Cursed be their anger, for [it is] fierce, and their wrath, for [it is] cruel. I will divide them in Jacob, and I will scatter them in Israel.

The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff between his feet, until Shiloh comes. And to him shall be the obedience of nations.

He found him in a desert land, and in a howling, desert wasteland; he {encircled him}, he cared for him, he protected him like the {apple} of his eye.

In the fifth month, on the seventh of the month, that is, the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, Nebuzaradan, a commander of the imperial guard, a servant of the king of Babylon, came [to] Jerusalem.

But Josiah did not turn his face from him, but he disguised himself to fight with him. He did not listen to the words of Neco from the mouth of God, and he went out to fight in the plain of Megiddo. And the archers shot King Josiah, and the king said to his servants, "Take me away, for I am badly wounded." read more. So his servants took him out of the chariot and transported him in his second chariot and brought him to Jerusalem. And he died and was buried in the burial sites of his ancestors. And all Judah and Jerusalem mourned over Josiah. And Jeremiah uttered a lament for Josiah, and all the male and female singers have spoken in their laments about Josiah to this day. And they made them a requirement in Israel, and behold, they are written in the laments.

Now the prophets, Haggai and Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophesied to the Jews who were in {Judah} and in Jerusalem, in the name of the God of Israel who was over them.

So the elders of the Jews were building and prospering, through the prophecy of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah son of Iddo. They finished building by the command of the God of Israel and by the decree of Cyrus, Darius, and King Artaxerxes of Persia.

And a shoot will come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from its roots will bear fruit.

Surely your sites of ruins and desolate [places] and land of ruins, surely now you will be {too cramped for your} inhabitants, and those who engulfed you will be far away. Yet the children {born when you were bereaved} will say in your {hearing}, "The place is [too] cramped for me; {make room} for me so that I can dwell."

And you shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of Yahweh, and a headband of royalty in the hand of your God.

{And then} in the seventh month Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, from the offspring of the kingship, and [one of] the chief officers of the king, came to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam [at] Mizpah, {along with} ten men. And they ate bread together there at Mizpah. And Ishmael the son of Nethaniah got up, {along with} the ten men who were with him, and they struck Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, with the sword and killed him whom the king of Babylon had appointed [in an official position] over the land.

{And then} in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, on the tenth [day] of the month, Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon came against Jerusalem, he and all his army. And they laid siege to it, and built siege works against it all around.

In the fourth month, on [the] ninth [day] of the month, the famine in the city became severe and there was no food for the people of the land.

And I will bring you from the peoples, and I will gather you from the countries [to] which you were scattered with strong hand and with an outstretched arm and with rage poured out. Then I will bring you to the desert of the peoples, and I will execute justice on you there face to face. read more. {Just as} I executed justice on your ancestors in the desert of the land of Egypt, likewise I will execute justice on you!" {declares} the Lord Yahweh. "And I will make you pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant. And I will purge the rebels from [among] you and the [ones] transgressing against me; I will bring them out from the land {where they are living as aliens}, but into the land of Israel they will not come, and [then] you will know that I [am] Yahweh.

And the word of Yahweh {came} to me, {saying}, "And you, son of man, take for yourself {a piece of wood}, and write on it, 'For Judah and for the {Israelites} his associates,' and take another [piece of] wood, and write on it, 'For Joseph, [the piece of] wood of Ephraim and all of the house of Israel his associates.' read more. And join them one to [the] other with respect to you [as] one [piece of] wood, so that they may become one in your hand. {When} {your people} say to you, {saying}, 'Will you not inform us [as to] what these [actions] mean for you?' [Then] speak to them, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh: "Look! I [am] taking [the piece of] wood for Joseph that [is] in the hand of Ephraim and the tribes of Israel its associates, and I will put them on it, [the piece of] wood of Judah, and I will make them into one [piece of] wood, so that they be one in my hand.'" And the [pieces of] wood [on] which you wrote will be in your hand before their eyes. And speak to them, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh: "Look! I [am] taking the {Israelites} from among {the nations to which they went}, and I will gather them from {everywhere}, and I will bring them to their [own] soil. And I will make them into one nation in the land on the mountains of Israel, and {they will all have one king as their king}, and they will not again be two nations and will not again divide into two kingdoms again. And they will not defile themselves again with their idols and with vile idols and with all of their transgressions, and I will save them from all of their apostasy {by which they sinned}, and I will cleanse them and they will be for me as a people and I, I will be for them as God. " '"And my servant David [will be] king over them, and one shepherd will be for all of them, and in my regulations they will go, and my statutes they will observe, and they will do them. And they will dwell on the land that I gave to my servant, to Jacob, {in which your ancestors dwelled}, and they will dwell on it, they and their children and the children of their children {forever}, and my servant David [will be] a leader for them {forever}. And I will make with them a covenant of peace; {an everlasting covenant} it will be with them. And I will establish them, and I will cause them to increase, and I will put my sanctuary in the midst of them {forever}. And my tabernacle will be with them, and I will be for them as God, and they will be to me as a nation. And the nations will know that I, Yahweh, [am] consecrating Israel when my sanctuary [is] in the midst of them {forever}." '"

