Jonathan Zechariah

A Call to Return

1 In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, a prophetic message from the Lord came to Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo, the prophet, saying,

2 “There was anger from the Lord against your ancestors, because they provoked Him to anger. 3 So say to them, ‘This is what the Lord of Hosts says: Return to My worship, says the Lord of Hosts, and I will turn by My Memra to do you good, says the Lord of Hosts. 4 Do not be like your ancestors, to whom the former prophets prophesied, saying, “This is what the Lord of Hosts says: Turn now from your evil ways and from your corrupt deeds.” But they did not accept it, and they did not listen to My Memra, says the Lord. 5 Your ancestors, where are they? And if you say, “Do the prophets live forever?” the truth is that the prophets do not live forever. 6 But My words and My decrees, which I commanded My servants the prophets, did they not overtake your ancestors? Then they repented and said, “Just as the Lord of Hosts planned to do to us, according to our ways and according to our deeds, so He has done with us.”’”

The Horsemen among the Myrtles

7 On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, which is the month of Shebat, in the second year of Darius, a prophetic message from the Lord came to Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo, the prophet, saying,

8 I saw in the night, and there was a man riding on a red horse, and he was standing among the myrtle trees that are in Babylon, and behind him were horses, red, dappled and white. 9 Then I said, “Who are these, my lord?” And the angel who was speaking with me said to me, “I will show you what these are.” 10 Then the man who was standing among the myrtle trees answered and said, “These are the ones the Lord has sent to go back and forth through the earth.” 11 And they answered the angel of the Lord who was standing among the myrtle trees, and said, “We have gone back and forth through the earth, and the whole earth sits at peace and at rest.”

12 Then the angel of the Lord answered and said, “Lord of Hosts, how long will You withhold mercy from Jerusalem and from the cities of the house of Judah, on which You have brought this curse for seventy years?” 13 And the Lord answered the angel who was speaking with me with good words, words of comfort.

14 So the angel who was speaking with me said to me, “Prophesy, saying, ‘This is what the Lord of Hosts says: I am avenging Jerusalem, and I am very zealous for Zion. 15 And I am very angry with the nations that live at ease, for I was only a little angry with My people, but they helped to make the harm worse. 16 Therefore this is what the Lord says: I will return to Jerusalem in mercy. My sanctuary will be built in it, says the Lord of Hosts, and the measuring line will be stretched out over the building of the walls of Jerusalem.’ 17 Prophesy again, saying, ‘This is what the Lord of Hosts says: The cities of My people will again be filled with good things, and the Lord will again comfort Zion and again take pleasure in Jerusalem.’”

The Four Kings and the Four Craftsmen

1 Then I lifted up my eyes and looked, and there were four kings. 2 And I said to the angel who was speaking with me, “Who are these?” And he said to me, “These are the kingdoms that scattered the people of Judah, Israel and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.”

3 Then the Lord showed me four craftsmen. 4 And I said, “What are these coming to do?” And he said, “These are the kingdoms that scattered the people of Judah and let no one walk upright, and these have come to terrify them, to break the kingdom of the nations that took up arms against the land of the house of Judah to send it into exile.”

The Man with the Measuring Line

5 Then I lifted up my eyes and looked, and there was a man with a measuring line in his hand. 6 And I said, “Where are you going?” And he said to me, “To measure Jerusalem, to see how wide it is and how long it is.”

7 Then the angel who was speaking with me went out, and another angel came out to meet him. 8 And he said to him, “Run, speak to that young man, saying, ‘Jerusalem will be inhabited like open towns, because of the great number of people and cattle in it. 9 And My Memra will be for her, says the Lord, like a wall of fire surrounding her on every side, and I will make My Shekinah dwell in glory in her midst.’”

The Exiles Called Home

10 Up! Proclaim to the scattered ones and say to them, “Gather together and come from the land of the north,” says the Lord, “for I scattered you like the four winds of heaven,” says the Lord. 11 Proclaim to the congregation of Zion and say to her, “Escape and come, you who live in the province of Babylon.”

