sea
- Zechariah 14:8 Or western sea
- Zechariah 14:10 Heb Arabah
- Zechariah 14:15 Heb lacks this; cf 14:12.
- Zechariah 14:18 Heb lacks rain.
- Zechariah 14:18 Or will not.
- Zechariah 14:20 Heb lacks inscribed.
- Zechariah 14:20 Heb lacks holy.
- Zechariah 14:21 Heb Canaanite
Zechariah 8-14
New International Version
Zechariah 8-14
New International Version
The Lord Promises to Bless Jerusalem
8 The word of the Lord Almighty came to me.
2 This is what the Lord Almighty says: “I am very jealous(A) for Zion; I am burning with jealousy for her.”
3 This is what the Lord says: “I will return(B) to Zion(C) and dwell in Jerusalem.(D) Then Jerusalem will be called the Faithful City,(E) and the mountain(F) of the Lord Almighty will be called the Holy Mountain.(G)”
4 This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Once again men and women of ripe old age will sit in the streets of Jerusalem,(H) each of them with cane in hand because of their age. 5 The city streets will be filled with boys and girls playing there.(I)”
6 This is what the Lord Almighty says: “It may seem marvelous to the remnant of this people at that time,(J) but will it seem marvelous to me?(K)” declares the Lord Almighty.
7 This is what the Lord Almighty says: “I will save my people from the countries of the east and the west.(L) 8 I will bring them back(M) to live(N) in Jerusalem; they will be my people,(O) and I will be faithful and righteous to them as their God.(P)”
9 This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Now hear these words, ‘Let your hands be strong(Q) so that the temple may be built.’ This is also what the prophets(R) said who were present when the foundation(S) was laid for the house of the Lord Almighty. 10 Before that time there were no wages(T) for people or hire for animals. No one could go about their business safely(U) because of their enemies, since I had turned everyone against their neighbor. 11 But now I will not deal with the remnant of this people as I did in the past,”(V) declares the Lord Almighty.
12 “The seed will grow well, the vine will yield its fruit,(W) the ground will produce its crops,(X) and the heavens will drop their dew.(Y) I will give all these things as an inheritance(Z) to the remnant of this people.(AA) 13 Just as you, Judah and Israel, have been a curse[a](AB) among the nations, so I will save(AC) you, and you will be a blessing.[b](AD) Do not be afraid,(AE) but let your hands be strong.(AF)”
14 This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Just as I had determined to bring disaster(AG) on you and showed no pity when your ancestors angered me,” says the Lord Almighty, 15 “so now I have determined to do good(AH) again to Jerusalem and Judah.(AI) Do not be afraid. 16 These are the things you are to do: Speak the truth(AJ) to each other, and render true and sound judgment(AK) in your courts;(AL) 17 do not plot evil(AM) against each other, and do not love to swear falsely.(AN) I hate all this,” declares the Lord.
18 The word of the Lord Almighty came to me.
19 This is what the Lord Almighty says: “The fasts of the fourth,(AO) fifth,(AP) seventh(AQ) and tenth(AR) months will become joyful(AS) and glad occasions and happy festivals for Judah. Therefore love truth(AT) and peace.”
20 This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Many peoples and the inhabitants of many cities will yet come, 21 and the inhabitants of one city will go to another and say, ‘Let us go at once to entreat(AU) the Lord and seek(AV) the Lord Almighty. I myself am going.’ 22 And many peoples and powerful nations will come to Jerusalem to seek the Lord Almighty and to entreat him.”(AW)
23 This is what the Lord Almighty says: “In those days ten people from all languages and nations will take firm hold of one Jew by the hem of his robe and say, ‘Let us go with you, because we have heard that God is with you.’”(AX)
Judgment on Israel’s Enemies
9 A prophecy:(AY)
The word of the Lord is against the land of Hadrak
and will come to rest on Damascus(AZ)—
for the eyes of all people and all the tribes of Israel
are on the Lord—[c]
2 and on Hamath(BA) too, which borders on it,
and on Tyre(BB) and Sidon,(BC) though they are very skillful.
3 Tyre has built herself a stronghold;
she has heaped up silver like dust,
and gold like the dirt of the streets.(BD)
4 But the Lord will take away her possessions
and destroy(BE) her power on the sea,
and she will be consumed by fire.(BF)
5 Ashkelon(BG) will see it and fear;
Gaza will writhe in agony,
and Ekron too, for her hope will wither.
Gaza will lose her king
and Ashkelon will be deserted.
6 A mongrel people will occupy Ashdod,
and I will put an end(BH) to the pride of the Philistines.
7 I will take the blood from their mouths,
the forbidden food from between their teeth.