{Inasmuch as} you saw that a stone from the mountain was chiseled out [but] not by hands, and [that] it crushed the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold, [thereby] the great God made known to the king what will be {in the future}, and the dream is certain and its explanation trustworthy."

In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of Yahweh came to the prophet Zechariah son of Berekiah, son of Iddo, saying, "Yahweh {was very angry with your ancestors}. read more. You must say to them: 'Thus says Yahweh of hosts: "Return to me," {declares} Yahweh of hosts, "and I will return to you," says Yahweh of hosts. "Do not be like your ancestors, to whom the former prophets proclaimed, saying, 'Thus says Yahweh of hosts: "Return from your evil ways and your evil deeds!" ' But they did not hear and they did not pay attention to me," {declares} Yahweh. "Your ancestors, where are they? And the prophets, do they live forever? However, did not my words and my regulations which I commanded my servants the prophets overtake your ancestors? And they repented and said, 'Yahweh of hosts planned to do with us according to our ways, and according to our deeds so he has dealt with us.'" '" On the twenty-fourth day of [the] eleventh month, the month of Shebat, in the second year of Darius, the word of Yahweh came to Zechariah the prophet, son of Berekiah, son of Iddo, saying,

On the twenty-fourth day of [the] eleventh month, the month of Shebat, in the second year of Darius, the word of Yahweh came to Zechariah the prophet, son of Berekiah, son of Iddo, saying, {I had a vision in the night}, and look, a man riding on a red horse. And he [was] standing between the myrtle shrubs that [were] in the ravine, and behind him [were] red, reddish-brown, and white horses.

{I had a vision in the night}, and look, a man riding on a red horse. And he [was] standing between the myrtle shrubs that [were] in the ravine, and behind him [were] red, reddish-brown, and white horses. And I asked, "What [are] these, my lord?" And the angel [who was] talking with me said, "I will show you what these are." read more. And the man standing between the myrtle shrubs answered and said, "These [are] those whom Yahweh has sent to patrol [the] earth." And they answered the angel of Yahweh who was standing between the myrtle shrubs, and they said, "We have patrolled the earth, and look, all the earth {is dwelling in peace}." The angel of Yahweh answered and said, "O Yahweh of hosts, {how long} will you have no compassion on Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, [with] which you showed fury these seventy years?" [With] gracious and comforting words Yahweh answered the angel who was talking with me. And the angel who was talking with me said to me, "Proclaim, saying, 'Thus says Yahweh of hosts: "{I am very jealous} for Jerusalem and for Zion! And {I am extremely angry} with the nations that are at ease, for [while] I was a little angry, they {furthered disaster}." Therefore, thus says Yahweh: "I have returned to Jerusalem with compassion. My temple will be built in it," {declares} Yahweh of hosts, "and a measuring line will be stretched out over Jerusalem." ' Proclaim again, saying, 'Thus says Yahweh of hosts: "My cities shall again overflow from prosperity, and Yahweh will comfort Zion again, and he will choose Jerusalem again." '" And I {looked up} and I saw, and look, [there were] four horns! And I said to the angel [who was] talking with me, "What [are] these?" And he said to me, "These [are] the horns that have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem."

And I said to the angel [who was] talking with me, "What [are] these?" And he said to me, "These [are] the horns that have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem." Then Yahweh showed me four skilled craftsmen, read more. and I asked, "What [are] these coming to do?" And he answered, saying, "These [are] the horns that scattered Judah, {so that no man} lifted up his head; but these have come to frighten them, to strike down the horns of the nations that lifted a horn against the land of Judah to scatter it."