12 For this is what the Lord of Hosts says: After the glory that was promised to come to you, He has sent me against the nations that plunder you, for whoever harms you is like a man who reaches out his hand to touch the pupils of his own eyes. 13 For I am about to raise the blow of My might against them, and those who served them will plunder them, and you will know that the Lord of Hosts has sent me.

14 Sing and rejoice, congregation of Zion, for I am about to reveal Myself and make My Shekinah dwell in your midst, says the Lord. 15 Many nations will join the people of the Lord at that time, and they will be a people before Me, and I will make My Shekinah dwell in your midst, and you will know that the Lord of Hosts has sent me to prophesy to you. 16 And the Lord will give the house of Judah their portion as an inheritance in the holy land, and will again take pleasure in Jerusalem.

17 All the wicked will come to an end before the Lord, for He has revealed Himself from His holy dwelling.

Joshua the High Priest

1 Then He showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and the sinner standing at his right hand to accuse him. 2 And the Lord said to the sinner, “May the Lord rebuke you, sinner, and may the Lord, who has chosen to make His Shekinah dwell in Jerusalem, rebuke you. Is this not a burning stick rescued from the fire?”

3 Now Joshua had sons who had married women unfit for the priesthood, and he was standing before the angel. 4 And the angel answered and said to those who served before him, “Tell him to send the women who are unfit for the priesthood away from his house.” And he said to him, “See, I have taken your guilt away from you, and I have clothed you with merit.” 5 And I said, “Let them put a clean turban on his head.” So they put a clean turban on his head and gave him a wife fit for the priesthood, while the angel of the Lord stood by.

The Promise to Joshua

6 Then the angel of the Lord solemnly warned Joshua, saying, 7 “This is what the Lord of Hosts says: If you walk in ways that are right before Me, and if you keep what My Memra requires of you, then you will also judge those who serve in My sanctuary and also keep My courts, and at the resurrection of the dead I will bring you to life and give you feet that walk among these seraphim.

8 Listen now, Joshua the high priest, you and Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, your companions who sit before you, for they are men worthy of having a miracle done for them. For I am about to bring My servant the Messiah, and he will be revealed. 9 For here is the stone that I have set before Joshua. On one stone there are seven eyes looking at it. I am about to reveal what it means, says the Lord of Hosts, and I will remove the sins of that land in one day. 10 At that time, says the Lord of Hosts, each of you will invite his neighbor under the fruit of his vine and under the fruit of his fig tree.”

The Gold Lampstand

1 Then the angel who was speaking with me came back and woke me, like a man who is woken from his sleep. 2 And he said to me, “What do you see?” And I said, “I see a lampstand made entirely of gold with its bowl on its top, and its seven lamps on it, and seven and seven spouts that pour oil from them into the gold lamps on its top. 3 And there are two olive trees by it, one on the right of the bowl and one on its left.”

4 Then I answered and said to the angel who was speaking with me, “What are these, my lord?” 5 And the angel who was speaking with me answered and said to me, “Don’t you know what these are?” And I said, “No, my lord.”

The Word to Zerubbabel

6 Then he answered and said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: Not by an army and not by strength, but by My Memra, says the Lord of Hosts. 7 What do you count for, foolish kingdom, before Zerubbabel? Are you not like a plain? And He will reveal His Messiah, whose name was spoken long ago, and he will rule over all the kingdoms.”

8 And a prophetic message from the Lord came to me, saying, 9 “The hands of Zerubbabel have begun to build this house, and his hands will finish it, and you will know that the Lord of Hosts has sent me to prophesy to you. 10 For who is this who looked down on this day because the building is small? Will he not turn and rejoice when he sees the plumb stone in the hand of Zerubbabel? There are seven courses of stone like these. Before the Lord the deeds of human beings in all the earth are revealed.”