Those who are left will belong to our God(BI)
and become a clan in Judah,
and Ekron will be like the Jebusites.(BJ)
8 But I will encamp(BK) at my temple
to guard it against marauding forces.(BL)
Never again will an oppressor overrun my people,
for now I am keeping watch.(BM)
The Coming of Zion’s King
9 Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion!(BN)
Shout,(BO) Daughter Jerusalem!
See, your king comes to you,(BP)
righteous and victorious,(BQ)
lowly and riding on a donkey,(BR)
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.(BS)
10 I will take away the chariots from Ephraim
and the warhorses from Jerusalem,
and the battle bow will be broken.(BT)
He will proclaim peace(BU) to the nations.
His rule will extend from sea to sea
and from the River[d] to the ends of the earth.(BV)
11 As for you, because of the blood of my covenant(BW) with you,
I will free your prisoners(BX) from the waterless pit.(BY)
12 Return to your fortress,(BZ) you prisoners of hope;
even now I announce that I will restore twice(CA) as much to you.
13 I will bend Judah as I bend my bow(CB)
and fill it with Ephraim.(CC)
I will rouse your sons, Zion,
against your sons, Greece,(CD)
and make you like a warrior’s sword.(CE)
The Lord Will Appear
14 Then the Lord will appear over them;(CF)
his arrow will flash like lightning.(CG)
The Sovereign Lord will sound the trumpet;(CH)
he will march in the storms(CI) of the south,
15 and the Lord Almighty will shield(CJ) them.
They will destroy
and overcome with slingstones.(CK)
They will drink and roar as with wine;(CL)
they will be full like a bowl(CM)
used for sprinkling[e] the corners(CN) of the altar.
16 The Lord their God will save his people on that day(CO)
as a shepherd saves his flock.
They will sparkle in his land
like jewels in a crown.(CP)
17 How attractive and beautiful they will be!
Grain will make the young men thrive,
and new wine the young women.
The Lord Will Care for Judah
10 Ask the Lord for rain in the springtime;
it is the Lord who sends the thunderstorms.
He gives showers of rain(CQ) to all people,
and plants of the field(CR) to everyone.
2 The idols(CS) speak deceitfully,
diviners(CT) see visions that lie;
they tell dreams(CU) that are false,
they give comfort in vain.(CV)
Therefore the people wander like sheep
oppressed for lack of a shepherd.(CW)
3 “My anger burns against the shepherds,
and I will punish the leaders;(CX)
for the Lord Almighty will care
for his flock, the people of Judah,
and make them like a proud horse in battle.(CY)
4 From Judah will come the cornerstone,(CZ)
from him the tent peg,(DA)
from him the battle bow,(DB)
from him every ruler.
5 Together they[f] will be like warriors in battle
trampling their enemy into the mud of the streets.(DC)
They will fight because the Lord is with them,
and they will put the enemy horsemen to shame.(DD)
6 “I will strengthen(DE) Judah
and save the tribes of Joseph.
I will restore them
because I have compassion(DF) on them.(DG)
They will be as though
I had not rejected them,
for I am the Lord their God
and I will answer(DH) them.
7 The Ephraimites will become like warriors,
and their hearts will be glad as with wine.(DI)
Their children will see it and be joyful;
their hearts will rejoice(DJ) in the Lord.
8 I will signal(DK) for them
and gather them in.
Surely I will redeem them;
they will be as numerous(DL) as before.
9 Though I scatter them among the peoples,
yet in distant lands they will remember me.(DM)
They and their children will survive,
and they will return.
10 I will bring them back from Egypt
and gather them from Assyria.(DN)
I will bring them to Gilead(DO) and Lebanon,
and there will not be room(DP) enough for them.
11 They will pass through the sea of trouble;
the surging sea will be subdued
and all the depths of the Nile will dry up.(DQ)
Assyria’s pride(DR) will be brought down
and Egypt’s scepter(DS) will pass away.(DT)
12 I will strengthen(DU) them in the Lord
and in his name they will live securely,(DV)”
declares the Lord.
11 Open your doors, Lebanon,(DW)
so that fire(DX) may devour your cedars!
2 Wail, you juniper, for the cedar has fallen;
the stately trees are ruined!
Wail, oaks(DY) of Bashan;
the dense forest(DZ) has been cut down!(EA)
3 Listen to the wail of the shepherds;
their rich pastures are destroyed!
Listen to the roar of the lions;(EB)
the lush thicket of the Jordan is ruined!(EC)
Two Shepherds
4 This is what the Lord my God says: “Shepherd the flock marked for slaughter.(ED) 5 Their buyers slaughter them and go unpunished. Those who sell them say, ‘Praise the Lord, I am rich!’ Their own shepherds do not spare them.(EE) 6 For I will no longer have pity on the people of the land,” declares the Lord. “I will give everyone into the hands of their neighbors(EF) and their king. They will devastate the land, and I will not rescue anyone from their hands.”(EG)
7 So I shepherded the flock marked for slaughter,(EH) particularly the oppressed of the flock. Then I took two staffs and called one Favor and the other Union, and I shepherded the flock. 8 In one month I got rid of the three shepherds.
The flock detested(EI) me, and I grew weary of them 9 and said, “I will not be your shepherd. Let the dying die, and the perishing perish.(EJ) Let those who are left eat(EK) one another’s flesh.”
10 Then I took my staff called Favor(EL) and broke it, revoking(EM) the covenant I had made with all the nations. 11 It was revoked on that day, and so the oppressed of the flock who were watching me knew it was the word of the Lord.
12 I told them, “If you think it best, give me my pay; but if not, keep it.” So they paid me thirty pieces of silver.(EN)
13 And the Lord said to me, “Throw it to the potter”—the handsome price at which they valued me! So I took the thirty pieces of silver(EO) and threw them to the potter at the house of the Lord.(EP)
14 Then I broke my second staff called Union, breaking the family bond between Judah and Israel.
15 Then the Lord said to me, “Take again the equipment of a foolish shepherd. 16 For I am going to raise up a shepherd over the land who will not care for the lost, or seek the young, or heal the injured, or feed the healthy, but will eat the meat of the choice sheep, tearing off their hooves.
17 “Woe to the worthless shepherd,(EQ)
who deserts the flock!
May the sword strike his arm(ER) and his right eye!
May his arm be completely withered,
his right eye totally blinded!”(ES)
Jerusalem’s Enemies to Be Destroyed
12 A prophecy:(ET) The word of the Lord concerning Israel.
The Lord, who stretches out the heavens,(EU) who lays the foundation of the earth,(EV) and who forms the human spirit within a person,(EW) declares: 2 “I am going to make Jerusalem a cup(EX) that sends all the surrounding peoples reeling.(EY) Judah(EZ) will be besieged as well as Jerusalem. 3 On that day, when all the nations(FA) of the earth are gathered against her, I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock(FB) for all the nations. All who try to move it will injure(FC) themselves. 4 On that day I will strike every horse with panic and its rider with madness,” declares the Lord. “I will keep a watchful eye over Judah, but I will blind all the horses of the nations.(FD) 5 Then the clans of Judah will say in their hearts, ‘The people of Jerusalem are strong,(FE) because the Lord Almighty is their God.’
6 “On that day I will make the clans of Judah like a firepot(FF) in a woodpile, like a flaming torch among sheaves. They will consume(FG) all the surrounding peoples right and left, but Jerusalem will remain intact(FH) in her place.
7 “The Lord will save the dwellings of Judah first, so that the honor of the house of David and of Jerusalem’s inhabitants may not be greater than that of Judah.(FI) 8 On that day the Lord will shield(FJ) those who live in Jerusalem, so that the feeblest(FK) among them will be like David, and the house of David will be like God,(FL) like the angel of the Lord going before(FM) them. 9 On that day I will set out to destroy all the nations(FN) that attack Jerusalem.(FO)
Mourning for the One They Pierced
10 “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit[g](FP) of grace and supplication.(FQ) They will look on[h] me, the one they have pierced,(FR) and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child,(FS) and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son.(FT) 11 On that day the weeping(FU) in Jerusalem will be as great as the weeping of Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo.(FV) 12 The land will mourn,(FW) each clan by itself, with their wives by themselves: the clan of the house of David and their wives, the clan of the house of Nathan and their wives, 13 the clan of the house of Levi and their wives, the clan of Shimei and their wives, 14 and all the rest of the clans and their wives.(FX)
Cleansing From Sin
13 “On that day a fountain(FY) will be opened to the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse(FZ) them from sin and impurity.
2 “On that day, I will banish the names of the idols(GA) from the land, and they will be remembered no more,”(GB) declares the Lord Almighty. “I will remove both the prophets(GC) and the spirit of impurity from the land. 3 And if anyone still prophesies, their father and mother, to whom they were born, will say to them, ‘You must die, because you have told lies(GD) in the Lord’s name.’ Then their own parents will stab the one who prophesies.(GE)
4 “On that day every prophet will be ashamed(GF) of their prophetic vision. They will not put on a prophet’s garment(GG) of hair(GH) in order to deceive.(GI) 5 Each will say, ‘I am not a prophet. I am a farmer; the land has been my livelihood since my youth.[i]’(GJ) 6 If someone asks, ‘What are these wounds on your body[j]?’ they will answer, ‘The wounds I was given at the house of my friends.’
The Shepherd Struck, the Sheep Scattered
7 “Awake, sword,(GK) against my shepherd,(GL)
against the man who is close to me!”
declares the Lord Almighty.
“Strike the shepherd,
and the sheep will be scattered,(GM)
and I will turn my hand against the little ones.
8 In the whole land,” declares the Lord,
“two-thirds will be struck down and perish;
yet one-third will be left in it.(GN)
9 This third I will put into the fire;(GO)
I will refine them like silver(GP)
and test them like gold.(GQ)
They will call(GR) on my name(GS)
and I will answer(GT) them;
I will say, ‘They are my people,’(GU)
and they will say, ‘The Lord is our God.(GV)’”
The Lord Comes and Reigns
14 A day of the Lord(GW) is coming, Jerusalem, when your possessions(GX) will be plundered and divided up within your very walls.
2 I will gather all the nations(GY) to Jerusalem to fight against it;(GZ) the city will be captured, the houses ransacked, and the women raped.(HA) Half of the city will go into exile, but the rest of the people will not be taken from the city.(HB) 3 Then the Lord will go out and fight(HC) against those nations, as he fights on a day of battle.(HD) 4 On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives,(HE) east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split(HF) in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half of the mountain moving north and half moving south. 5 You will flee by my mountain valley, for it will extend to Azel. You will flee as you fled from the earthquake[k](HG) in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the Lord my God will come,(HH) and all the holy ones with him.(HI)
6 On that day there will be neither sunlight(HJ) nor cold, frosty darkness. 7 It will be a unique(HK) day—a day known only to the Lord—with no distinction between day and night.(HL) When evening comes, there will be light.(HM)
8 On that day living water(HN) will flow(HO) out from Jerusalem, half of it east(HP) to the Dead Sea and half of it west to the Mediterranean Sea, in summer and in winter.(HQ)
9 The Lord will be king(HR) over the whole earth.(HS) On that day there will be one Lord, and his name the only name.(HT)
10 The whole land, from Geba(HU) to Rimmon,(HV) south of Jerusalem, will become like the Arabah. But Jerusalem will be raised up(HW) high from the Benjamin Gate(HX) to the site of the First Gate, to the Corner Gate,(HY) and from the Tower of Hananel(HZ) to the royal winepresses, and will remain in its place.(IA) 11 It will be inhabited;(IB) never again will it be destroyed. Jerusalem will be secure.(IC)
12 This is the plague with which the Lord will strike(ID) all the nations that fought 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.(IE) 13 On that day people will be stricken by the Lord with great panic.(IF) They will seize each other by the hand and attack one another.(IG) 14 Judah(IH) too will fight at Jerusalem. The wealth of all the surrounding nations will be collected(II)—great quantities of gold and silver and clothing. 15 A similar plague(IJ) will strike the horses and mules, the camels and donkeys, and all the animals in those camps.
16 Then the survivors(IK) from all the nations that have attacked Jerusalem will go up year after year to worship(IL) the King,(IM) the Lord Almighty, and to celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles.(IN) 17 If any of the peoples of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship(IO) the King, the Lord Almighty, they will have no rain.(IP) 18 If the Egyptian people do not go up and take part, they will have no rain. The Lord[l] will bring on them the plague(IQ) he inflicts on the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles.(IR) 19 This will be the punishment of Egypt and the punishment of all the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles.(IS)
20 On that day holy to the Lord(IT) will be inscribed on the bells of the horses, and the cooking pots(IU) in the Lord’s house will be like the sacred bowls(IV) in front of the altar. 21 Every pot in Jerusalem and Judah will be holy(IW) to the Lord Almighty, and all who come to sacrifice will take some of the pots and cook in them. And on that day(IX) there will no longer be a Canaanite[m](IY) in the house(IZ) of the Lord Almighty.(JA)
Footnotes
- Zechariah 8:13 That is, your name has been used in cursing (see Jer. 29:22); or, you have been regarded as under a curse.
- Zechariah 8:13 Or and your name will be used in blessings (see Gen. 48:20); or and you will be seen as blessed
- Zechariah 9:1 Or Damascus. / For the eye of the Lord is on all people, / as well as on the tribes of Israel,
- Zechariah 9:10 That is, the Euphrates
- Zechariah 9:15 Or bowl, / like
- Zechariah 10:5 Or ruler, all of them together. / 5 They
- Zechariah 12:10 Or the Spirit
- Zechariah 12:10 Or to
- Zechariah 13:5 Or farmer; a man sold me in my youth
- Zechariah 13:6 Or wounds between your hands
- Zechariah 14:5 Or 5 My mountain valley will be blocked and will extend to Azel. It will be blocked as it was blocked because of the earthquake
- Zechariah 14:18 Or part, then the Lord
- Zechariah 14:21 Or merchant
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