he alerted me, and said to me, “Take good note! Those that went out to the region of the north have d-done my pleasure-d in the region of the north.”e
9The word of the LORD came to me: 10Receive fromf the exiled community—from Heldai, Tobijah, and Jedaiah, who have come from Babylon—and you, in turn, proceed the same day to the house of Josiah son of Zephaniah. 11Take silver and gold and make crowns. Place [one] on the head of High Priest Joshua son of Jehozadak, 12and say to him, “Thus said the LORD of Hosts: Behold, a man called the Branchg shall branch out from the place where he is, and he shall build the Temple of the LORD. 13He shall build the Temple of the LORD and shall assume majesty, and he shall sit on his throne and rule. And there shall also be a priest h-seated on his throne,-h and harmonious understanding shall prevail between them.”
14The crowns shall remain in the Temple of the LORD as a memorial to Helem,i Tobijah, Jedaiah, and Henj son of Zephaniah. 15Men from far away shall come and take part in the building of the Temple of the LORD, and you shall know that I have been sent to you by the LORD of Hosts— if only you will obey the LORD your God!
7 In the fourth year of King Darius, on the fourth day of the ninth month, Kislev, the word of the LORD came to Zechariah—2when Bethelsharezer a-and Regem-melech and his men sent-a to entreat the favor of the LORD, 3[and] to address this inquiry to the priests of the House of the LORD and to the prophets: “Shall I weep and practice abstinence in the fifth month,b as I have been doing all these years?”
4Thereupon the word of the LORD of Hosts came to me: 5Say to all the people of the land and to the priests: When you fasted and lamented in the fifth and seventh months all these seventy years, did you fast for my benefit? 6And when you eat and drink, who but you does the eating, and who but you does the drinking? 7Look, this is the message that the LORD proclaimed through the earlier prophets, when Jerusalem and the towns about her were peopled and tranquil, when the Negeb and the Shephelah were peopled.
8And the word of the LORD to Zechariah continued: 9Thus said the LORD of Hosts: Execute true justice; deal loyally and compassionately with one another. 10Do not defraud the widow, the orphan, the stranger, and the poor; and do not plot evil against one another.— 11But they refused to pay heed. They presented a balky back and turned a deaf ear. 12They hardened their hearts like adamant against heeding the instruction and admonition that the LORD of Hosts sent to them by His spirit through the earlier prophets; and a terrible wrath issued from the LORD of Hosts. 13Even as He called and they would not listen, “So,” said the LORD of Hosts, “let them call and I will not listen.” 14I dispersed them among all those nations which they had not known, and the land was left behind them desolate, without any who came and went. They caused a delightful land to be turned into a desolation.
8 The word of the LORD of Hosts came [to me]:
2Thus said the LORD of Hosts: I am very jealous for Zion, I am fiercely jealous for her. 3Thus said the LORD: I have returned to Zion, and I will dwell in Jerusalem. Jerusalem will be called the City of Faithfulness, and the mount of the LORD of Hosts the Holy Mount.
4Thus said the LORD of Hosts: There shall yet be old men and women in the squares of Jerusalem, each with staff in hand because of their great age. 5And the squares of the city shall be crowded with boys and girls playing in the squares. 6Thus said the LORD of Hosts: Though it will seem impossible to the remnant of this people in those days, shall it also be impossible to Me?— declares the LORD of Hosts. 7Thus said the LORD of Hosts: I will rescue My people from the lands of the east and from the lands of the west, 8and I will bring them home to dwell in Jerusalem. They shall be My people, and I will be their God—in truth and sincerity.
9Thus said the LORD of Hosts: Take courage, you who now hear these words which the prophets spoke when the foundations were laid for the rebuilding of the Temple, the House of the LORD of Hosts.
10aFor before that time, the earnings of men were nil, and profits from beasts were nothing. It was not safe to go about one’s business on account of enemies; and I set all men against one another. 11But now I will not treat the remnant of this people as before—declares the LORD of Hosts— 12but what it sows shall prosper: The vine shall produce its fruit, the ground shall produce its yield, and the skies shall provide their moisture. I will bestow all these things upon the remnant of this people. 13And just as you were a curseb among the nations, O House of Judah and House of Israel, so, when I vindicate you, you shall become a blessing.b Have no fear; take courage!