The Two Olive Trees

11 Then I answered and said to him, “What are these two olive trees on the right of the lampstand and on its left?” 12 And I answered a second time and said to him, “What are the two olive branches beside the two gold pipes that pour oil from them into the gold lamps?” 13 And he said to me, “Don’t you know what these are?” And I said, “No, my lord.” 14 Then he said, “These are the two sons of the great ones who stand before the Lord of all the earth.”

The Flying Scroll

1 Then I turned again and lifted up my eyes and looked, and there was a flying scroll. 2 And he said to me, “What do you see?” And I said, “I see a flying scroll. Its length is twenty cubits and its width ten cubits.” 3 Then he said to me, “This is the curse that is going to go out over the face of all the earth, for everyone who steals and lies will be struck by it, and everyone who swears falsely by My name will be struck by it. 4 I have sent it out, says the Lord of Hosts, and it will enter the house of the thief and the house of the one who swears falsely by My name, and it will stay in his house and destroy it, its timbers and its stones.”

The People Who Traded with a False Measure

5 Then the angel who was speaking with me went out and said to me, “Lift up your eyes now and see who these are who are going into exile.” 6 And I said, “Who are they?” And he said, “These are the people who used to trade with a false measure.” And he said, “See, they are going into exile before all the inhabitants of the earth. 7 And see, swift nations are carrying them into exile swiftly, and other nations have come and settled in their place, because they traded with a false measure.” 8 And he said, “Because of this they were found guilty and went into exile, because they traded with a false measure, and other nations came and settled in their place.”

9 Then I lifted up my eyes and looked, and there were two provinces going into exile, and swift nations were carrying them into exile swiftly, as an eagle swoops down. And they carried off the people who traded with a false measure among the kingdoms of the peoples of the earth under the whole sky. 10 And I said to the angel who was speaking with me, “Where are they taking the people who traded with a false measure into exile?” 11 And he said to me, “To prepare a place for them in the province of Babylon, and they will be detained and held back there until their time comes.”

The Four Chariots

1 Then I turned again and lifted up my eyes and looked, and there were four chariots coming out from between two mountains, and the mountains were mountains of bronze. 2 With the first chariot were red horses, and with the second chariot black horses, 3 with the third chariot white horses, and with the fourth chariot dappled and ash-gray horses.

4 Then I answered and said to the angel who was speaking with me, “What are these, my lord?” 5 And the angel answered and said to me, “These are four kingdoms, which are like the four winds of heaven, going out after presenting themselves before the Lord of all the earth. 6 The one with the black horses is going out to the land of the north, and the white ones went out after them, and the dappled ones went out to the land of the south. 7 And the gray ones went out, eager to go and travel through the earth.” And he said, “Go, travel through the earth.” And they traveled through the earth. 8 Then he called out to me and spoke with me, saying, “See those going out to the land of the north. He said to them, ‘Carry out My will in the land of the north.’”

The Crown and the Man Named Messiah

9 And a prophetic message from the Lord came to me, saying, 10 “Take from the exiles, from Heldai, from Tobijah and from Jedaiah, and come at that time and go into the house of Josiah, the son of Zephaniah, where they have come from Babylon. 11 Take silver and gold and make a great crown, and set it on the head of Joshua, the son of Jehozadak, the high priest.

12 And say to him, ‘This is what the Lord of Hosts says: Here is the man whose name is Messiah, who is going to be revealed and grow great, and he will build the temple of the Lord. 13 He will build the temple of the Lord, and he will take on splendor, and he will sit and rule on his throne. And there will be a high priest serving beside his throne, and there will be a counsel of peace between the two of them.’ 14 And it will bring honor to Helem, to Tobijah, to Jedaiah and to Hen, the son of Zephaniah, as a memorial in the temple of the Lord. 15 And those who are far away will come and build in the temple of the Lord, and you will know that the Lord of Hosts has sent me to prophesy to you. And this will happen if you truly listen to the Memra of the Lord your God.”

