So tell them, "This is what the LORD of the Heavenly Armies says: "Return to me," declares the LORD of the Heavenly Armies, "and I will return to you.

Then I asked, "Who are these, sir?" The messenger who was talking to me answered, "I will tell you who these are."

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?"

"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."'"

"Also announce the following: "This is what the LORD of the Heavenly Armies says: "My cities will again overflow with prosperity. The LORD will comfort Zion once more and will choose Jerusalem again."'"

That other angel told him, "Run and tell that young man: "Jerusalem will be an inhabited city without walls due to the number of people and livestock within it.

I myself will be an encircling rampart of fire,' declares the LORD, "and I will be the glory in her midst.'

And look, I will shake my fist over them, and they will become plunder for their former slaves. And you will know that the LORD of the Heavenly Armies sent me."'"

"Many nations will cling to the LORD at that time and will become my people. I will live in your midst, and you will know that the LORD of the Heavenly Armies has sent me to you.

The LORD will take possession of Judah as his own property in the Holy Land and he will choose Jerusalem again.

"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.

Look, the stone that I put in place in Joshua's presence on that one stone are seven eyes. And look, I will do the engraving myself,' declares the LORD of the Heavenly Armies, "and I will remove the perversity of that land in a single day.

At that time,' declares the LORD of the Heavenly Armies, "you will invite each of your neighbors to join you under the vine and fig tree.'"

"Who are you, great mountain? You will become a plain in Zerubbabel's presence, and he will position the capstone, exulting over it, "How beautiful! How beautiful!"'"

"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.

For who has despised the time of insignificant things? They will rejoice to see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel. These seven lights represent the eyes of the LORD, which are looking throughout all of the earth."

He responded to me, "This is the curse that is going out over the surface of the whole earth, because, according to this side of the scroll, all thieves will be ejected, and according to the other side of the scroll, all liars will be ejected."

"I am bringing this about," declares the LORD of the Heavenly Armies. "The curse will enter the house of the thief and the house of the one who lies in my name. The curse will remain in his house until that house has been completely destroyed, right down to its timber and stones."

He answered me, "To the land of Shinar, so they can build a temple to the woman in the basket. Then when its preparations are complete, the basket will be set there in its place."

Then tell him, "This is what the LORD of the Heavenly Armies says: "Here is the man whose name is The Branch. He will branch out from where he is and will rebuild the Temple of the LORD.

Yes, he will indeed rebuild the Temple of the LORD, and he will exalt its majesty by sitting and ruling on his throne. He will serve as priest on his throne, and no contention will exist between them.

The crowns will go to Helem, to Tobijah, to Jedaiah, and to Zephaniah's son Hen, as a memorial in the Temple of the LORD.

Those who are now far away will come and do reconstruction work in the Temple of the LORD. Then you will know that the LORD of the Heavenly Armies has sent me to you. This will come about if you diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God."'"

Therefore, just as when I cried out and they would not listen, so also they will cry out, and I will not listen,' says the LORD of the Heavenly Armies.

"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.

"This is what the LORD says: "I will return to Zion and I will live in the midst of Jerusalem. And Jerusalem will be called, "The City of Truth" and the mountain of the LORD of the Heavenly Armies will be called, "The Holy Mountain".'

"This is what the LORD of the Heavenly Armies says: "There will yet be old men and old women sitting in the parks of Jerusalem, each one of them holding canes in their hands due to their old age!

The city parks will be filled with boys and girls. They will play in the city's open parks.'

I will also bring them back to live in the midst of Jerusalem. They will be my people and I will truly be their righteous God.'"

""But now I will not treat the survivors of this people as I did formerly,' declares the LORD of the Heavenly Armies.

"For there will be a sowing of peace: the vine will produce its fruit, the earth will produce its full yield, the sky will produce its dew, and I will make the survivors of this people inherit all these things.

Furthermore, house of Judah and house of Israel, even though you used to be a curse among the nations, now I will surely save you, and you will be a blessing. Stop being afraid. Instead, grow stronger.'"

