'Thus said Jehovah of Hosts: I have been zealous for Zion with great zeal, With great heat I have been zealous for her.

For prior to those days neither man nor beast had wages. There was no safety from the enemy for anyone who came or went, for I turned everyone against his neighbor.

And it shall come to pass that - Just as ye had become a curse among the nations, O house of Judah and house of Israel, So, will I save you, and ye shall become a blessing, - Do not fear, let your hands, be strong.

"For the Lord who rules over all says, 'As I had planned to hurt you when your fathers made me angry,' says the Lord who rules over all, 'and I was not sorry,

So I turned back.; I had in mind in these days to do good to Jerusalem and to the house of Judah: ye shall not fear.

And let none of you imagine evil in your hearts against his neighbour; and love no false oath: for all these are things that I hate, saith the LORD.

I will take the blood from their mouths
And their detestable things from between their teeth [those repulsive, idolatrous sacrifices eaten with the blood].
Then they too will be a remnant for our God,
And be like a clan in Judah,
And Ekron will be like one of the Jebusites.

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.

And I will strengthen the house of Judah, and I will save the house of Joseph, and I will bring them again to place them; for I have mercy upon them: and they shall be as though I had not cast them off: for I am the LORD their God, and will hear them.

The Ephraimites will be like warriors and will rejoice as if they had drunk wine. Their children will see it and rejoice; they will celebrate in the things of the Lord.

Though I had them planted among the peoples, they will keep me in mind in far countries: and they will take care of their children and will come back.

“And they will pass through the sea of distress and anxiety [with the Lord leading His people, as at the Red Sea]
And He will strike the waves in the sea,
So that all the depths of the Nile will dry up;
And the pride of Assyria will be brought down
And the scepter [of the taskmasters] of Egypt will pass away.

Which they possessing them will slaughter them, and they will not be punished: and they selling them will say, Blessed be Jehovah; and I shall be rich: and their shepherds had not pity upon them.

Three shepherds destroyed I in one month, for I might not away with them, neither had they any delight in me.

And I took my staff, even Beauty, and cut it asunder, that I might break my covenant which I had made with all the people.

And it was broken in that day; and thus the poor of the flock that gave heed unto me knew that it was the word of Jehovah.

I told them, "If it's alright with you, pay me what I've earned. But if it isn't, don't." So they paid out what I had earned 30 pieces of silver.

Then said Yahweh unto me, Cast it into the treasury, the magnificent price at which I had been valued by them! So I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them, in the house of Yahweh, into the treasury.

So I took the 30 shekels of silver and threw them into the treasury of the Temple of the LORD. Then I broke my second staff the one I had named "Union" - breaking the union between the house of Judah and the house of Israel.

Indeed, I am about to raise up a shepherd in the land who will not take heed to the sheep headed to slaughter, will not seek the scattered, and will not heal the injured. Moreover, he will not nourish the one that is healthy but instead will eat the meat of the fat sheep and tear off their hooves.

In that day, says the Lord, I will put fear into every horse and make every horseman go off his head: and my eyes will be open on the people of Judah, and I will make every horse of the peoples blind.

In that time will I make the princes of Judah like a hot burning oven with wood, and like a cresset of fire among the straw: so that they shall consume all the people round about them, both upon the righthand and the left. Jerusalem also shall be inhabited again: namely, in the same place where Jerusalem standeth.

And in that day there will be no heat or cold or ice;

If ye will not hear it, nor regard it, to give the glory unto my name, sayeth the LORD of Hosts, I will send a curse upon you, and will curse your blessings. Yea, curse them will I if ye do not take heed.

My agreement with him was on my side life and peace, and I gave them to him; on his side fear, and he had fear of me and gave honour to my name.

Therefore have I also made you contemptible and base before all the people, according as ye have not kept my ways, but have had respect of persons in the law.

Judah, hath dealt treacherously, and, an abomination, hath been wrought in Israel, and in Jerusalem, - for Judah, had profaned, the holy place of Yahweh, which he had loved, and hath taken to himself the daughter of a foreign GOD.

And did not he make one? Yet had he the residue of the spirit. And wherefore one? That he might seek a godly seed. Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously against the wife of his youth.

For the LORD, the God of Israel, saith that he hateth putting away: for one covereth violence with his garment, saith the LORD of hosts: therefore take heed to your spirit, that ye deal not treacherously.

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?'

You have said, It is no use worshipping God: what profit have we had from keeping his orders, and going in clothing of sorrow before the Lord of armies?

At that time those who feared the Lord spoke to one another. The Lord took notice and listened. So a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who feared Yahweh and had high regard for His name.

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.

Abraham had a son named Isaac; Isaac had a son named Jacob and Jacob's sons were Judah and his [eleven] brothers.