The Question about Fasting

1 In the fourth year of King Darius, a prophetic message from the Lord came to Zechariah on the fourth day of the ninth month, Kislev. 2 Sharezer and Regem-Melech and his men sent to Bethel to pray before the Lord, 3 saying to the priests who serve in the sanctuary of the Lord of Hosts and to the scribes, “Should I weep in the fifth month, denying myself every comfort, as I have done for so many years?”

4 Then a prophetic message from the Lord of Hosts came to me, saying, 5 “Say to all the people of the land and to the priests, ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth month and in the seventh for these seventy years, was it a fast of self-denial that you kept before Me? 6 And when you eat and when you drink, is it not for your own good that you eat and for your own good that you drink? 7 Are these not the words that the Lord sent through the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and at peace, with its cities around it, and the south and the lowland were inhabited?’”

Justice and Mercy, Not Fasting

8 And a prophetic message from the Lord came to Zechariah, saying, 9 “This is what the Lord of Hosts says: Judge with true judgment, and show kindness and compassion, each to his brother. 10 Do not oppress the widow, the orphan, the convert or the poor, and do not plot harm against one another in your hearts.”

11 But they refused to listen. They turned a rebellious shoulder and stopped their ears so they would not hear. 12 They made their hearts as hard as flint, so they would not accept the law and the words that the Lord of Hosts sent by His Memra through the former prophets. So there was great anger from the Lord of Hosts. 13 “And just as the prophets prophesied to them and they would not listen, so they will pray before Me and I will not accept their prayer,” says the Lord of Hosts. 14 “And I scattered them among nations they had not known, and the land behind them was left desolate, with no one passing through or returning, for they made the desirable land a desolation.”

Zion Restored

1 And a prophetic message from the Lord of Hosts came to me, saying, 2 “This is what the Lord of Hosts says: I am avenging Zion with great zeal, and great anger goes out from Me against the nations that provoked her. 3 This is what the Lord says: I will return to Zion and make My Shekinah dwell in the midst of Jerusalem, and Jerusalem will be called the city of truth, and the mountain of the sanctuary of the Lord of Hosts the holy mountain.

4 “This is what the Lord of Hosts says: Old men and old women will again sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each one sheltered by his good deeds into great old age. 5 And the squares of the city of Jerusalem will be filled with boys and girls singing praises in its squares.

6 “This is what the Lord of Hosts says: When the fear of Me seems precious in the eyes of the remnant of this people in those days, they will also be precious before Me, says the Lord of Hosts.

7 “This is what the Lord of Hosts says: I am about to redeem My people from the land of the east and from the land where the sun sets. 8 And I will bring them in, and they will live in the midst of Jerusalem, and they will be a people before Me, and I will be their God in truth and in righteousness.

9 “This is what the Lord of Hosts says: Let your hands be strong, you who in these days hear these words from the mouth of the prophets of the Lord, who spoke on the day the sanctuary of the Lord of Hosts began to be completed, the temple to be built. 10 For before those days came, there were no wages for people and no wages for animals, and for those going out and those coming in there was no peace from the oppressor, and I set all people against one another. 11 But now I am not toward the remnant of this people as I was in the former days, says the Lord of Hosts. 12 For at that time the seed will be at peace, the vine will give its fruit, the land will give its produce, and the heavens will serve them with their dew, and I will give the remnant of this people all these blessings as an inheritance. 13 And just as you were a curse among the nations, house of Judah and house of Israel, so I will redeem you, and you will be blessed. Do not be afraid. Let your hands be strong.

14 “For this is what the Lord of Hosts says: Just as I planned to bring harm on you when your ancestors provoked Me to anger, says the Lord of Hosts, and I did not turn back from My Memra, 15 so I have turned again and planned in these days to do good to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. Do not be afraid.

16 “These are the things you are to do: Speak the truth, each with his neighbor. Judge with truth and with a judgment that makes peace in your cities. 17 Do not plot harm against one another in your hearts, and do not love a false oath, for all these are things I have rejected, says the Lord.”

Fasts Turned into Festivals

18 And a prophetic message from the Lord of Hosts came to me, saying, 19 “This is what the Lord of Hosts says: The fast of the fourth month, the fast of the fifth, the fast of the seventh and the fast of the tenth will become joy and gladness and good festivals for the house of Judah. So love truth and peace.”

