“The Lord of Hosts says this: I am extremely jealous for Zion; I am jealous for her with great wrath.”

This is what the Lord has said: I have come back to Zion, and will make my living-place in Jerusalem: and Jerusalem will be named The town of good faith; and the mountain of the Lord of armies The holy mountain.

This is what the Lord of armies has said: There will again be old men and old women seated in the open spaces of Jerusalem, every man with his stick in his hand because he is so old.

Thus says Yahweh of hosts: '[Even] if it seems impossible {to the remnant} of this people in those days, should it also seem impossible {to me}?' {declares} Yahweh of hosts.

This is what the Lord of armies has said: See, I will be the saviour of my people from the east country, and from the west country;

This is what the Lord of armies has said: Let your hands be strong, you who are now hearing these words from the mouths of the prophets, that is to say, in the days when the base of the house of the Lord of armies has been put in place for the building of the house, that is the Temple.

But now {I will not deal with the remnant of this people as in the former days},' {declares} Yahweh of hosts.

'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 this is what the Lord of armies has said: As it was my purpose to do evil to you when your fathers made me angry, says the Lord of armies, and my purpose was not changed:

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

Do not plot evil in your hearts against your neighbor, and do not love perjury, for I hate all this”—this is the Lord’s declaration.

Once again this message from the LORD come to me:

This is what the Lord of armies has said: The times of going without food in the fourth month and in the fifth and the seventh and the tenth months, will be for the people of Judah times of joy and happy meetings; so be lovers of good faith and of peace.

This is what the Lord of armies has said: It will again come about that when peoples and those living in great towns come,

This is what the Lord of armies has said: In those days, ten men from all the languages of the nations will put out their hands and take a grip of the skirt of him who is a Jew, saying, We will go with you, for it has come to our ears 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.

This shall Ashkelon see, and be afraid. Gaza shall be very sorry, so shall Ekron also, because her hope is come of confusion. For the king of Gaza shall perish; and at Ashkelon shall no man dwell.

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."

Turn you now to the stronghold, ye that be in prison, and long sore to be delivered: And this day I bring the word, that I will reward thee double again.

For, the household gods, have spoken vanity, and, the diviners, have had vision of falsehood, and, deceitful dreams, do they relate, vainly, do they console, - for this reason, have they moved about like a flock, they suffer ill, because there is no shepherd.

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

This is what the Lord my God has said: Take care of the flock of death;

And Yahweh said to me, "Throw it to the potter," {this noble price} [at] which I was valued by them!" So I took the thirty silver [shekels] and I threw them to the potter [in] the house of Yahweh.

The Lord said to me, “Take again for yourself the equipment [of a shepherd, but this time] of a foolish shepherd.

Then, if anyone prophesies in spite of this, his father and mother to whom he was born will say to him, 'You cannot live, for you lie in the name of the Lord.' Then his father and mother to whom he was born will run him through with a sword when he prophesies.

"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.'

I will put this third through the fire;
I will refine them as silver is refined
and test them as gold is tested.
They will call on My name,
and I will answer them.
I will say: They are My people,
and they will say: Yahweh is our God.”

This shall be that special day which is known unto the LORD: neither day nor night, but about the evening time it shall be light.

And this will be the plague [with] which Yahweh will strike all the peoples that fight against Jerusalem: their flesh will rot while they [are] standing on their feet; their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths.

{Like this plague} will be the plague on the horse, the mule, the camel, and the donkey, and every kind of animal in those camps.

If the kindred of Egypt go not up, and come not, it shall not rain upon them neither. This shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all Heathen, that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles.

This will be the punishment of Egypt and the punishment of all the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Booths.

“I have loved you,” says the Lord.

But you ask: “How have You loved us?”

“Wasn’t Esau Jacob’s brother?” This is the Lord’s declaration. “Even so, I loved Jacob,

If Edom says, "We are shattered, but we will return and rebuild [the] ruins," Yahweh of hosts says this: "They may build, but I will tear down; and they will be called a territory of wickedness, and the people [with] whom Yahweh is angry forever."

Your eyes will see [this], and you will say, "Yahweh is great beyond the borders of Israel."

"A son naturally honors his father and a slave respects his master. If I am your father, where is my honor? If I am your master, where is my respect? The Lord who rules over all asks you this, you priests who make light of my name! But you reply, 'How have we made light of your name?'

In this: that ye offer unclean bread upon mine altar. And if ye will say, 'Wherein have we offered any unclean thing unto thee?' In this that ye say: the altar of the LORD is not to be regarded.

So then, {implore the favor of God} so that he will be gracious to us. "{This is what you have done}. {Will he show favor to any of you}?" 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.

"And so then, O priests, this command [is] for you:

"Then you will know that I have sent to you this command, that my covenant with Levi {continues}," says Yahweh of hosts.

"My covenant with him was [one of] life and peace, and I gave them to him. [This required] reverence, and he revered me and stood in awe {before} my name.

Do we not all have one father? Did not one God create us? Why do we betray one another, in this way making light of the covenant of our ancestors?

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.

No one who has even a small portion of the Spirit in him does this. What did our ancestor do when seeking a child from God? Be attentive, then, to your own spirit, for one should not be disloyal to the wife he took in his youth.

Ye grieve the LORD with your words, and yet ye say, 'Wherewithal have we grieved him?' In this, that ye say: 'All that do evil are good in the sight of God, and such please him.' Or else where is the God that punisheth?

"I will come to you in judgment. I will be quick to testify against those who practice divination, those who commit adultery, those who break promises, and those who exploit workers, widows, and orphans, who refuse to help the immigrant and in this way show they do not fear me," says the Lord who rules over all.

