For the stone will cry out from the wall, and [the] plaster from [the] wood will answer it.

Look! [Is it] not from Yahweh of hosts that people labor for mere fire, and nations exhaust themselves for mere vanity?

God came from Teman; the Holy One from Mount Paran. Selah His splendor covers the heavens, and his praise fills the earth.

And his brightness was like [the] light; flashing rays [came] from his hand for him; And there [is] the covering of his strength.

You went forth for the salvation of your people, for the salvation of your anointed. You crushed the head of the house of wickedness, laying bare [from the] foundation to the top.

Though the fig tree [does] not blossom, nor there be fruit on the vines; the yield of [the] olive tree fails, and the cultivated fields do not yield food; [the] flock is cut off from the animal pen, and there is no cattle in the stalls,

"I will surely destroy everything from the face of the earth"--a declaration of Yahweh.

"I will destroy humanity and beast; I will destroy the birds of the sky and the fish of the sea, and the stumbling blocks with the wicked. And I will cut off humankind from the face of the earth"--a declaration of Yahweh.

"And I will stretch out my hand against Judah and against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And I will cut off from this place the remnant of Baal, and the name of idolatrous priests with the priests,

and those who turned back from {following} Yahweh, and who did not seek Yahweh, and did not inquire of him."

"And there shall be on that day"--a declaration of Yahweh-- "a {loud outcry} from the Fish Gate, and a wailing from the Second District, and a loud crashing from the hills.

And it shall be [that] at that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps, and I will punish the men {whose senses are dulled from drinking}, who say in their hearts, 'Yahweh will not do good, nor will he do evil.'

From beyond the rivers of Cush my worshipers and the daughter of my scattered ones shall bring my offering.

On that day you shall not be humiliated on account of all your deeds [by] which you have rebelled against me. For then I shall remove from your midst those exulting in your pride, and you shall no longer be haughty in {my holy mountain}.

Behold, at that time I will deal with all your oppressors; I will save the lame and gather the outcast. I will change them from shame to glory and {renown} throughout the whole world.

Then Haggai said, "If one who is unclean from contact with a corpse touches any of these, will it become unclean?" The priests answered, "Yes, it will be become unclean."

But now, please {consider} from this day forward, before one stone was placed on another in the temple of Yahweh,

{from that time when} one came to a heap of twenty [measures], there were [only] ten, and [when] one came to the wine vat to draw out fifty measures, there were [only] twenty.

'{Please consider} from this day forward, from the twenty-fourth day of the ninth [month], from the day that the foundation of Yahweh's temple was laid, {consider}:

[Is there] still seed in the store chamber? Do the vine, the fig tree, the pomegranate, and the olive tree still produce nothing? From this day [forward] I will bless [you].'"

"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.

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." '"

"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.

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

But Yahweh said to Satan, "Yahweh rebukes you, O Satan! Yahweh who has chosen Jerusalem rebukes you! [Is] this not a stick snatched from the fire?"

And he answered and said to the ones standing {before} him, saying, "Remove the filthy garments from him." And he said to him, "See, I have taken away your guilt from you, and will clothe you [with] rich garments."

And the angel [who was] talking with me returned, and he wakened me as one who is wakened from his sleep.

{I looked up again}, and I saw, and look!--four chariots coming out from between two mountains, and the mountains [were] mountains of bronze.

"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.

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.

But they refused to listen, and turned a stubborn shoulder and {stopped their ears from listening}.

{They made their hearts adamant} in order not to hear the law and the words that Yahweh of hosts had sent by his spirit through the former prophets; [therefore] great wrath came from Yahweh of hosts.

Thus says Yahweh of hosts: 'Look! I [am] going to save my people from the land of the east, and from the land of the west,

"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}.

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!" '"

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.

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.

And I will cut off [the] chariot from Ephraim, and [the] horse from Jerusalem; the battle bow will be cut down, and he will announce peace to the nations. His dominion [will be] from sea to sea, and from [the] River to [the] ends of [the] earth.

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

Ask rain from Yahweh in the season of [the] spring rain-- Yahweh, who makes storm clouds, and he gives showers of rain to them, to everyone vegetation in the field.

From them [the] cornerstone will go out, from them [the] tent peg, from them [the] battle bow, from them every ruler, [all] together.

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].

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."

" '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.

I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city will be captured, and they will loot the houses, and the women will be raped; half of the city will go into exile, but the remainder of the people will not be cut off from the city.

On that day his feet will stand on {the Mount of Olives}, which faces Jerusalem on [the] east; and {the Mount of Olives} will be split {in half}, from east to west, [by] a very great valley; and half of the mountain will withdraw toward the north, and the other half toward the south.

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, living waters will flow out from Jerusalem, half of them to the eastern sea, and the other half to the western sea; it will happen [both] in the summer and in the winter.

All the land will be transformed into a desert plateau from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem. But it will rise up high and it will stay in its place from the Gate of Benjamin to the place of [the] former gate, up to the Corner Gate and from the Tower of Hananel to the king's winepresses.

