Therefore say thou unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Turn ye unto me, saith the LORD of hosts, and I will turn unto you, saith the LORD of hosts.

Do not be like your fathers, to whom the former prophets proclaimed, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, “Repent [that is, change your way of thinking] and return now from your evil way [of life] and from your evil deeds.”’ But they did not listen or pay attention to Me,” declares the Lord.

Only, My words, and My statutes, That I commanded My servants the prophets, Have they not overtaken your fathers, And they turn back and say: As Jehovah of Hosts designed to do to us, According to our ways, and according to our doings, So He hath done to us?'

And I say, 'What are these, my lord?' And the messenger who is speaking with me saith unto me, 'I -- I do shew thee what these are.'

And the one who is standing between the myrtles doth answer and say, 'These are they whom Jehovah hath sent to walk up and down in the land.'

And they answer the messenger of Jehovah who is standing between the myrtles, and say, 'We have walked up and down in the land, and lo, all the land is sitting still, and at rest.'

And the messenger of Jehovah will answer and say, O Jehovah of armies, how long wilt thou not compassionate Jerusalem and the cities of Judah with whom thou wert very angry this seventy years?

So the angel who was speaking with me said to me, “Proclaim, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, “I am jealous [with a burning, fiery passion] for Jerusalem and for Zion [demanding what is rightfully and uniquely mine] with a great jealousy.

Therefore, thus says the Lord, “I have returned to Jerusalem with mercy and compassion. My house shall be built in it,” says the Lord of hosts, “and a measuring line shall be stretched out over Jerusalem.”’

Proclaim again, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, “My cities shall again overflow with prosperity, and the Lord shall again comfort Zion and again choose Jerusalem.”’”

And I say unto the messenger who is speaking with me, 'What are these?' And he saith unto me, 'These are the horns that have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.'

And I say, 'What are these coming in to do?' And He speaketh, saying: 'These are the horns that have scattered Judah, so that no one hath lifted up his head, and these come in to trouble them, to cast down the horns of the nations who are lifting up a horn against the land of Judah -- to scatter it.'

And I say, 'Whither are thou going?' And he saith unto me, 'To measure Jerusalem, to see how much is its breadth, and how much its length.'

And he said to him, "Run, say to that young man, 'Jerusalem shall be inhabited {like villages without walls} because of the multitude of people and animals in its midst.

For I,’ declares the Lord, ‘will be a wall of fire around her [protecting her from enemies], and I will be the glory in her midst.’”

“Hear this! Flee from [Babylon] the land of the north [which shall come under judgment],” declares the Lord, “for I have scattered you like the four winds of the heavens,” declares the Lord.

For the Lord of Hosts says this: “He has sent Me for His glory against the nations who are plundering you, for anyone who touches you touches the pupil of His eye.

"I am about to punish them in such a way," he says, "that they will be looted by their own slaves." Then you will know that the Lord who rules over all has sent me.

Sing for joy and rejoice, O Daughter of Zion; for behold, I am coming, and I will dwell in your midst,” declares the Lord.

And Jehovah will say to the adversary, And Jehovah will rebuke in thee, thou adversary: and Jehovah having chosen in Jerusalem will rebuke in thee: is not this a fire-brand snatched from the fire?

And he will answer and say to them standing before him, saying, Remove the filthy garments from off him, And he will say to him, See, I caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and clothed thee with festive garments.

“Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘If you will walk in My ways [that is, remain faithful] and perform My service, then you will also govern My house and have charge of My courts, and I will give you free access [to My presence] among these who are standing here.

For behold, the stone which I have set before Joshua; on that one stone are seven eyes (symbolizing infinite intelligence, omniscience). Behold, I will engrave an inscription on it,’ declares the Lord of hosts, ‘and I will remove the wickedness and guilt of this land in a single day.