The Nations Seek the Lord

20 “This is what the Lord of Hosts says: Peoples will yet come, and the inhabitants of many cities. 21 The inhabitants of one will go to another, saying, ‘Let us go to pray before the Lord and to seek instruction from the Lord of Hosts.’ Each will say to the other, ‘I will go too.’ 22 And many peoples and great kings will come to seek instruction from the Lord of Hosts in Jerusalem and to pray before the Lord.

23 “This is what the Lord of Hosts says: In those days ten men from all the languages of the nations will take hold. They will take hold of the hem of a Jewish man’s robe, saying, ‘We will go with you, for we have heard that the Memra of the Lord is your help.’”

Judgment on Israel’s Neighbors

1 The oracle of the word of the Lord concerning the land of the south: Damascus will again be part of the land of the house of His Shekinah, for before the Lord the deeds of human beings are revealed, and He has taken pleasure in all the tribes of Israel. 2 And Hamath too will again be part of the land of the house of His Shekinah, and Tyre and Sidon, for she is very strong. 3 Tyre has built herself a stronghold, and she has heaped up silver like dust and gold like the mud of the streets. 4 See, the Lord will drive her out and throw her wealth into the sea, and she will be burned up with fire.

5 Ashkelon will see it and be afraid, and Gaza will tremble greatly, and Ekron too, for she is put to shame by the house she trusted in. The king will perish from Gaza, and Ashkelon will not be inhabited. 6 And the house of Israel will settle in Ashdod, where they were like foreigners, and I will bring the greatness of the Philistines to an end. 7 And I will destroy from among them those who eat blood and detestable things, and their armies will come to an end. And the converts who remain among them will also be added to the people of our God, and they will be like the leaders of the house of Judah, and Ekron will be filled with the house of Israel like Jerusalem. 8 And I will make the Shekinah of My glory dwell in My sanctuary, and the strength of the arm of My might will be like a wall of fire surrounding it on every side against all who pass through or return, and rulers will no longer pass over them, for now I have revealed My might to do them good.

The Coming King

9 Rejoice greatly, congregation of Zion! Shout, congregation of Jerusalem! See, your king is coming to you. He is righteous and brings redemption, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. 10 And I will destroy the chariots from Ephraim and the horses from Jerusalem, and the strength of the warriors, the armies of the nations, will be broken. And he will decree peace for the kingdoms, and he will rule from the sea to the west, and from the Euphrates to the ends of the earth.

The Prisoners of Hope

11 You too, for whom a covenant was made over blood: I redeemed you from slavery to the Egyptians, and I supplied your needs in a barren wilderness, like an empty pit with no water in it. 12 Return and become strong cities, you prisoners who hope for redemption. Even today I send word to tell you that I will bring you twice the good things I promised you.

13 For I have made the house of Judah strong before Me like a bow drawn in the armory. I have filled the house of Israel with might, and I will make your sons, Zion, mightier than the sons of the nations and make you like a sword in the hand of a warrior. 14 And the Lord will reveal Himself over them, and His words will go out like lightning. And before the Lord God the trumpet will sound, and He will lead them on in a storm wind from the south. 15 The Lord of Hosts will have mercy on them, and they will rule over the nations and kill them, and they will finish off the rest of them as one hurls a stone with a sling. They will plunder their possessions and be filled with them like one who drinks wine, and their souls will be full of delights like a basin full of fine flour and oil, and they will gleam like the blood that gleams on the wall of the altar.

16 And the Lord their God will redeem them at that time, because His people were scattered like sheep, for He will choose them like the stones of the ephod and bring them near to their land. 17 For how good and how beautiful is the teaching of the law to the leaders, and true justice established in the synagogue!