{And then} on that day a great panic from Yahweh will fall on them, and {they will seize one another's hand}, and the hand of the one will be raised against the hand of {another}.

{And then} every survivor from all those nations coming against Jerusalem will go up year after year to worship [the] king, Yahweh of hosts, and celebrate the Feast of Booths.

And every cooking pot in Jerusalem and in Judah will be holy to Yahweh of hosts, and all those who sacrifice will come and will take from them, and will cook in them, and there will be no longer a {trader} in the house of Yahweh of hosts on that day.

"Who also among you will shut [the temple] doors [so that] you will not kindle fire in vain [on] my altar? I take no pleasure in you," says Yahweh of hosts, "and {I will not accept} an offering from your hand.

From the rising of the sun to its setting, my name [is] great among the nations, and in every place incense [is] being presented to my name, and a pure offering. For my name [is] great among the nations," says Yahweh of hosts.

And you say, 'Look! [This is] a weariness,' and you sniff [with disdain] at it," says Yahweh of hosts. "And you bring [the] stolen, the lame, and the one that is sick--[this] you bring as the offering! Should I {accept it} from your hand?" says Yahweh.

[The] instruction of truth was in his mouth, and wickedness was not found on his lips. In peace and in uprightness he walked with me, and he brought back many from sin.

For the lips of [the] priest should guard knowledge, and they should seek instruction from his mouth, for he [is] the messenger of Yahweh of hosts.

But you, you have turned from the way; you have caused many to stumble by [your] instruction; you have ruined the covenant of Levi," says Yahweh of hosts.

May Yahweh cut off from the tents of Jacob the man who does this, [the] one who is awake and [who] answers, and [the one who] brings an offering to Yahweh of hosts!

And this you do {as well}: [you] cover the altar of Yahweh [with] tears, [with] weeping and [with] groaning, because he {no longer regards the offering} or accepts [it] [with] favor from your hand.

From the days of your ancestors you have turned aside from my rules, and have not kept [them]! Return to me and I will return to you," says Yahweh of hosts, "but you say, 'How shall we return?'

Therefore all the generations from Abraham to David [are] fourteen generations, and from David to the deportation to Babylon [are] fourteen generations, and from the deportation to Babylon to the Christ [are] fourteen generations.

But [as] he was considering these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary [as] your wife, for what has been conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.

And she will give birth to a son, and you will call his name 'Jesus,' because he will save his people from their sins."

And Joseph, [when he] woke up from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and he took his wife

Now [after] Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem,

and [after] calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired from them where the Christ was to be born.

'And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah, for from you will go out a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.'"

Then Herod secretly summoned the wise men [and] determined precisely from them the time [when] the star appeared.

Then Herod, [when he] saw that he had been deceived by the wise men, became very angry, and he sent [soldiers] [and] executed all the children in Bethlehem and in all the region [around] it from [the age of] two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined precisely from the wise men.

Now John himself had his clothing made from camel's hair and a belt made of leather around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey.

But [when he] saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, "Offspring of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?

And do not think to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham [as] father.' For I say to you that God is able to raise up children for Abraham from these stones!

Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John in order to be baptized by him.

Now [after he] was baptized, Jesus immediately went up from the water, and behold, the heavens opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove coming upon him.

And behold, [there was] a voice from heaven saying, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased."

From that time [on], Jesus began to preach and to say, "Repent, because the kingdom of heaven is near."

And going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James the [son] of Zebedee and his brother John, in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets, and he called them.

And large crowds followed him from Galilee, Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and from the other side of the Jordan.

For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one tiny letter or one stroke of a letter will pass away from the law until all takes place.

And if your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw [it] from you! For it is better for you that one of your members be destroyed than your whole body be thrown into hell.

And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw [it] from you! For it is better for you that one of your limbs be destroyed than your whole body go into hell.

But let your statement be 'Yes, yes; no, no,' and anything beyond these is from the evil one.

Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.

"And take care not to practice your righteousness before people to be seen by them; {otherwise} you have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.

And do not bring us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.

Or how will you say to your brother, 'Allow [me] to remove the speck from your eye,' and behold, the beam of wood [is] in your [own] eye?

Hypocrite! First remove the beam of wood from your [own] eye and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye!

You will recognize them by their fruits: they do not gather grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles, [do they]?

And then {I will say to them plainly}, 'I never knew you. Depart from me, you who practice lawlessness!'

And [when] he came down from the mountain, large crowds followed him.

But I say to you that many will come from east and west and {be seated at the banquet} with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.

And [when] he came to the other side, to the region of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men coming from among the tombs met him, very violent, so that no one was able to pass by along that road.

Now a long way from them a large herd of pigs was feeding.

And behold, the whole town came out to meet Jesus, and [when they] saw him, they implored [him] that he would depart from their region.

And [as] Jesus was going away from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth and said to him, "Follow me!" And he stood up [and] followed him.

And Jesus said to them, "{The bridegroom's attendants} are not able to mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them. But days are coming when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.

But no one puts a patch of unshrunken cloth on an old garment, for its patch pulls away from the garment, and the tear becomes worse.