"This is what the LORD of the Heavenly Armies says: "The fasts that occur in the fourth, fifth, seventh, and tenth months will be joyful and glad times for the house of Judah, replete with cheerful festivals. Therefore, love truth and peace.'"

"This is what the LORD of the Heavenly Armies says: "In the future, people will come, including residents of many cities,

and they will travel from one place to another place and say, "Let's go quickly to pray in the presence of the LORD and to inquire of the LORD of the Heavenly Armies.' And I will go, too.

Many people and powerful nations will come to inquire of the LORD of the Heavenly Armies in Jerusalem, and to pray in the presence of the LORD."'"

"This is what the LORD of the Heavenly Armies says: "In the future, ten men speaking all the languages of the nations will grab hold of one Jewish person by the hem of his garment and say, "Let us go up to Jerusalem with you, because we heard that God is with you."'"

A declaration: this message from the LORD in the land of Hadrach, with Damascus its confederate, because the eyes of humanity will look to the LORD, along with those of all the tribes of Israel.

Look! The Lord will evict her, striking at her power in the sea, and she will be consumed by fire.

Ashkelon will see it happen and will be terrified; Gaza will tremble greatly. Ekron will be ashamed of her expectations, Gaza's king will perish, and Ashkelon will become uninhabited.

A strange people will inhabit Ashdod, and I will eliminate the arrogance of Philistia.

I will remove the blood from its mouth, along with its abominations from between its teeth. Its survivors will be dedicated to our God; It will be like a clan of Judah, and Ekron will be as a Jebusite.

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."

I will banish chariots from Ephraim and horses from Jerusalem. War weapons will be banished, and your king will speak peace to the nations. His dominion will extend from sea to sea, and from the River to the farthest portion of the earth.

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

The LORD will appear over them his arrow will shoot like lightning. The Lord GOD will blow the trumpet, and go out with the southern windstorm.

The LORD of the Heavenly Armies will defend them; they will devour and conquer those who sling stones. They will drink and be boisterous like those who are drunk. They will be filled to the brim with blood, like the corners of the altar.

The LORD their God will save them at that time as his very own flock of people, because they are his crown jewels, exalted throughout 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 virgins.

They will be like mighty soldiers who trample mud in the streets during battle. They will fight because the LORD is with them, and the opposing horsemen will be confused.

"I will fortify the house of Judah, and the house of Joseph I will save. I will surely bring them back, because I care about them. They will be as if I had never cast them away. Since I am the LORD their God, I will answer them.

"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.

I will scatter them among the nations, and so they will remember me in distant countries. They will rear their children, and they will return.

I will bring them once again out of the land of Egypt, gathering them from Assyria. I will bring them into the land of Gilead and Lebanon, but there will not be enough space for them.

They will pass through the sea of affliction, and they will strike the waves in that sea. All of the depths of the Nile will evaporate, Assyria's arrogance will be brought down low, and the ruling power of Egypt will disappear.

"I will strengthen them in the LORD, and they will march here and there in his name," declares the LORD.

Open your doors, Lebanon, and fire will consume your cedars.

Therefore I will no longer show compassion upon those who live in the land," declares the LORD. "Look! I will deliver every single person into the control of his neighbor and into the control of the king. Even though they assault the land, I will not deliver it from their control."

So I said, "I will no longer be your shepherd. Let those who are about to die perish, and let what is about to be destroyed be destroyed. As for the survivors, let them devour each other."

for I am now raising up a shepherd in the land who will neither search for the lost, nor care for the young, nor fix the broken, nor sustain the healthy. Instead, he will devour the meat of the best of the sheep, tearing off their hoofs."

It will come about at that time that I will make Jerusalem a heavy weight; so everyone who burdens themselves with it will be crushed, even though all of the nations of the earth gather themselves against it.

At that time,' declares the LORD, "I will strike every horse with panic and every rider with insanity. I will keep my eyes on the house of Judah, but I will blind every horse of the invading armies.

The leaders of Judah will say to themselves, "Those who live in Jerusalem are my strength through the LORD of the Heavenly Armies, their God."

