I have said: Only, ye do fear Me, Ye do accept instruction, And her habitation is not cut off, All that I have appointed for her, But they have risen early, They have corrupted all their doings.

Therefore, wait for Me -- an affirmation of Jehovah, For the day of My rising for prey, For My judgment is to gather nations, To assemble kingdoms, To pour out on them Mine indignation, All the heat of Mine anger, For by the fire of My jealousy consumed is all the earth.

From beyond the rivers of Cush, my supplicants, The daughter of My scattered ones, Do bring My present.

In that day thou art not ashamed because of any of thine actions, Wherewith thou hast transgressed against Me, For then do I turn aside from thy midst The exulting ones of thine excellency, And thou dost add no more to be haughty, In My holy mountain.

At that time I bring you in, Even at the time of My assembling you, For I give you for a name, and for a praise, Among all peoples of the land, In My turning back to your captivity before your eyes, said Jehovah!

Looking for much, and lo, little, And ye brought it home, and I blew on it, Wherefore? -- an affirmation of Jehovah of Hosts, Because of My house that is waste, And ye are running -- each to his house,

The thing that I covenanted with you, In your coming forth from Egypt, And My Spirit is remaining in your midst, fear not.

And Haggai answereth and saith, 'So is this people, and so is this nation before Me -- an affirmation of Jehovah -- and so is every work of their hands, and that which they bring near there -- it is unclean.

I have smitten you with blasting, And with mildew, and with hail -- All the work of your hands, And there is none of you with Me, An affirmation of Jehovah.

In that day -- an affirmation of Jehovah of Hosts, I take thee, Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, My servant -- an affirmation of Jehovah, And have set thee as a signet, for on thee I have fixed, An affirmation of Jehovah of Hosts!

And thou hast said unto them, Thus said Jehovah of Hosts, turn back unto Me, An affirmation of Jehovah of Hosts, And I turn back unto you, said Jehovah of Hosts.

Ye shall not be as your fathers, To whom the former prophets called, saying: Thus said Jehovah of Hosts, Turn back I pray you, From your evil ways and from your evil doings, And they did not hearken, Nor attend to Me -- an affirmation of Jehovah.

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 Jehovah answereth the messenger, who is speaking with me, good words, comfortable words.

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.

Therefore, thus said Jehovah: I have turned to Jerusalem with mercies, My house is built in it, An affirmation of Jehovah of Hosts, And a line is stretched over Jerusalem.

Again call, saying: Thus said Jehovah of Hosts, Again do my cities overflow from good, And Jehovah hath again comforted Zion, And He hath fixed again on 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 Jehovah doth shew me four artisans.

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 lo, the messenger who is speaking with me is going out, and another messenger is going out to meet him,

For thus said Jehovah of Hosts: After honour He hath sent me unto the nations who are spoiling you, For he who is coming against you, Is coming against the daughter of His eye.

For lo, I am waving my hand against them, And they have been a spoil to their servants. And ye have known that Jehovah of Hosts hath sent me.

And joined have been many nations unto Jehovah in that day, And they have been to Me for a people, And I have dwelt in thy midst, And thou hast known that Jehovah of Hosts hath sent me unto thee.

And he sheweth me Joshua the high priest standing before the messenger of Jehovah, and the Adversary standing at his right hand, to be an adversary to him.

'Thus said Jehovah of Hosts: If in My ways thou dost walk, And if My charge thou dost keep, Then also thou dost judge My house, And also thou dost keep My courts, And I have given to thee conductors among these standing by.

Hear, I pray thee, Joshua, the high priest, Thou and thy companions sitting before thee, (For men of type are they,) For lo, I am bringing in My servant -- a Shoot.

And the messenger who is speaking with me doth turn back, and stir me up as one who is stirred up out of his sleep,

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 answer and speak unto the messenger who is 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.'

And he answereth and speaketh unto me, saying: 'This is a word of Jehovah unto Zerubbabel, saying: Not by a force, nor by power, But -- by My Spirit, said Jehovah of Hosts.

And there is a word of Jehovah to me, saying,

Hands of Zerubbabel did found this house, And his hands do finish it, And thou hast known that Jehovah of Hosts Hath sent me unto you.

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

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.'

