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.

But have my words and statutes, which I commanded my servants the prophets, not outlived your fathers? Then they paid attention and confessed, 'The Lord who rules over all has indeed done what he said he would do to us, because of our sinful ways.'"

Upon the twenty forth day of the eleventh month which is the month Shebat, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the LORD unto Zechariah the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo, the Prophet, who said,

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 the one who is standing between the myrtles doth answer and say, 'These are they whom Jehovah hath sent to walk up and down in the land.'

And they answer the messenger of Jehovah who is standing between the myrtles, and say, 'We have walked up and down in the land, and lo, all the land is sitting still, and at rest.'

Then the LORD's angel gave answer, and said, 'O LORD of Hosts, how long wilt thou be unmerciful to Jerusalem and to the cities of Judah, with whom thou hast been displeased now these seventy years?'

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.

And with great wrath I am wroth against the nations who are at ease, For I was a little wroth, and they assisted -- for evil.

"'Therefore,' says the Lord, 'I have become compassionate toward Jerusalem and will rebuild my temple in it,' says the Lord who rules over all. 'Once more a surveyor's measuring line will be stretched out over Jerusalem.'

Speak up again with the message of the Lord who rules over all: 'My cities will once more overflow with prosperity, and once more the Lord will comfort Zion and validate his choice of Jerusalem.'"

And I said to the angel [who was] talking with me, "What [are] these?" And he said to me, "These [are] the horns that have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem."

And I say, 'What are these coming in to do?' And He speaketh, saying: 'These are the horns that have scattered Judah, so that no one hath lifted up his head, and these come in to trouble them, to cast down the horns of the nations who are lifting up a horn against the land of Judah -- to scatter it.'

And look, the angel who was talking to me [was] coming forward, and another angel [was] coming forward to meet him.

"O get you forth! O flee from the land of the north, sayeth the LORD; ye whom I have scattered into the four winds under heaven, sayeth the LORD.

Ho, Zion, be delivered who art dwelling with the daughter of Babylon.

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, behold, I will shake my hand over them, and they shall be a spoil to those who served them. And ye shall know that LORD of hosts has sent me.

"Many nations will join themselves to the Lord on the day of salvation, and they will also be my people. Indeed, I will settle in the midst of you all." Then you will know that the Lord who rules over all has sent me to you.

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 spoke to those who stood before him, saying, Take the filthy garments from off him. And to him he said, Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with rich apparel.

Thus says LORD of hosts: If thou will walk in my ways, and if thou will keep my charge, then thou also shall judge my house, and shall also keep my courts, and I will give thee a place of access among these who stand by.

Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, thou and thy fellows who sit before thee, for they are men who are a sign. For, behold, I will bring forth my servant the Branch.

As for the stone I have set before Joshua -- on the one stone there are seven eyes. I am about to engrave an inscription on it,' says the Lord who rules over all, 'to the effect that I will remove the iniquity of this land in a single day.

In that day,' says the Lord who rules over all, 'everyone will invite his friend to fellowship under his vine and under his fig tree.'"

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

And I answered and said to the angel [who was] talking to me, "What [are] these, my lord?"

And the angel [who was] talking with me answered and said to me, "Do you not know what these [are]?" And I said, "No, my lord."

Therefore he told me, "These signify the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: 'Not by strength and not by power, but by my Spirit,' says the Lord who rules over all."

'Who [are] you O great mountain? {Before} Zerubbabel [you will become] level ground, and he will bring out the top stone amid the shouts of "Grace, grace to it!" '"

"The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundations of this temple, and his hands will complete it." Then you will know that the Lord who rules over all has sent me to you.

For who hath despised the day of small things? Yea, they shall rejoice even those seven and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel: these are the eyes of Jehovah, which run to and fro in the whole earth.

Then I said to him [who was speaking with me], “What are these two olive trees on the right side of the lampstand and on its left?”

And he saith, 'These are the two sons of the oil, who are standing by the Lord of the whole earth.'

And he said to me, "This [is] the curse going out over the surface of the whole earth. For everyone who steals has gone unpunished according to it, and [likewise] everyone who swears [falsely] has gone unpunished according to it.