"At that time, I will make the leaders of Judah like a brazier filled with blazing wood, or like a torch setting fire to harvested grain. They will devour all the invading armies, both on the right hand and on the left. As a result, Jerusalem will again be inhabited in its rightful place as the real Jerusalem.'"

The LORD will deliver the tents of Judah first, so that neither the glory of the house of David nor the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem overshadows Judah.

At that time, the LORD will defend those who live in Jerusalem, and the one who is feeble among them at that time will be like David. The entire house of David will be like God indeed, like the angel of the LORD in their midst!

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

I will pour out on the house of David and on the residents of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and of supplications, and they will look to me the one whom they pierced.'"

Then they will mourn for him, as for an only son. They will grieve bitterly for him, as for a firstborn son. At that time, Jerusalem will mourn deeply, like the mourning about Hadad-rimmon that took place in the plain of Megiddo.

And so the land will mourn, families by families, alone by themselves the family of the house of David by itself with their wives by themselves, the family of the house of Nathan by itself with their wives by themselves,

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.

"At that time," declares the LORD of the Heavenly Armies, "I will eliminate the names of the idols from the land, and they will not be remembered anymore. I will also force both prophet and demon to leave the land.

It will also come about that if any man would dare to prophesy, then his father and his mother who bore him will respond to him, "You will not live, because you are speaking lies in the name of the LORD.' Then his father and mother who bore him will stab him for prophesying.

Furthermore, it will come about at that time that every prophet will become ashamed of his vision as he prophesies. They will wear no rough garments intended to deceive others."

"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.'

"Someone will say to him, "What are these injuries to your hands?' "He will reply, ""what I received at my friend's house.'

"Arise, sword, against my shepherd, against the mighty one who is related to me," declares the LORD of the Heavenly Armies. "Strike the shepherd, the sheep will be scattered, and I will turn against the insignificant ones.

It will come about in all of the land," declares the LORD, "that two thirds of the people living there will die, but a third will survive who live there.

And I will bring that surviving third through, testing them as if through fire, purifying them like silver, assaying them like gold. They will call on my name, and I will answer them. I will say, "This is my people,' and they will say, "The LORD is my God.'"

"Look! A day is coming for the LORD, when your plunder will be divided among you.

I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem, to lay siege against it. The city will be captured, the houses will be ransacked, the women raped, and half of the city will go into exile, but the remaining people will not be cut off from the city.

Then the LORD will go out to battle against those nations, waging war as in a day of battle.

His feet will stand in that day on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem. Then the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a very large valley, with half of the mountain moving toward the north and half toward the south.

You will run away through my mountain valley, because the valley of the mountains will extend as far as Azal. You will flee, as you fled from the earthquake during the reign of King Uzziah of Judah. And so the LORD my God will come, and all his holy ones will be accompanying you."

"At that time, the daylight will be neither bright nor overcast.

It will be a unique day, known only to the LORD neither daytime nor nighttime and it will come about at twilight there will be light!

At that time, flowing waters will run perennially from Jerusalem, half toward the Dead Sea and half to the Mediterranean Sea.

The LORD will be king over all the earth at that time. There will be one LORD, and his name the only one.

The entire land will become like the Arabah plain from Geba to Rimmon, south of Jerusalem. It will be raised up and inhabited where it is, from the Gate of Benjamin to the First Gate, then to the Corner Gate, to the Hananel Tower, and to the king's winepresses.

People will live there, there will be no more destruction, and Jerusalem will be safely inhabited."

"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.

At that time, they will be stricken with a terrible panic from the LORD. Everyone will attack each other.

Judah, too, will fight at Jerusalem. Then the wealth of the surrounding nations will be gathered up: gold, silver, and clothing in great abundance.

A similar plague will also strike horses, mules, camels, donkeys, and all of the animals in those camps."

"It will come about that all of the survivors of the nations who came against Jerusalem will come there from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of the Heavenly Armies, and to observe the Festival of Tents.

If anyone from the families of the earth will not come to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of the Heavenly Armies, there will be no rain for them.

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.

This will be the punishment for Egypt and all nations who do not come to observe the Festival of Tents."

"At that time, there will be written on the bells of the horses: HOLINESS TO THE LORD