14For thus said the LORD of Hosts: Just as I planned to afflict you and did not relent when your fathers provoked Me to anger—said the LORD of Hosts—15so, at this time, I have turned and planned to do good to Jerusalem and to the House of Judah. Have no fear! 16These are the things you are to do: Speak the truth to one another, render true and perfect justice in your gates. 17And do not contrive evil against one another, and do not love perjury, because all those are things that I hate—declares the LORD.
18And the word of the LORD of Hosts came to me, saying, 19Thus said the LORD of Hosts: The fast of the fourth month, the fast of the fifth month, the fast of the seventh month, and the fast of the tenth monthc shall become occasions for joy and gladness, happy festivals for the House of Judah; but you must love honesty and integrity.
20Thus said the LORD of Hosts: Peoples and the inhabitants of many cities shall yet come—21the inhabitants of one shall go to the other and say, “Let us go and entreat the favor of the LORD, let us seek the LORD of Hosts; I will go, too.” 22The many peoples and the multitude of nations shall come to seek the LORD of Hosts in Jerusalem and to entreat the favor of the LORD. 23Thus said the LORD of Hosts: In those days, ten men from nations of every tongue will take hold—they will take hold of every Jew by a corner of his cloak and say, “Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.”
9
A pronouncement: The word of the LORD.
He will reside in the land of Hadrach and Damascus;
For all men’s eyes will turn to the LORD—
Like all the tribes of Israel—
2Including Hamath, which borders on it,a
And Tyre and Sidon, though they are very wise.
3Tyre has built herself a fortress;
She has amassed silver like dust,
And gold like the mud in the streets.
4But my Lord will impoverish her;
He will defeat her forces at sea,
And she herself shall be consumed by fire.
5Ashkelon shall see it and be frightened,
Gaza shall tremble violently,
And Ekron, at the collapse of her hopes.
Kingship shall vanish from Gaza,
Ashkelon shall be without inhabitants,
6And b-a mongrel people-b shall settle in Ashdod.
I will uproot the grandeur of Philistia.
7But I will clean out the blood from its mouth,
And the detestable things from between its teeth.
Its survivors, too, shall belong to our God:
They shall become like a clan in Judah,
And Ekron shall be like the Jebusites.
8And I will encamp in My House c-against armies,-c
Against any that come and go,
And no oppressor shall ever overrun them again;
For I have now taken note d-with My own eyes.-d
9Rejoice greatly, Fair Zion;
Raise a shout, Fair Jerusalem!
Lo, your king is coming to you.
He is victorious, triumphant,
Yet humble, riding on an ass,
On a donkey foaled by a she-ass.
10Hee shall banish chariots from Ephraim
And horses from Jerusalem;
The warrior’s bow shall be banished.
He shall call on the nations to surrender,f
And his rule shall extend from sea to sea
And from ocean to land’s end.
11gYou, for your part, have releasedh
Your prisoners from the dry pit,i
For the sake of the blood of your covenant,
12[Saying], “Return to Bizzaron,j
You prisoners of hope.”
In return [I] announce this day:
I will repay you double.
13For I have drawn Judah taut,
And applied [My hand] to Ephraim as to a bow,
And I will arouse your sons, O Zion,
Against your sons, O Javan,
And make you like a warrior’s sword.
14And the LORD will manifest Himself to them,k
And His arrows shall flash like lightning;
My Lord GOD shall sound the ram’s horn
And advance in a stormy tempest.l
15The LORD of Hosts will protect them:
m[His] slingstones shall devour and conquer;
They shall n-drink, shall rage as with-n wine,
And be filled [with it] like a dashing bowl,
Like the corners of an altar.
16The LORD their God shall prosper them
On that day;
[He shall pasture] His people like sheep.
[They shall be] like crown jewels glittering on His soil.
17How lovely, how beautiful they shall be,
Producing young men like new grain,
Young women like new wine!
10
Ask the LORD for rain
In the a-season of late rain.-a
It is the LORD who causes storms;b
And He will provide rainstorms c-for them,
Grass in the fields for everyone.-c
2For the teraphimd spoke delusion,
The augurs predicted falsely;
And dreamers speak lies
And