The Lord Cares for His Flock

1 Ask the Lord for rain at the time of the late rain. The Lord makes the winds and brings down rain on people, to give them grain to eat and grass for the cattle in the field. 2 For the idol worshipers speak wickedness, and the diviners prophesy falsehood, and the false prophets speak falsehood in their false prophecy. They give comfort for nothing. Therefore the people were scattered as a flock is scattered. They went into exile because there was no king.

3 My anger was against the kings, and I am punishing the rulers for their sins. For the Lord of Hosts remembers His people, the house of Jacob, and will make them like a strong horse, splendid in battle. 4 From him will come his king, from him his Messiah, from him the strength of his battle, from him all his leaders will rise together. 5 The house of Israel will be like warriors who trample those killed among the nations like the mud of the streets in battle, and they will fight, for the Memra of the Lord is their help, and the riders on horses will be put to shame.

The Exiles Brought Home

6 And I will strengthen the house of Judah and redeem the house of Joseph. I will gather their exiles and have mercy on them, and they will be as though I had never driven them away, for I am the Lord their God, and I will accept their prayer. 7 The house of Ephraim will be like warriors, and their hearts will rejoice like one who drinks wine. Their children will see it and rejoice, and their hearts will be joyful in the Memra of the Lord. 8 I will call out to gather their exiles and bring them near, for I have redeemed them, and they will multiply, just as it was said of them that they would multiply. 9 And just as I scattered them among the nations, and in a far land they remembered the fear of Me, so they will live long lives with their children and return.

10 And just as I brought them out of the land of Egypt, so I will bring their exiles near from Assyria, and I will bring them into the land of Gilead and the sanctuary, and it will not be enough for them. 11 And miracles and mighty deeds will be done for them, as they were done for their ancestors when they crossed the sea, and they will see the punishment of their enemies, as the warriors were drowned in the waves of the sea. All the kings of the nations will be put to shame, the strength of the Assyrian will come to an end, and the dominion of Egypt will pass away. 12 And I will make them mighty by the Memra of the Lord, and in His name they will walk redeemed, says the Lord.

Lament over the Rulers

1 Open your gates, you nations, and let fire consume your strongholds. 2 Wail, you kings, for the rulers are broken, and the property of the rich is plundered. Wail, you princes of the provinces, for your fortified city is plundered. 3 The sound of the kings crying out, for their cities are plundered! The sound of their roaring, like young lions when the heights of the Jordan dry up!

The Leaders Who Ruled the Flock

4 This is what the Lord my God says: Prophesy against the leaders who were appointed to lead the people, but they ruled them like sheep for the slaughter. 5 Those who buy them kill them and say, “We have no guilt,” and those who sell them say, “Blessed be the Lord, for we have become rich,” and their shepherds have no pity on them.

6 For I will no longer have pity on the inhabitants of the land, says the Lord. I am about to hand people over, each into the hand of his neighbor and into the hand of his king, and they will plunder the land, and I will not rescue them from their hand.

7 So I appointed leaders over the people, but they ruled them like sheep for the slaughter. They impoverished My people and drove them out, and they split into two factions before Me: the house of Israel broke away from the house of Judah, and they rejected the kingdom of the house of David, in whom I had taken pleasure to be leaders over My people. 8 And I destroyed the three leaders in one month, and My Memra rejected them, because their souls loathed My worship. 9 Then I said, “I will not appoint a leader over you. Those who are to die will die, those who are to be destroyed will be destroyed, and those who are left will plunder one another’s property.”

10 And I brought Sennacherib king of Assyria against the king of Israel, and I sent him into exile, because they had broken the covenant I made with them, not to worship idols. So they went into exile among the nations. 11 And because they broke the covenant, they went into exile at that time. And so the humble, the poor of the people, who did My will, knew that it was the word of the Lord.

12 And I said to them, “If it seems right to you, do My will, and if not, hold back.” And a few men did My will. 13 Then the Lord said to me, “Write the record of their deeds with a writing pen and cast it into the sanctuary, under the hand of the chief officer, because the fear of Me was precious in their eyes.” So I wrote the record of their deeds with a writing pen and cast it into the sanctuary of the Lord, under the hand of the chief officer.

