Your fathers, where are they? and the prophets, do they live for ever?

Howbeit, as for my words and my statutes with which I charged my servants the prophets, did they not overtake your fathers? and so they returned and said, Just as Yahweh of hosts planned to do unto us, according to our ways and according to our practices, So hath he dealt with us?

Then the angel of the Lord, answering, said, O Lord of armies, how long will it be before you have mercy on Jerusalem and on the towns of Judah against which your wrath has been burning for seventy years?

And the messenger who is speaking with me, saith unto me, 'Call, saying: Thus said Jehovah of Hosts: I have been zealous for Jerusalem, and for Zion with great zeal.

And with great wrath I am wroth against the nations who are at ease, For I was a little wroth, and they assisted -- for evil.

For this, thus said Jehovah: I turned back to Jerusalem with mercies: my house shall be built in it, says Jehovah of armies, and a cord shall be stretched forth upon Jerusalem.

And again let your voice be loud and say, This is what the Lord of armies has said: My towns will again be overflowing with good things, and again the Lord will give comfort to Zion and take Jerusalem for himself.

Then the Lord showed me four craftsmen.

and said unto him, Run, speak to this young man, saying, Jerusalem shall be inhabited as towns without walls for the multitude of men and cattle therein;

And I will be for it a wall of fire all around,' {declares} Yahweh, 'and I will be [the] glory in its midst.'"

"Woe! Woe! Flee from [the] land of [the] north," {declares} Yahweh, "for I have scattered you like [the] four winds of the heavens," {declares} Yahweh.

Ho! Zion, deliver thyself, - thou that dwellest with the daughter of Babylon. For,

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.

"Yes, look! I [am] going to wave my hand against them, and they will become plunder for their servants, and you will know that Yahweh of hosts has sent me.

Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion, for look, I [am] coming and I will dwell in your midst," {declares} Yahweh.

And many nations shall join themselves to Jehovah in that day, and shall be unto me for a people; and I will dwell in the midst of thee, and thou shalt know that Jehovah of hosts hath sent me unto thee.

Be silent, {all people}, before Yahweh, for he is roused from {his holy dwelling}."

And he will cause me to see Joshua the great priest standing before the messenger of Jehovah, and the adversary standing upon his right hand for his adversary.

And the Lord said to the Satan, May the Lord's word be sharp against you, O Satan, the word of the Lord who has taken Jerusalem for himself: is this not a burning branch pulled out of the fire?

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.

Then shall every man call for his neighbour, under the vine and under the fig tree, sayeth the LORD of Hosts.

He asked me, “What do you see?”

I replied, “I see a solid gold lampstand there with a bowl on its top. It has seven lamps on it and seven channels for each of the lamps on its top.

Who art thou, O great mountain Before Zerubbabel -- for a plain! And he hath brought forth the top-stone, Cries of Grace, grace -- are to it.'

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 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 brought it forth, says Jehovah of armies, and it came into the house of the thief, and into the house of him swearing for falsehood in my name: and it lodged in the midst of his house, and it finished it and its wood and its stones.

And I said, What is it? And he said, This is the ephah that goes forth. And he said, This is their form in all the earth.

Then lift I up mine eyes, and looked: and behold, there came out two women, and the wind was in their wings, for they had wings like the wings of a stork: and they lift up the measure betwixt the earth and the heaven.

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."

Then say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, “Behold, a man whose name is Branch, for He will branch out from where He is; and He will build the temple of the Lord.

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.

What time as Sharezer and Regemmelech and the men that were with them, sent unto Bethel for to pray before the LORD:

saying to the {priests of the house of Yahweh of hosts} and to the prophets, "Should I mourn in the fifth month and keep myself separate as I have done for these many 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?

And when you eat and drink, are you not eating and drinking [for yourselves]?

This is what the Lord of armies has said: Let your judging be upright and done in good faith, let every man have mercy and pity for his brother:

And I toss them on all the nations, That they have not known, The land hath been desolate behind them, Of any passing by and turning back, And they set a desirable land for a desolation!

"Thus says Yahweh of hosts: '{I am exceedingly jealous for Zion}; I am jealous for it [with] great wrath.'

Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: There shall yet old men and old women sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each one with his staff in his hand for multitude of days.

"This is what the LORD of the Heavenly Armies says: "It may seem impossible to the survivors of this people, but is it impossible for me?' declares the LORD of the Heavenly Armies.

And I have brought them in, They have dwelt in the midst of Jerusalem, And they have been to Me for a people, And I am to them for God, In truth and in righteousness.

"Thus says Yahweh of hosts: 'Let your hands be strong, you who are hearing in these days these words from the mouth of the prophets who [were present] on [the] day {the foundation was laid for the rebuilding of the temple, the house of Yahweh of hosts}.

For before those days there was no wage for people or for animals, and there was no safety from the enemy for those who went out or those who came in, and I sent each person against {one another}.

'For [there will be] a sowing of peace; the vine will give its fruit, and the soil will give its produce, and the heavens will give their dew. And I will cause the remnant of this people to inherit all these [things].

For thus says Yahweh of hosts: "Just as I planned to bring disaster on you when your ancestors provoked me to anger," says Yahweh of hosts, "and I did not regret [it],

Even so am I determined now in these days, for to do well unto the house of Judah and Jerusalem, therefore fear ye not.

These are the things that you shall do. Each man speak the truth to his neighbor. Judge with truth and justice for peace in your gates.

and let none of you imagine evil in your hearts against his neighbour; and love no false oath: for all these are things that I hate, saith Jehovah.

"Thus says Yahweh of hosts: 'The fast of the fourth [month], the fifth [month], the seventh [month], and the tenth [month] will be for the house of Judah jubilation and joy and merry festivals; therefore love truth and peace.'

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.

And great peoples and strong nations will come to give worship to the Lord of armies in Jerusalem and to make requests for grace from the Lord.

Thus says Yahweh of hosts: 'In those days ten men from {all the nations of every language} will take hold of the hem of a Judean man, saying, "Let us go with you, for we have heard [that] God [is] with you!" '"

An oracle. The word of Yahweh [is] against the land of Hadrach, and Damascus [is] its resting place. For to Yahweh belongs the eye of humankind, and all the tribes of Israel,

And also Hamath doth border thereon, Tyre and Zidon, for -- very wise!

Tyre has built a fortification for itself, and it heaped up silver like dust, and gold like [the] mud of [the] streets.

Ashkelon shall see it, and fear; Gazah also, and she shall be greatly pained; Ekron also, for her expectation shall be put to shame: and the king shall perish from Gazah, and Ashkelon shall not be inhabited.

Strangers shall dwell at Ashdod, and as for the pride of the Philistines, I shall root it out.

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.

Rejoice thou greatly, O daughter Zion; be glad, O daughter Jerusalem. For lo, thy King cometh unto thee, even the righteous and Saviour: Lowly and simple is he, he rideth upon an ass, and upon the foal of an ass.

[As for] you also, because of the blood of your covenant, I will release your prisoners from {the waterless pit}.

For I have bent Judah [as] my bow; I have set Ephraim [as an arrow]. I will set in motion your sons, O Zion, against your sons, O Javan. I will wield you like the sword of a warrior.

And Jehovah doth appear for them, And gone forth as lightning hath His arrow, And the Lord Jehovah with a trumpet bloweth, And He hath gone with whirlwinds of the south.

The Lord of armies will be a cover for them; and they will overcome, crushing under foot the armed men; they will take their blood for drink like wine: they will be full like the sides of the altar.

And Yahweh their God will save them on that day, as the flock of his people; for [they are like] the stones of a diadem, glittering on his land.

For how [great is] his goodness, and how [great is] his beauty! Grain will make the young men thrive, and new wine [the] young women.

Pray the LORD then betimes to give you the latter rain, so shall the LORD make clouds, and give you rain enough for all the increase of the field:

For the teraphim have spoken vanity, and the diviners have seen a lie, and have told false dreams: they comfort in vain. Therefore they have gone away as a flock, they are in distress, because there is no shepherd.

Mine anger is kindled against the shepherds, and I will punish the he-goats; for Jehovah of hosts visiteth his flock, the house of Judah, and maketh them as his majestic horse in the battle.

And they shall be as mighty men, treading down the mire of the streets in the battle; and they shall fight, for Jehovah is with them, and the riders on horses shall be put to shame.

And I will strengthen the house of Judah, and the house of Joseph I will save. And I will bring them back, because I have compassion on them, and they will be as if I had not rejected them, for I [am] Yahweh their God, and I will answer them.

I will whistle to them and gather them, for I have redeemed them, and they will become numerous as they have been numerous [before].

And I will bring them back from the land of Egypt, and from Assyria I will gather them. To the land of Gilead and Lebanon I will bring them, until no [room] will be found for them [there].

I will strengthen them in Yahweh,
and they will march in His name—
this is Yahweh’s declaration.

Wail, O juniper, for [the] cedar has fallen, for [the] magnificent [trees] are ruined! Wail, oaks of Bashan, for the impenetrable forest has come down!

[Listen to] the wailing of the shepherds, for their splendor is ruined! [Listen to] the roar of [the] young lions, for the thickets of the Jordan are ruined!

Thus says the LORD my God; Feed the flock for the slaughter;

The ones buying them kill them and go unpunished, and the ones selling them say, 'Blessed [be] Yahweh, for I have become rich.' Their own shepherds have no compassion for them.

For I will no longer have compassion on the inhabitants of the land," {declares} Yahweh. "Look, I [am] going to cause humankind to fall, each into the hand of his neighbor, and into the hand of his king; and they will devastate the land, and I will not deliver [anyone] from their hand."

So I tended the flock doomed to slaughter, for the sheep-merchants, - and took unto me two staves, the one, I called Grace, and, the other, I called Union, thus I tended the sheep,

And I got rid of three shepherds in one month, for {I grew impatient} with them, and {they also became tired of me}.

And I said, I will not take care of you: If death comes to any, let death be its fate; if any is cut off, let it be cut off; and let the rest take one another's flesh for food.

And I said unto them, If ye think good, give me my hire; and if not, forbear. And they weighed for my hire thirty silver-pieces.

And the LORD said unto me, "Cast it unto the potter" - a goodly price for me to be valued at of them. And I took the thirty silver pens, and cast them to the potter in the house of the LORD.

The LORD said to me, "Take for yourself yet again the equipment 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.

Alas! for my worthless shepherd, who forsaketh the flock, A sword upon his arm, and upon his right eye! - his arm, shall be, utterly withered, and, his right eye, shall be, wholly darkened.

The heavy burden which the LORD hath devised for Israel. Thus sayeth the LORD, which spread the heavens abroad, laid the foundation of the earth, and giveth man the breath of life,

'Look, I [am] going to make Jerusalem a cup of reeling for all the surrounding nations; it will also be against Judah in the siege against Jerusalem.

{And then} on that day I will make Jerusalem a stone weight for all the peoples. All those lifting it up will grievously hurt themselves, and all the nations of the earth will assemble against it.

Then the clans of Judah will say in their hearts, ‘A strong support for us are the inhabitants of Jerusalem through the Lord of hosts, their God.’

And I will pour upon the house of David and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem the spirit of grace and of supplications; and they shall look on me whom they pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for an only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.

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

At that time, a fountain will be opened for the house of David and for those who live in Jerusalem so they can be cleansed from sin and ceremonial impurity.

" '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, sayeth the LORD of Hosts, I will destroy the names of Idols out of the land: so that they shall no more be put in remembrance. As for the false prophets also and the unclean spirit, I shall take them out of the land:

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

And it will come about in that day that the prophets will be shamed, every man on account of his vision, when he is talking as a prophet; and they will not put on a robe of hair for purposes of deceit:

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."