Zechariah 8–11

1Again the word of the LORD of Hosts came to me, saying:

2This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “I am jealous for Zion with great zeal; I am jealous for her with great fervor.”

3This is what the LORD says: “I will return to Zion and dwell in Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will be called the City of Truth, and the mountain of the LORD of Hosts will be called the Holy Mountain.”

4This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Old men and old women will again sit along the streets of Jerusalem, each with a staff in hand because of great age.

5And the streets of the city will be filled with boys and girls playing there.”

6This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “If this is impossible in the eyes of the remnant of this people in these days, should it also be impossible in My eyes?” declares the LORD of Hosts.

7This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “I will save My people from the land of the east and from the land of the west.

8I will bring them back to dwell in Jerusalem, where they will be My people, and I will be their faithful and righteous God.”

9This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Let your hands be strong, you who now hear these words spoken by the prophets who were present when the foundations were laid to rebuild the temple, the house of the LORD of Hosts.

10For before those days neither man nor beast received wages, nor was there safety from the enemy for anyone who came or went, for I had turned every man against his neighbor.

11But now I will not treat the remnant of this people as I did in the past,” declares the LORD of Hosts.

12“For the seed will be prosperous, the vine will yield its fruit, the ground will yield its produce, and the skies will give their dew. To the remnant of this people I will give all these things as an inheritance.

13As you have been a curse among the nations, O house of Judah and house of Israel, so I will save you, and you will be a blessing. Do not be afraid; let your hands be strong.”

14For this is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Just as I resolved to bring disaster upon you when your fathers provoked Me to anger, and I did not relent,” says the LORD of Hosts,

15“so now I have resolved to do good again to Jerusalem and Judah. Do not be afraid.

16These are the things you must do: Speak truth to one another, render true and sound judgments in your gates,

17do not plot evil in your hearts against your neighbor, and do not love to swear falsely, for I hate all these things,” declares the LORD.

18Then the word of the LORD of Hosts came to me, saying,

19“This is what the LORD of Hosts says: The fasts of the fourth, the fifth, the seventh, and the tenth months will become times of joy and gladness, cheerful feasts for the house of Judah. Therefore you are to love both truth and peace.”

20This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Peoples will yet come—the residents of many cities—

21and the residents of one city will go to another, saying: ‘Let us go at once to plead before the LORD and to seek the LORD of Hosts. I myself am going.’

22And many peoples and strong nations will come to seek the LORD of Hosts in Jerusalem and to plead before the LORD.”

23This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “In those days ten men from the nations of every tongue will tightly grasp the robe of a Jew, saying, ‘Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.’”

1This is the burden of the word of the LORD against the land of Hadrach and Damascus its resting place— for the eyes of men and of all the tribes of Israel are upon the LORD —

2and also against Hamath, which borders it, as well as Tyre and Sidon, though they are very shrewd.

3Tyre has built herself a fortress; she has heaped up silver like dust, and gold like the dirt of the streets.

4Behold, the Lord will impoverish her and cast her wealth into the sea, and she will be consumed by fire.

5Ashkelon will see and fear; Gaza will writhe in agony, as will Ekron, for her hope will wither. There will cease to be a king in Gaza, and Ashkelon will be uninhabited.

6A mixed race will occupy Ashdod, and I will cut off the pride of the Philistines.

7I will remove the blood from their mouths and the abominations from between their teeth. Then they too will become a remnant for our God; they will become like a clan in Judah, and Ekron will be like the Jebusites.

8But I will camp around My house because of an army, because of those who march to and fro, and never again will an oppressor overrun My people, for now I keep watch with My own eyes.

9Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your King comes to you, righteous and victorious, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

10And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the horse from Jerusalem, and the bow of war will be broken. Then He will proclaim peace to the nations. His dominion will extend from sea to sea, and from the Euphrates to the ends of the earth.

11As for you, because of the blood of My covenant, I will release your prisoners from the waterless pit.

12Return to your stronghold, O prisoners of hope; even today I declare that I will restore to you double.

13For I will bend Judah as My bow and fit it with Ephraim. I will rouse your sons, O Zion, against the sons of Greece. I will make you like the sword of a mighty man.