In that day,’ declares the Lord of hosts, ‘every one of you will invite his neighbor to sit under his vine and his fig tree [enjoying peace and prosperity in the kingdom].’”

and he saith unto me, 'What art thou seeing?' And I say, 'I have looked, and lo, a candlestick of gold -- all of it, and its bowl is on its top, and its seven lamps are upon it, and twice seven pipes are to the lights that are on its top,

And I shall answer and say to the messenger speaking with me, saying, What are these, my lord?

And the messenger who is speaking with me answereth and saith unto me, 'Hast thou not known what these are?' And I say, 'No, my lord.'

Then he said to me, “This [continuous supply of oil] is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel [prince of Judah], saying, ‘Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit [of whom the oil is a symbol],’ says the Lord of hosts.

And I answer and say unto him, 'What are these two olive-trees, on the right of the candlestick, and on its left?'

And I answer a second time, and say unto him, 'What are the two branches of the olive trees that, by means of the two golden pipes, are emptying out of themselves the oil?'

And he speaketh unto me, saying, 'Hast thou not known what these are?' And I say, 'No, my lord.'

And he will say, These the two sons of new oil standing by the Lord, of all the earth.

And he saith unto me, 'What art thou seeing?' And I say, 'I am seeing a flying roll, its length twenty by the cubit, and its breadth ten by the cubit.'

The speaker went on to say, "This is a curse traveling across the whole earth. For example, according to the curse whoever steals will be removed from the community; or on the other hand (according to the curse) whoever swears falsely will suffer the same fate."

I will send the curse out,” declares 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 spend the night in that house and consume it, both its timber and its stones.”

And the messenger speaking with me will go forth and say to me, Lift up now thine eyes and see what this going forth.

And I say, 'What is it?' And he saith, 'This -- the ephah that is coming forth.' And he saith, 'This is their aspect in all the land.

And he will say, This injustice. And he will cast her into the midst of the ephah; and he will cast a stone of lead upon its mouth.

And I say unto the messenger who is speaking with me, 'Whither are they causing the ephah to go?'

And he will say to me, To build for it a house in the land of Shiner: and it was prepared, and set there upon her base.

And I answer and say unto the messenger who is speaking with me, 'What are these, my lord?'

And the messenger will answer and say to me, These the four spirits of the heavens going forth from standing before the Lord of all the earth.

And the fleet went forth and they will seek to go in order to go to and fro in the earth: and he will say, Go; go to and fro in the earth. And they will go to and fro in the earth.

Then say to Joshua, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, “Behold (look, keep in sight, watch), a Man (Messiah) whose name is Branch, for He shall branch out from His place (Israel, the Davidic line); and He shall build the [ultimate] temple of the Lord.

And to say to the priests of the house of the Lord of armies and to the prophets, Am I to go on weeping in the fifth month, separating myself as I have done in past years?

"Say to all the people of the land and to the priests: 'When you fasted and lamented in the fifth and seventh months for these seventy years, did you really fast for me?

"Thus says Yahweh of hosts: 'Judge [with] trustworthy justice, and show steadfast love and compassion {to one another}.

And just as He called and they would not listen, so they called and I would not listen,” says the Lord of hosts;

“Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘I am jealous for Zion with great jealousy [demanding what is rightfully and uniquely mine], and I am jealous for her with great wrath [against her enemies].’

Thus says the Lord, ‘I shall return to Zion and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem, and Jerusalem shall be called the [faithful] City of Truth, and the mountain of the Lord of hosts will be called the Holy Mountain.’

Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘Old men and old women will again sit in the streets (public places) of Jerusalem, each man with his staff in his hand because of his advanced age.

Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘If it is difficult in the eyes of the remnant of this people in those days [in which this comes to pass], will it also be difficult in My sight?’ declares the Lord of hosts.

Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘Behold, I am going to save My people from the east country and from the west,

“Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘Let your hands be strong, you who in these days hear these words from the mouths of the prophets who, on the day that the foundation of the house of the Lord of hosts was laid, foretold that the temple might be rebuilt.

But now [in this time since you began to build] I will not treat the remnant of this people as in the former days,’ declares the Lord of hosts.