And he saith unto me, 'This is the execration that is going forth over the face of all the land, for every one who is stealing, on the one side, according to it, hath been declared innocent, and every one who hath sworn, on the other side, according to it, hath been declared innocent.

I have brought it out -- an affirmation of Jehovah of Hosts -- and it hath come in unto the house of the thief, and unto the house of him who hath sworn in My name to a falsehood, and it hath remained in the midst of his house, and hath consumed it, both its wood and its stones.'

And the messenger who is speaking with me goeth forth, and saith unto me, 'Lift up, I pray thee, thine eyes, and see what is this that is coming forth?'

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

And he saith unto me, 'To build to it a house in the land of Shinar.' And it hath been prepared and hath been placed there on its base.

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

And the messenger answereth and saith unto me, 'These are four spirits of the heavens coming forth from presenting themselves before the Lord of the whole earth.

And he calleth me, and speaketh unto me, saying, 'See, those coming forth unto the land of the north have caused My Spirit to rest in the land of the north.'

And there is a word of Jehovah unto me, saying,

And the far-off come in, and they have built in the temple of Jehovah, and ye have known that Jehovah of Hosts hath sent me unto you, yea, it hath come to pass, if ye do certainly hearken to the voice of Jehovah your God.'

And there is a word of Jehovah of Hosts unto me, saying:

When ye fasted with mourning in the fifth and in the seventh months -- even these seventy years -- did ye keep the fast to Me -- Me? And when ye eat, and when ye drink, is it not ye who are eating, and ye who are drinking?

Thus said Jehovah of Hosts: Lo, I am saving My people from the land of the rising, And from the land of the going in, of the sun,

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.

For, thus said Jehovah of Hosts, As I did purpose to do evil to you, When your fathers made Me wroth, Said Jehovah of Hosts, and I did not repent,

And there is a word of Jehovah of Hosts unto me, saying:

And I have pitched for My house a camp, Because of the passer through, and of the returner, And pass not through against them again doth an exactor, For, now, I have seen with My eyes.

For I have trodden for Me Judah, A bow I have filled with Ephraim, And I have stirred up thy sons, O Zion, Against thy sons, O Javan, And I have set thee as the sword of a hero.

And I sow them among peoples, And in far-off places they remember Me, And they have lived with their sons, And they have turned back.

Thus said Jehovah my God: 'Feed the flock of the slaughter,

And I feed the flock of slaughter, even you, ye afflicted of the flock; and I take to me two staves, the one I have called Pleasantness, and the other I have called Bands, and I feed the flock.

And I cut off the three shepherds in one month, and my soul is grieved with them, and also their soul hath abhorred me.

And I take My staff Pleasantness, and cut it asunder, to make void My covenant that I had made with all the peoples:

and it is broken in that day, and know well do the afflicted of the flock who are observing me, that it is a word of Jehovah.

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 saith unto me, 'Cast it unto the potter;' the goodly price that I have been prized at by them, and I take the thirty silverlings, and cast them to the house of Jehovah, unto the potter.

And I cut asunder my second staff, Bands, to break the unity between Judah and Israel.

And Jehovah saith unto me, 'Again take to thee the instrument of a foolish shepherd.

In that day -- an affirmation of Jehovah, I do smite every horse with astonishment, And its rider with madness, And on the house of Judah I open My eyes, And every horse of the peoples I smite with blindness.

And leaders of Judah have said in their heart, 'Strength to me are the inhabitants of Jerusalem, In Jehovah of Hosts their God.'

And I have poured on the house of David, And on the inhabitant of Jerusalem, A spirit of grace and supplications, And they have looked unto Me whom they pierced, And they have mourned over it, Like a mourning over the only one, And they have been in bitterness for it, Like a bitterness over the first-born.

And one hath said, 'I am not a prophet, A man, a tiller of ground I am, For ground is my possession from my youth.'

And one hath said unto him, 'What are these wounds in thy hands?' And he hath said, 'Because I was smitten at home by my lovers.'

Sword, awake against My shepherd, And against a hero -- My fellow, An affirmation of Jehovah of Hosts. Smite the shepherd, and scattered is the flock, And I have put back My hand on the little ones.

And I have brought the third into fire, And refined them like a refining of silver, And have tried them like a trying of gold, It doth call in My name, and I answer it, I have said, 'My people it is,' And it saith, 'Jehovah is my God!'