14 And I brought Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon against Zedekiah, king of the tribe of the house of Judah, and I sent him into exile, because they too, those of the house of Judah, had broken the covenant, like their brothers the children of Israel.

The Foolish Leader

15 Then the Lord said to me again, “Go, prophesy against the foolish leader. 16 For I am about to raise up a leader in the land who will not seek those who stray, will not look for those who were driven out, will not heal the broken, will not support those who stand, and who will plunder the property of the rich and finish off the rest of them. 17 How terrible for the foolish leader to whom the people were entrusted to lead, who is like a butcher with his knife in his hand and his eyes on the fat animal he is about to slaughter! His arm will wither completely, and his right eye will grow completely dim.”

Jerusalem among the Nations

1 The oracle of the word of the Lord concerning Israel. The Lord, who hung the heavens, completed the earth and created the human spirit within, says, 2 “I am about to make Jerusalem a vessel full of intoxicating drink for all the peoples around her, and the nations will also bring the house of Judah by force to the siege of Jerusalem. 3 And at that time I will make Jerusalem a stone of stumbling for all the peoples. All who oppress her will surely be plundered, and all the nations of the earth will gather against her.

4 At that time, says the Lord, I will strike all the horses of the nations with confusion and their riders with madness, but over the house of Judah I will reveal My might to do them good, and I will strike all the horses of the nations with blindness. 5 And the leaders of Judah will say in their hearts, ‘Redemption has been found for the inhabitants of Jerusalem by the Memra of the Lord of Hosts their God.’ 6 At that time I will make the leaders of Judah like a blazing fire among wood and like a burning torch among sheaves, and they will plunder from the south and from the north all the possessions of the peoples around them, and Jerusalem will again be inhabited in her own place, and Jerusalem will prosper.

7 The Lord will redeem the cities of the house of Judah first, so that the pride of the house of David and the pride of the inhabitants of Jerusalem may not grow greater than that of the house of Judah. 8 At that time the Lord will have mercy on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the weak among them at that time will be like David, and the house of David will prosper like princes, like the angel of the Lord before them. 9 And at that time I will seek to destroy all the nations that gather and come against Jerusalem.”

Mourning in Jerusalem

10 “And I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of kindness and compassion, and they will plead before Me because they were driven into exile, and they will mourn over him as one mourns over an only child, and grieve bitterly over him as one grieves over a firstborn. 11 At that time the mourning in Jerusalem will be as great as the mourning for Ahab son of Omri, whom Hadad Rimmon son of Tabrimmon killed, and the mourning for Josiah son of Amon, whom Pharaoh the Lame killed in the valley of Megiddo.

12 “And the inhabitants of the land will mourn, family by family, their men by themselves and their women by themselves: the family of Solomon the king, of the house of David, by itself, their men by themselves and their women by themselves; the family of the house of Nathan the prophet, the son of David, their men by themselves and their women by themselves; 13 the family of the house of Levi by itself, their men by themselves and their women by themselves; the family of the house of Mordecai son of Jair son of Shimei, their men by themselves and their women by themselves; 14 all the families of Israel that are left, family by family, their men by themselves and their women by themselves.”

A Spring of Cleansing

1 At that time the teaching of the law will be revealed like a spring of water to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and I will forgive their sins, as people are made clean by the water of sprinkling and by the ashes of the heifer of the sin offering.

The End of False Prophecy

2 And at that time, says the Lord of Hosts, I will wipe out the names of the idols of the nations from the land, and they will no longer be remembered by name. I will also remove the false prophets and the spirit of impurity from the land. 3 And if anyone prophesies again, his father and his mother who bore him will say to him, “You will not live, for you have spoken falsehood in the name of the Lord.” And his father and his mother who bore him will seize him when he prophesies.

4 At that time the false prophets will be ashamed, each of his prophecy when he prophesies, and they will no longer prophesy falsehood in order to teach lies. 5 And he will say, “I am not a prophet. I am a man who works the land, for a man bought me as a slave when I was young.” 6 And someone will say to him, “What are these blows that have come on us? Is it not because of the works of our hands?” And he will say, “We have rightly been struck for the sins we loved.”

The Sword against the King

7 Sword, be revealed against the king and against the ruler, his companion and equal, who is like him, says the Lord of Hosts. Kill the king, and the rulers will be scattered, and I will turn the blow of My might against the lesser ones.

8 And in all the land, says the Lord, two parts of it will be destroyed and perish, and a third will be left in it. 9 And I will bring the third through distress, as through a furnace of fire, and refine them as silver is refined and test them as gold is tested. They will pray in My name, and I will accept their prayer. I have said, “They are My people,” and they will say, “The Lord is my God.”

The Day of the Lord

1 See, a day is coming from the Lord, and the house of Israel will divide the possessions of the nations in your midst, Jerusalem. 2 For I will gather all the nations to Jerusalem to make war. The city will be captured, the houses plundered and the women violated. Half of the city will go into exile, but the rest of the people will not be cut off from the city.

3 Then the Lord will reveal Himself and make war against those nations, as on the day He made war at the Red Sea. 4 At that time the Lord will take a great trumpet in His hand and blow ten blasts on it to bring the dead to life. And at that time He will reveal Himself in His might on the Mount of Olives, which faces Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives will split in two from its middle, to the east and to the west, into a very great valley. Half of the mountain will move toward the north and half toward the south. 5 And the valley of the mountains will be blocked, for the valley of the mountains will reach as far as Azal, and you will flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah, king of the tribe of the house of Judah. And the Lord my God will reveal Himself, and all His holy ones with Him.

6 At that time there will be no light, only cold and frost. 7 And it will be a single day, known before the Lord, neither like the light of day nor like the darkness of night, and at evening time there will be light.

Living Water and the Kingdom of the Lord

8 At that time a spring of water will flow out from Jerusalem, half of it to the eastern sea and half of it to the western sea. It will flow in summer and in winter. 9 And the kingdom of the Lord will be revealed over all the inhabitants of the earth. At that time they will serve before the Lord as one, for His name is established in the world, and there is no one besides Him.

10 The whole land will be turned into a plain from Geba to Rimmon, south of Jerusalem, and Jerusalem will grow and be inhabited in its place, from the Gate of the tribe of Benjamin to the place of the First Gate, to the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Pikkus to the king’s cisterns. 11 And people will live in it, and there will no longer be killing, and Jerusalem will live in safety.

The Plague on the Nations

12 And this will be the plague with which the Lord will strike all the nations that gather and come against Jerusalem: their flesh will rot while they stand on their feet, their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths. 13 At that time there will be a great, deadly panic among them from the Lord, and each will seize the hand of his neighbor, and his hand will be torn away together with the hand of his neighbor.

14 And the nations will bring even the house of Judah by force to make war in Jerusalem, and the wealth of all the nations around will be gathered, gold and silver and garments in great abundance. 15 And the plague on the horse, the mule, the camel, the donkey and all the cattle that are in those camps will be like this plague.

The Nations Worship in Jerusalem

16 And all who are left of all the nations that gather and come against Jerusalem will go up at the appointed time year after year to worship before the eternal King, the Lord of Hosts, and to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles. 17 And whoever of the families of the peoples of the earth does not go up to Jerusalem to worship before the eternal King, the Lord of Hosts, will have no rain fall on them. 18 And if the kingdom of Egypt does not go up and does not come, the Nile will not rise for them. Instead the plague will fall on them with which the Lord strikes the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles. 19 This will be the punishment of Egypt and the punishment of all the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles.

20 At that time “Holy before the Lord” will be on the harness bells of the horses, and the pots in the sanctuary of the Lord will be as many as the basins before the altar. 21 And every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah will be holy before the Lord of Hosts, and all who offer sacrifices will come and take some of them and cook in them. And at that time there will no longer be a trader in the sanctuary of the Lord of Hosts.