For thus said Yahweh of hosts, after glory he sent me against the nations plundering you: Truly, the one touching you [is] touching the apple of his eye.

Listen, please, O Joshua the high priest, you and your companions that are sitting {before} you. For [the] men [are] a sign that, look, I [am] going to bring my servant [the] Branch. For consider, the stone that {I set before} Joshua, on one stone [are] seven eyes. Look, {I am going to engrave an inscription on it},' {declares} Yahweh of hosts, 'and I will remove the guilt of that land in a single day.

And the angel [who was] talking with me returned, and he wakened me as one who is wakened from his sleep. And he said to me, "What do you see?" And I said, "I see, and look, {a lampstand all of gold}, and a bowl [was] on its top, and its seven lamps on it, and seven lips on [each of] the lamps that [are] on its top. read more. And [there are] two olive trees by it, one on the right of the bowl and the other on its left."

And he answered and said to me, "This [is] the word of Yahweh to Zerubbabel, saying, 'Not by strength and not by power, but [only] by my Spirit,' says Yahweh of hosts. 'Who [are] you O great mountain? {Before} Zerubbabel [you will become] level ground, and he will bring out the top stone amid the shouts of "Grace, grace to it!" '"

'Who [are] you O great mountain? {Before} Zerubbabel [you will become] level ground, and he will bring out the top stone amid the shouts of "Grace, grace to it!" '" And the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, read more. "The hands of Zerubbabel have founded this house, and his hands will finish it. And you will know that Yahweh of hosts has sent me to you. For whoever has despised the day of small [things] will rejoice and will see the {plumb line} in the hand of Zerubbabel." These seven [are] the eyes of Yahweh which [are] ranging {throughout the whole earth}.

For whoever has despised the day of small [things] will rejoice and will see the {plumb line} in the hand of Zerubbabel." These seven [are] the eyes of Yahweh which [are] ranging {throughout the whole earth}. And I answered and said to him, "What [are] these two olive trees on the right of the lampstand and on its left?" read more. And I replied a second [time] and asked him, "What [are] these two twigs of olive trees on the right of the lampstand and on its left?" And he replied to me, "Do you not know what these [are]?" And I said, "No, my lord." And he said, "These [are] the two {anointed ones} standing by the Lord of the whole earth."

{I looked up again}, and I saw, and look!--a flying scroll! And he asked me, "What [are] you seeing?" And I said, "I [am] seeing a flying scroll twenty cubits long and ten cubits wide." read more. And he said to me, "This [is] the curse going out over the surface of the whole earth. For everyone who steals has gone unpunished according to it, and [likewise] everyone who swears [falsely] has gone unpunished according to it. 'I have sent it out,' {declares} Yahweh of hosts, 'and it will go into the house of the thief and into the house of the one swearing {falsely by my name}, and it will spend the night in that house and will destroy it, with its timber and its stone.'" And the angel who was speaking to me went out, and he said to me, "{Please look up}! See what this [is] going out." And I asked, "What [is] it?" And he said, "This [is] a basket going out. And he said, "This [is] their iniquity throughout all the earth. And look, the lead cover was lifted and a woman [was] sitting inside the basket. And he said, "This [is] Wickedness!" And he thrust her [back down] into the basket, and threw the lead cover on top of it. And I {looked up} and saw, and look!--two women coming forward, and [the] wind [was] in their wings, and they had wings like those of a stork, and they lifted up the basket between the earth and the sky. And I asked the angel who was talking to me, "Where [are] they taking the basket?" And he said to me, "To build for it a house in the land of Shinar, and [when] it is put in place, it will be placed there on its site."

{I looked up again}, and I saw, and look!--four chariots coming out from between two mountains, and the mountains [were] mountains of bronze. With the first chariot [there were] red horses, and with the second chariot [there were] black horses. read more. And with the third chariot [there were] white horses, and with the fourth chariot [there were] strong dappled horses.

And with the third chariot [there were] white horses, and with the fourth chariot [there were] strong dappled horses. And I answered and said to the angel [that was] talking to me, "What [are] these, my lord?" read more. And the angel answered and said to me, "These [are] the four winds of the heavens going out after presenting themselves before the Lord of all the earth.

And the angel answered and said to me, "These [are] the four winds of the heavens going out after presenting themselves before the Lord of all the earth.

And the angel answered and said to me, "These [are] the four winds of the heavens going out after presenting themselves before the Lord of all the earth. {The one with} the black horses [is] going out to [the] north country, and the white [horses] go after them, while the dappled [ones] go to the south country."

{The one with} the black horses [is] going out to [the] north country, and the white [horses] go after them, while the dappled [ones] go to the south country." When the strong [horses] went out, they were anxious to go to patrol the earth. And he said, "Go, patrol the earth." And they patrolled the earth.

When the strong [horses] went out, they were anxious to go to patrol the earth. And he said, "Go, patrol the earth." And they patrolled the earth. And he cried out to me and said to me, "See those going out to [the] north country have set my spirit at rest in the north country."

And he cried out to me and said to me, "See those going out to [the] north country have set my spirit at rest in the north country." And the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, read more. "Collect from the exiles--from Heldai, Tobijah, and from Jedaiah, [all of] whom came from Babylon--and go on that day, go [to the] house of Josiah son of Zephaniah.

"Collect from the exiles--from Heldai, Tobijah, and from Jedaiah, [all of] whom came from Babylon--and go on that day, go [to the] house of Josiah son of Zephaniah. Take [the] silver and gold and make a crown, and set [it] on the head of Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest. read more. And say to him, 'Thus says Yahweh of hosts: "Look, [here is] a man whose name [is] Branch, and from his place he will sprout, and he will build the temple of Yahweh.

And say to him, 'Thus says Yahweh of hosts: "Look, [here is] a man whose name [is] Branch, and from his place he will sprout, and he will build the temple of Yahweh. And he will build the temple of Yahweh, and he will bear majesty and will sit and rule on his throne. And he shall be a priest on his throne, and the counsel of peace will be between the two of them." ' read more. And the crown will be for Helem, for Tobijah, for Jedaiah, and for Hen son of Zephaniah, as a memorial in the temple of Yahweh. And those who are far off will come and build the temple of Yahweh, and you will know that Yahweh of hosts has sent me to you. And it will happen if you will listen diligently to the voice of Yahweh your God."

{And then}, in the fourth year of King Darius, the word of Yahweh came to Zechariah on [the] fourth [day] of the ninth month, [which is] Kislev.

"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?

{And then}, just as you were a curse among the nations, O house of Judah and house of Israel, so will I save you, and you will be a blessing. You must not be afraid; let your hands be strong!'"

Tyre has built a fortification for itself, and it heaped up silver like dust, and gold like [the] mud of [the] streets. Look! The Lord will drive it out and will hurl its outer ramparts into the sea, and it will be consumed by fire. read more. Ashkelon will see and will be afraid, and Gaza will writhe exceedingly, and Ekron [also], because its hope is ruined. And the king from Gaza will perish, and Ashkelon will not be inhabited. A mongrel people will dwell in Ashdod, and I will cut down the pride of [the] Philistines. I will remove its blood from its mouth, and its abominations from between its teeth. And it too will be a remnant for our God; and it will be like a tribal chief in Judah, and Ekron [will be] like [the] Jebusite. But I will encamp at my temple [like a] guard, against those crossing through and returning; no oppressor will cross through them again, for now I have seen with my [own] eyes.

And I took my staff Kindness and broke it, to break my covenant that I {had made} with all the peoples.

And Yahweh said to me, "Take again the implements of a foolish shepherd. For look, I [am] raising up a shepherd in the land who will not attend to the [ones that are] perishing; he will not seek the young man, he will not heal the [ones that are] crushed and he will not sustain the healthy [ones]; he will devour the flesh of the {fattened ones} and tear apart [even] their hoofs. read more. "Woe, my worthless shepherd who deserts the flock! [May] a sword [fall] on his arm and on {his right eye}! May his arm wither completely and {his right eye} be utterly blinded!"

On that day the wailing will be great in Jerusalem, like the wailing for Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo.

" 'On that day a well will be opened for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, {to cleanse them from sin and from impurity}. {And then}, on that day,' {declares} Yahweh of hosts, 'I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, and they will no longer be remembered; and also the prophets and the spirit of uncleanness I will banish from the land. read more. {And then}, if anyone prophesies again, his father and his mother who bore him will say to him, "You shall not live, because you have spoken a lie in the name of Yahweh!" And his father and his mother who bore him will pierce him through when he prophesies. {And then} on that day, each of the prophets will be ashamed because of his vision when he was prophesying, and they will not put on a cloak of hair in order to deceive, but he will say, "I [am] not a prophet; I am a tiller of the soil, for a man has acquired me since my youth." And someone shall say to him, "What [are] these wounds {between your arms}?" and he will say, "Those I have received [in] the house of [the ones who] love me." '" "O sword, awake against my shepherd, against [the] man [who is] my associate," {declares} Yahweh of hosts. "Strike the shepherd, so that the sheep may be scattered, and I will turn my hand against the small [ones]. {And then} in all the land," {declares} Yahweh, "{two thirds} will be cut off and perish, and one third will be left alive in it. And I will bring the [remaining] third into the fire, and I will refine them like [one] refines silver, and I will test them like [one] tests gold. They will call my name, and I will answer them. I will say, 'They are my people,' and they will say, 'Yahweh [is] my God.'"

And you will flee [by] the valley of my mountains, because the valley of [the] mountains will reach to Azal, and you will flee like you fled from the earthquake in the days of King Uzziah of Judah. And Yahweh my God will come, [and] all [the] holy ones with him. {And then} on that day there will not be light, the precious things will congeal.

Then the Pharisees went {and consulted} so that they could entrap him with a statement. And they sent their disciples to him with the Herodians, saying, "Teacher, we know that you are truthful and teach the way of God in truth, and {you do not care what anyone thinks}, {because you do not regard the opinion of people}. read more. Therefore tell us what you think. Is it permitted to pay taxes to Caesar or not?" But [because he] knew their maliciousness, Jesus said, "Hypocrites! Why are you testing me? Show me the coin for the tax!" So they brought him a denarius. And he said to them, "Whose image and inscription [is] this?" They said to him, "Caesar's." Then he said to them, "Therefore give to Caesar the things of Caesar, and to God the things of God!" And [when they] heard [this], they were astonished, and they left him [and] went away. On that day Sadducees--who say there is no resurrection--came up to him and asked him, saying, "Teacher, Moses said if someone dies without having children, his brother is to marry his wife and {father} descendants for his brother. Now there were seven brothers with us. And the first died [after] getting married, and [because he] did not have descendants, he left his wife to his brother. So also the second and the third, up to the seventh. And last of all the woman died. In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife of the seven will she be? For they all had her [as wife]." But Jesus answered [and] said to them, "You are mistaken, [because] you do not know the scriptures or the power of God! For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels of God in heaven. Now concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God, who said, "I am the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob"? He is not the God of the dead, but of the living!" And [when] the crowds heard [this], they were amazed at his teaching. Now [when] the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they assembled at the same [place]. And one of them, a legal expert, put a question to [him] to test him: "Teacher, which commandment [is] greatest in the law?" And he said to him, " 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the greatest and first commandment. And the second [is] like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets." Now [while] the Pharisees were assembled, Jesus asked them, saying, "What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?" They said to him, "David's." He said to them, "How then does David, by the Spirit, call him 'Lord,' saying, 'The Lord said to my Lord, "Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet" '? If then David calls him 'Lord,' how is he his son?" And no one was able to answer him a word, nor did anyone dare from that day [on] to ask him any more [questions].

Then Jesus said to them, "You will all fall away because of me during this night, for it is written, 'I will strike the shepherd and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.'

I have come in my Father's name, and you do not accept me. If another should come in his own name, you would accept that one!

Now some Greeks were among those who had gone up in order to worship at the feast. So these approached Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and began asking him saying, "Sir, we want to see Jesus." read more. Philip went and told Andrew. Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. And Jesus answered them, saying, "The hour has come that the Son of Man will be glorified. Truly, truly I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth [and] dies, it remains [by] itself alone. But if it dies, it bears much fruit.

And I saw in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures and in the midst of the elders a Lamb standing as though slaughtered, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent into all the earth.

These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth.

And I heard another voice from heaven saying, "Come out from her, my people, so that you will not participate in her sins, and so that you will not receive her plagues, because her sins have reached up to heaven, and God has remembered her crimes.