“For thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘Just as I planned to do harm to you when your fathers provoked Me to wrath,’ says the Lord of hosts, ‘and I did not relent,

These are the things which you are to do: Let every man say what is true to his neighbour; and let your judging give peace in your towns.

And let none of you devise or even imagine evil in your heart against another, and do not love lying or half-truths; for all these things I hate,’ declares the Lord.”

“Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘The fast of the fourth [month to mourn the breaching of Jerusalem’s walls], the fast of the fifth [month to mourn the temple’s destruction], the fast of the seventh [month to mourn Gedaliah’s assassination], and the fast of the tenth [month to mourn the siege of Jerusalem] will become times of joy and gladness and cheerful feasts for the house of Judah; so [to bring this about] love truth and peace.’

“Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘It will come to pass that peoples and the inhabitants of many cities will come [to Jerusalem].

And the people of one town go to another and say, Let us certainly go with a request for grace from the Lord, and to give worship to the Lord of armies, then I will go with you.

Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘In those days ten men [as representatives] from all the nations will grasp the robe of a Jew, saying, “Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.”’”

And he will have the war-carriage cut off from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem, and the bow of war will be cut off: and he will say words of peace to the nations: and his rule will be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.

And they will come back to you, O daughter of Zion, as prisoners of hope: today I say to you that I will give you back twice as much;

"I (says the Lord) will strengthen the kingdom of Judah and deliver the people of Joseph and will bring them back because of my compassion for them. They will be as though I had never rejected them, for I am the Lord their God and therefore I will hear them.

“And I will strengthen Israel in the Lord,
And they will walk [and glory] in His name,” declares the Lord.

Thus says the Lord my God, “Pasture the flock doomed for slaughter,

Whose possessors slay them, and hold themselves not guilty: and they that sell them say, Blessed be the LORD; for I am rich: and their own shepherds pity them not.

For I will no longer have pity on the inhabitants of the land,” declares the Lord; “but behold, I will cause the men to fall, each into the hand of another and into the hands of his [foreign] king. And the enemy will strike the land, and I will not rescue the people from their hand.”

And I say, 'I do not feed you, the dying, let die; and the cut off, let be cut off; and the remaining ones, let each eat the flesh of its neighbour.'

And I say unto them: 'If good in your eyes, give my hire, and if not, forbear;' and they weigh out my hire -- thirty silverlings.

And Jehovah will say to me, Cast it to the potter: a splendor of price which I was prized of them. And I shall take the thirty of silver and cast it in the house of Jehovah, to the potter.

And Jehovah will say to me, Yet take to thee the vessels of a foolish shepherd.

The oracle (a burdensome message) of the word of the Lord concerning Israel.

Thus declares the Lord who stretches out the heavens and lays the foundation of the earth and forms the spirit of man within him:

In that day,” declares the Lord, “I will strike every horse with panic and his rider with madness; but I will open My eyes and watch over the house of Judah, and will strike every horse of the [opposing] nations with blindness.

And the governors of Judah shall say in their heart, The inhabitants of Jerusalem shall be my strength in the LORD of hosts their God.

“In that day,” declares the Lord of hosts, “I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, and they will no longer be remembered. I will also remove the [false] prophets and the unclean spirit from the land.

And it shall come to pass, that when any shall yet prophesy, then his father and his mother that begat him shall say unto him, Thou shalt not live; for thou speakest lies in the name of the LORD: and his father and his mother that begat him shall thrust him through when he prophesieth.

But he shall say, I am no prophet, I am an husbandman; for man taught me to keep cattle from my youth.

And one shall say unto him, What are these wounds in thine hands? Then he shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.

“Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd,
And against the Man, My Associate,”
Declares the Lord of hosts.
“Strike the Shepherd so that the sheep [of the flock] may be scattered;
And I will turn My hand and stretch it out against the little ones [of the flock].

“It will come about in all the land,”
Declares the Lord,
“Two parts in it will be cut off and perish,
But the third will be left alive.

And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The LORD is my God.