Judah had sons named Perez and Zarah, [whose mother was] Tamar. Perez had a son named Hezron; Hezron had a son named Aram;

Aram had a son named Amminadab; Amminadab had a son named Nahshon; Nahshon had a son named Salmon;

Salmon had a son named Boaz [whose mother was] Rahab; Boaz had a son named Obed [whose mother was] Ruth; Obed had a son named Jesse,

And Jesse begat David the king; and David the king begat Solomon of her that had been the wife of Urias;

Solomon had a son named Rehoboam; Rehoboam had a son named Abijah; Abijah had a son named Asa;

Asa had a son named Jehoshaphat; Jehoshaphat had a son named Joram; Joram had a son named Uzziah;

Uzziah had a descendant named Jotham; Jotham had a son named Ahaz; Ahaz had a son named Hezekiah;

Hezekiah had a son named Manasseh; Manasseh had a son named Amon; Amon had a son named Josiah;

Josiah had descendants named Jechoniah and his brothers, [near] the time when [the people of Judah] were taken away to Babylon.

After the Removal to Babylon Jeconiah had a son Shealtiel; Shealtiel was the father of Zerubbabel;

And Zerubbabel had Abiud; and Abiud had Eliakim; and Eliakim had Azor;

And Azor had Zadok; and Zadok had Achim; and Achim had Eliud;

And Eliud had Eleazar; and Eleazar had Matthan; and Matthan had Jacob;

Jacob had a son named Joseph, who was the husband of Mary. Mary [alone] was the mother of Jesus, who is called the Christ.

Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found with child of the Holy Spirit.

But Joseph her husband, being a kind-hearted man and unwilling publicly to disgrace her, had determined to release her privately from the betrothal.

But after he had considered these things, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, don’t be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because what has been conceived in her is by the Holy Spirit.

All this happened in order to fulfill what the Lord had spoken through the prophet [Isaiah]:

Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife:

And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.

After Jesus had been born in Bethlehem of Judea during the reign of King Herod, wise men arrived in Jerusalem from the east

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

And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born.

Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, inquired of them diligently what time the star appeared.

When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was.

And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.

Then, as they had been divinely warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they went back to their own country by a different road.

Now when they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up! Take the Child and His mother and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod intends to search for the Child in order to destroy Him.”

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

Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men.

Then what had been spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled:

Now [after] Herod had died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt,

"Get up, take the young child and His mother, and go [back] to the country of Israel, for those who had tried to take the young child's life are [now] dead."

But hearing that Archelaus had succeeded his father Herod on the throne of Judaea, he was afraid to go there; and being instructed by God in a dream he withdrew into Galilee,

He came to a town called Nazareth and lived there. Then what had been spoken by the prophets was fulfilled, that Jesus would be called a Nazarene.

For he is the one about whom Isaiah the prophet had spoken: "The voice of one shouting in the wilderness, 'Prepare the way for the Lord, make his paths straight.'"

And the same John had his raiment of camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey.

And they were given baptism by him in the river Jordan, saying openly that they had done wrong.

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 when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred.

Then the Devil took Him to the holy city, had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple,

He told Jesus, "Since you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, because it is written, "God will put his angels in charge of you,' and, "With their hands they will hold you up, so that you will never hit your foot against a rock.'"

Now when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison, he departed into Galilee;

[This was] so that what Isaiah the prophet had spoken would be fulfilled, saying,

And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatick, and those that had the palsy; and he healed them.

And seeing the multitudes, he went up into the mountain: and when he had sat down, his disciples came unto him:

Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.

A city that is situated on a mountain cannot be hid. Neither do they light a candle and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick, and it giveth light to all that are in the house.

"I tell you truly that you would certainly not get out from there until you had paid back the last cent.

But I say to you that everyone whose eyes are turned on a woman with desire has had connection with her in his heart.

But I say to you, every person who divorces his wife makes her become sexually unfaithful to him [i.e., since she will probably marry someone else], unless the reason for the divorce is that she had [already] become sexually unfaithful to him. And whoever marries a woman who has been divorced commits sexual sin with her [i.e., because she is still rightfully married to her first husband].

nor by the earth, for it is his footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King: neither shalt thou swear by thy head,

Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black.

But I tell you, do not offer resistance to an evil person, but whoever hits you on the right side of the face, allow him [to hit you] on the other side also.

Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.

But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;

You, therefore, will be perfect [growing into spiritual maturity both in mind and character, actively integrating godly values into your daily life], as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.

But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face;

No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

Can any of you add a single cubit to his height by worrying?

And if this is how God clothes the wild grass, which is here today and tomorrow is tossed into the fire to heat the oven, won't he clothe you even more, you people of little faith?

'But, take heed of the false prophets, who come unto you in sheep's clothing, and inwardly are ravening wolves.

And then will I say to them, I never had knowledge of you: go from me, you workers of evil.

and the rain came down, and the streams came, and the winds blew and fell upon that house, and it did not fall, for it had been founded upon the rock.

And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine: