Then they reported to the angel of the LORD who stood among the myrtle trees, "We have wandered throughout the earth and look! the entire earth is at rest. Everything is quiet and peaceful."

And the angel of the LORD replied, "LORD of the Heavenly Armies, how long will it be until you show mercy to Jerusalem and to the cities of Judah, with whom you have been angry for these past seventy years?"

Then the angel who was speaking to me told me, "Announce this: "This is what the LORD of the Heavenly Armies says: "I have a deep concern for Jerusalem, a great concern for Zion.

"Therefore this is what the LORD says: "I have returned to Jerusalem with compassionate intentions. My Temple will be rebuilt there," declares the LORD of the Heavenly Armies, "and the measuring line will be stretched out over Jerusalem."'"

I asked the angel who was talking to me, "What are those?" So he answered me, "Those are the forces that have dispersed Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem."

Then I asked, "What have they come to do?" He answered, "Those horns that dispersed Judah so that no one could lift up his head those artisans are coming to disrupt the power of nations, tearing them down now that they've come to power and dispersed the land of Judah."

""Come now! Come now! Flee from the land of the north,' declares the LORD, "for I have dispersed you like the four winds of heaven,' declares the LORD.

"This is what the LORD of the Heavenly Armies says: "If you will live according to my ways, and if you will keep what I have entrusted to you, then you will also administer my Temple, and you will also guard my courtyards. And I will give you access to these who serve here.

So I said, "I have been watching and look! there is a menorah made completely of gold with a bowl on top of it. And there are seven lights on it, along with seven feeder channels to the lamps, which are also on top of it. Two olive trees are near it, one on the right side of the bowl and one on the left."

"Zerubbabel's hands have laid the foundation of this Temple, and his hands will finish it, so that you will know that the LORD of the Heavenly Armies has sent me to all of you.

Then he called to me, "Look! The horses that went north have caused my spirit to rest in the north country."

and to speak to the priests assigned to the Temple of the LORD of the Heavenly Armies along with the prophets, asking, "Am I to go about mourning, denying myself throughout the fifth month, as I have these many years?"

"I will scatter them to all of the nations, which they have not known.'" Now the earth was left desolate after them. As a result, no one came or went because they had turned a pleasant land into a desert.

so I have decided at this time to do good things for Jerusalem and for the house of Judah. So stop being afraid.

I will set a garrison around my Temple, to hinder those who might come and go, and to guard against oppressors who intend to invade; for I have taken note of this with my eyes."

Now concerning you and my blood covenant with you, I have liberated your prisoners from a waterless pit.

Return to your fortress, you prisoners who have hope. Even today I am telling you: In return I will repay you double.

For I have bent Judah as if it were my bow, loading it with Ephraim. I raised up your sons, Zion, against your sons, Greece, wielding you like a mighty warrior's sword."

"The people of Ephraim will become like mighty soldiers; they will be glad, like those who have wine. Their children will see this and rejoice; their hearts will find joy in the Lord.

I will whistle for them, gathering them together, because I have redeemed them, and they will multiply as they were before.

""At that time, I will search out and destroy all of the nations who have come against Jerusalem.

"He will say, "I am no mere prophet. A servant of mankind am I, because a man dedicated to this have I been from my youth.'

"This will be the plague with which the LORD inflicts all of the people who have attacked Jerusalem: he will cause their flesh to rot away, even while they're standing on their feet. He will cause their eyes to rot away in their sockets, and their tongues to rot away in their mouths.

If the people of Egypt do not come to Jerusalem to take part, they will have no annual Nile overflow. A plague will come from the LORD to strike the nations who do not come to observe the Festival of Tents.