For I am Jehovah, I change not. Because of this you sons of Jacob are not destroyed.

Ye are cursed with a curse; and me ye rob, even this whole nation.

Bring the whole tithe to {the storehouse}, so that there will be food in my house, and test me please in this," says Yahweh of hosts, "if I will not open for you the windows of heaven, and pour forth for you {an overflowing blessing}.

And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the LORD of hosts.

This is the book of the generations of Jesus Christ: the son of David, the son also of Abraham.

Now the birth of Jesus Christ occurred in this way. His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, [but] before they came together, she was found {to be pregnant} by the Holy Spirit.

But just as this thought occurred to him, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, and said, "Joseph, descendant of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for it is through the influence of the Holy Spirit that she has become an expectant mother.

Now all this happened in order that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet would be fulfilled, saying,

He made Mary his wife, but did not live with her as her husband until after the birth of her son; and to this son he gave the name Jesus.

When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the reign of king Herod, certain eastern Magi came to Jerusalem, with this enquiry,

Where is this king of the Jews who is now born? for we have seen his rising star, and are come to pay him homage.

When Herod the king had heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.

They told him, "At Bethlehem in Judea, for this is what the prophet wrote:

So he sent them to Bethlehem with this order, "Go and carefully search for the child, and when you find Him, bring back word to me, and I too may come and do Him homage."

when they observ'd this of the star, they were extreamly well pleas'd.

He remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called My Son.”

When Herod saw that he had been tricked by the astrologer/sages, he was furious and sent out [his soldiers] to kill all the baby boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity. This was done to those from two years old and under, basing [their decision] on the exact time determined from the astrologer/sages.

This fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying,

[Jer. 31:15], "A voice was heard in [the town of] Ramah [Note: This was a village near Jerusalem, where Rachel was buried], with crying and deep mourning. It was Rachel crying for her children [Note: Initially this was a reference to the Israelites who were taken to Babylonian captivity. See Jer. 29-31]. She refused to be comforted because they were dead."

and came and lived in a city called Nazareth. This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophets: “He shall be called a Nazarene.”

About this time, John the Baptist appeared, preaching in the Judean wilderness,

For this is the one who was spoken about by the prophet Isaiah, saying, "The voice of one crying out in the wilderness, 'Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.'"

This John had his garment of camel's hair, and a girdle of a skin about his loins; his meat was locusts and wild honey.

His winnowing shovel [Note: This was a process whereby grain was tossed into the air so that the wind could blow the husks away, leaving only good grain on the ground] is in His hand and He will completely clear off His threshing floor [by removing all of the husks]. And He will gather His wheat into the barn, but will burn up the husks with a fire that will never go out."

But Jesus answered [and] said to him, "Permit [it] now, for in this way it is right for us to fulfill all righteousness." Then he permitted him.

At this, he permitted him to be baptized. When Jesus had been baptized, he immediately came up out of the water. Suddenly, the heavens opened up for him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him.

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

After this, Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the Devil.

The devil took Him again, [this time] to a very high mountain and showed Him all the world's kingdoms, along with their splendor,

and said to Him, "Every bit of this I will give to you, if you will fall on your knees and worship me."

At this the devil left him, and angels came up and ministered to him.

After this, Jesus having heard that John was confined in prison, retired into Galilee.

This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah:

From that time Jesus began to preach this message: "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near."

Jesus, to avoid this crowd of people, went to a mountain: and when he was set down, his disciples came to him.

Keep on rejoicing and leaping for ecstasy, for your reward will be rich in heaven; for this is the way they persecuted the prophets who lived before you.

"You people are [like] salt on the earth. But if salt loses its flavoring ability, how will it ever get it back again? From then on it would be good for nothing except to be thrown out onto the roadway and walked on by people. [Note: This was mined salt which, when losing its "saltiness" due to exposure to the sun or rain, was simply disposed of by being dumped onto the roadway where people walked].

In this way let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

Therefore whoever abolishes one of the least of these commandments and teaches people to do so will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever keeps [them] and teaches [them], this person will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

And if your right eye is what ensnares you into falling away [from God], gouge it out and throw it away from you. For it would be better for you to lose a part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. [Note: This is the word "Gehenna," and because of its Old Testament connotation of burning bodies, II Chron. 33:6, it is used figuratively here, and elsewhere, to describe the place of future, final punishment of the wicked].

Again, it was said, Whoever puts away his wife has to give her a statement in writing for this purpose:

But your way of speaking must be a simple 'Yes' or 'No.' Anything beyond this comes from the evil one.

For, if you love only those who love you, what reward will you have? Even the tax-gatherers do this!

And if ye only greet your friends, what do ye extra? Do not even the tax collectors this way?

"Therefore, when you give money to help poor people, do not blow a trumpet in front of you [i.e., to call attention to it] as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and streets. They do this in order to win praise from people. It is true when I say to you, they have [already] received their reward.

Therefore you pray in this way: "Our Father who is in heaven, may your name be treated as holy.

Give us this day our daily bread.

"For this [reason] I say to you, do not be anxious for your life, what you will eat, and not for your body, what you will wear. Is your life not more than food and your body [more than] clothing?

But if God dresses the grass of the field in this way, [although it] is [here] today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not [do so] much more [for] you, you of little faith?

For these are all things the heathen are in pursuit of, and your heavenly Father knows well that you need all this.

Therefore [in] all [things], whatever you want that people should do to you, thus also you do to them. For this is the law and the prophets.