And ye have fled to the valley of My mountains, For join doth the valley of the mountains to Azal, And ye have fled as ye fled before the shaking, In the days of Uzziah king of Judah, And come in hath Jehovah my God, All holy ones are with Thee.

A son honoureth a father, and a servant his master. And if I am a father, where is Mine honour? And if I am a master, where is My fear? Said Jehovah of Hosts to you, O priests, despising My name! And ye have said: 'In what have we despised Thy name?'

For, from the rising of the sun to its going in, Great is My name among nations, And in every place perfume is brought nigh to My name, and a pure present, For great is My name among nations, Said Jehovah of Hosts.

And cursed is a deceiver, who hath in his drove a male, And is vowing, and is sacrificing a marred thing to the Lord, For a great king am I, said Jehovah of Hosts, And My name is revered among nations!

If ye hearken not, and if ye lay it not to heart, To give honour to My name, said Jehovah of Hosts, I have sent against you the curse, And I have cursed your blessings, Yea, I have also cursed it, Because ye are not laying it to heart.

And ye have known that I have sent unto you this charge, For My covenant being with Levi, Said Jehovah of Hosts.

My covenant hath been with him of life and of peace, And I make them to him a fear, and he doth fear Me, And because of My name he hath been affrighted.

The law of truth hath been in his mouth, And perverseness hath not been found in his lips, In peace and in uprightness he walked with Me, And many he brought back from iniquity.

And I also, I have made you despised and low before all the people, Because ye are not keeping My ways, And are accepting persons in the law.

Lo, I am sending My messenger, And he hath prepared a way before Me, And suddenly come in unto his temple Doth the Lord whom ye are seeking, Even the messenger of the covenant, Whom ye are desiring, Lo, he is coming, said Jehovah of Hosts.

And I have drawn near to you for judgment, And I have been a witness, Making haste against sorcerers, And against adulterers, And against swearers to a falsehood, And against oppressors of the hire of an hireling, Of a widow, and of a fatherless one, And those turning aside a sojourner, And who fear Me not, said Jehovah of Hosts.

Even from the days of your fathers Ye have turned aside from My statutes, And ye have not taken heed. Turn back unto Me, and I turn back to you, Said Jehovah of Hosts. And ye have said, 'In what do we turn back?'

Doth man deceive God? but ye are deceiving Me, And ye have said: 'In what have we deceived Thee?' The tithe and the heave-offering!

With a curse ye are cursed! And Me ye are deceiving -- this nation -- all of it.

Bring in all the tithe unto the treasure-house, And there is food in My house; When ye have tried Me, now, with this, Said Jehovah of Hosts, Do not I open to you the windows of heaven? Yea, I have emptied on you a blessing till there is no space.

Hard against Me have been your words, Said Jehovah, and ye have said: 'What have we spoken against Thee?'

And they have been to Me, said Jehovah of Hosts, In the day that I am appointing -- a peculiar treasure, And I have had pity on them, As one hath pity on his son who is serving him.

And risen to you, ye who fear My name, Hath the sun of righteousness -- and healing in its wings, And ye have gone forth, and have increased as calves of a stall.

Remember ye the law of Moses My servant, That I did command him in Horeb, For all Israel -- statutes and judgments.

And all this hath come to pass, that it may be fulfilled that was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying,

And thou, Beth-Lehem, the land of Judah, thou art by no means the least among the leaders of Judah, for out of thee shall come one leading, who shall feed My people Israel.'

and having sent them to Beth-Lehem, he said, 'Having gone -- inquire ye exactly for the child, and whenever ye may have found, bring me back word, that I also having come may bow to him.'

And on their having withdrawn, lo, a messenger of the Lord doth appear in a dream to Joseph, saying, 'Having risen, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and be thou there till I may speak to thee, for Herod is about to seek the child to destroy him.'

and he was there till the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled that was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, 'Out of Egypt I did call My Son.'

'I indeed do baptize you with water to reformation, but he who after me is coming is mightier than I, of whom I am not worthy to bear the sandals, he shall baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire,

but John was forbidding him, saying, 'I have need by thee to be baptized -- and thou dost come unto me!'

and lo, a voice out of the heavens, saying, 'This is My Son -- the Beloved, in whom I did delight.'

And the Tempter having come to him said, 'If Son thou art of God -- speak that these stones may become loaves.'