14Then the LORD will appear over them, and His arrow will go forth like lightning. The Lord GOD will sound the ram’s horn and advance in the whirlwinds of the south.

15The LORD of Hosts will shield them. They will destroy and conquer with slingstones; they will drink and roar as with wine. And they will be filled like sprinkling bowls, drenched like the corners of the altar.

16On that day the LORD their God will save them as the flock of His people; for like jewels in a crown they will sparkle over His land.

17How lovely they will be, and how beautiful! Grain will make the young men flourish, and new wine, the young women.

1Ask the LORD for rain in springtime; the LORD makes the storm clouds, and He will give everyone showers of rain and crops in the field.

2For idols speak deceit and diviners see illusions; they tell false dreams and offer empty comfort. Therefore the people wander like sheep, oppressed for lack of a shepherd.

3“My anger burns against the shepherds, and I will punish the leaders. For the LORD of Hosts attends to His flock, the house of Judah; He will make them like His royal steed in battle.

4The cornerstone will come from Judah, the tent peg from him, as well as the battle bow and every ruler together.

5They will be like mighty men in battle, trampling the enemy in the mire of the streets. They will fight because the LORD is with them, and they will put the horsemen to shame.

6I will strengthen the house of Judah and save the house of Joseph. I will restore them because I have compassion on them, and they will be as though I had not rejected them. For I am the LORD their God, and I will answer them.

7Ephraim will be like a mighty man, and their hearts will be glad as with wine. Their children will see it and be joyful; their hearts will rejoice in the LORD.

8I will whistle for them to gather, for I have redeemed them; and they will be as numerous as they once were.

9Though I sow them among the nations, they will remember Me in distant lands; they and their children will live and return.

10I will bring them back from Egypt and gather them from Assyria. I will bring them to Gilead and Lebanon until no more room is found for them.

11They will pass through the sea of distress and strike the waves of the sea; all the depths of the Nile will dry up. The pride of Assyria will be brought down, and the scepter of Egypt will depart.

12I will strengthen them in the LORD, and in His name they will walk,” declares the LORD.

1Open your doors, O Lebanon, that the fire may consume your cedars!

2Wail, O cypress, for the cedar has fallen; the majestic trees are ruined! Wail, O oaks of Bashan, for the dense forest has been cut down!

3Listen to the wailing of the shepherds, for their glory is in ruins. Listen to the roaring of the young lions, for the thickets of the Jordan are destroyed.

4This is what the LORD my God says: “Pasture the flock marked for slaughter,

5whose buyers slaughter them without remorse. Those who sell them say, ‘Blessed be the LORD, for I am rich!’ Even their own shepherds have no compassion on them.

6For I will no longer have compassion on the people of the land, declares the LORD, but behold, I will cause each man to fall into the hands of his neighbor and his king, who will devastate the land, and I will not deliver it from their hands.”

7So I pastured the flock marked for slaughter, especially the afflicted of the flock. Then I took for myself two staffs, calling one Favor and the other Union, and I pastured the flock.

8And in one month I dismissed three shepherds. My soul grew impatient with the flock, and their souls also detested me.

9Then I said, “I will no longer shepherd you. Let the dying die, and the perishing perish; and let those who remain devour one another’s flesh.”

10Next I took my staff called Favor and cut it in two, revoking the covenant I had made with all the nations.

11It was revoked on that day, and so the afflicted of the flock who were watching me knew that it was the word of the LORD.

12Then I told them, “If it seems right to you, give me my wages; but if not, keep them.” So they weighed out my wages, thirty pieces of silver.

13And the LORD said to me, “Throw it to the potter”—this magnificent price at which they valued me. So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them to the potter in the house of the LORD.

14Then I cut in two my second staff called Union, breaking the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.

15And the LORD said to me: “Take up once more the equipment of a foolish shepherd.

16For behold, I will raise up a shepherd in the land who will neither care for the lost, nor seek the young, nor heal the broken, nor sustain the healthy, but he will devour the flesh of the choice sheep and tear off their hooves.

17Woe to the worthless shepherd, who deserts the flock! May a sword strike his arm and his right eye! May his arm be completely withered and his right eye utterly blinded!”