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 angel who was speaking to me went out, and he said to me, "{Please look up}! See what this [is] going out."

And I asked the angel who was talking to me, "Where [are] they taking the basket?"

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

And the angel answered and said to me, These are the four spirits of the heavens who go forth from standing before the Lord of all the earth.

Then he cried to me, and spoke to me, saying, Behold, those who go toward the north country have quieted my spirit in the north country.

"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, These are the words of the Lord of armies: See, the man whose name is the Branch, under whom there will be fertile growth.

Yes, it is He who will build the temple of the Lord, and He who will bear the honor and sit and rule on His throne. Thus, He will be a priest on His throne, and the counsel of peace will be between the two offices.”’

And those who are far off will come and build the temple of Yahweh, and you will know that Yahweh of hosts has sent me to you. And it will happen if you will listen diligently to the voice of Yahweh your God."

speaking unto the priests who are at the house of Jehovah of Hosts, and unto the prophets, saying, 'Do I weep in the fifth month -- being separated -- as I have done these so many years?'

The word of the Lord who rules over all then came to me,

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?

"The Lord who rules over all said, 'Exercise true judgment and show brotherhood and compassion to each other.

Indeed, they made their heart as hard as diamond, so that they could not obey the Torah and the other words the Lord who rules over all had sent by his Spirit through the former prophets. Therefore, the Lord who rules over all had poured out great wrath.

"'It then came about that just as I cried out, but they would not obey, so they will cry out, but I will not listen,' the Lord Lord who rules over all had said.

and I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations whom they knew not, and the land was desolate after them, so that no one passed through nor returned; and they laid the pleasant land desolate.

Then the word of the Lord who rules over all came to me as follows:

"The Lord who rules over all says, 'I am very much concerned for Zion; indeed, I am so concerned for her that my rage will fall on those who hurt her.'

The Lord says, 'I have returned to Zion and will live within Jerusalem. Now Jerusalem will be called "truthful city," "mountain of the Lord who rules over all," "holy mountain."'

Moreover, the Lord who rules over all says, 'Old men and women will once more live in the plazas of Jerusalem, each one leaning on a cane because of advanced age.

And,' says the Lord who rules over all, 'though such a thing may seem to be difficult in the opinion of the small community of those days, will it also appear difficult to me?' asks the Lord who rules over all.

"The Lord who rules over all asserts, 'I am about to save my people from the lands of the east and 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}.

But I will be different now to this remnant of my people from the way I was in those days,' says the Lord who rules over all,

"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,

The word of the Lord who rules over all came to me as follows:

"The Lord who rules over all says, 'The fast of the fourth, fifth, seventh, and tenth months will become joyful and happy, pleasant feasts for the house of Judah, so love truth and peace.'

The Lord who rules over all says, 'It will someday come to pass that people -- residents of many cities -- will come.

The inhabitants of one will go to another and say, "Let's go up at once to ask the favor of the Lord, to seek the Lord who rules over all. Indeed, I'll go with you."'

Many peoples and powerful nations will come to Jerusalem to seek the Lord who rules over all and to ask his favor.

Thus says LORD of hosts: In those days, ten men shall take hold, out of all the languages of the nations, they shall take hold of the skirt of him who is a Jew, saying, We will go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.

I will take away their abominable religious practices; then those who survive will become a community of believers in our God, like a clan in Judah, and Ekron will be like the Jebusites.

I will set up camp at My house against an army,
against those who march back and forth,
and no oppressor will march against them again,
for now I have seen with My own eyes.

Return to a stronghold,
you prisoners who have hope;
today I declare that I will restore double to you.

The Lord who rules over all will guard them, and they will prevail and overcome with sling stones. Then they will drink, and will become noisy like drunkards, full like the sacrificial basin or like the corners of the altar.

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.

Because the household gods speak deceit, and those who practice divination see a lie, and the dreamers of vanity speak in vain. Therefore [the people] wander like sheep; they are afflicted because there is no shepherd.

I am enraged at the shepherds and will punish the lead-goats. For the Lord who rules over all has brought blessing to his flock, the house of Judah, and will transform them into his majestic warhorse.

And they shall be as mighty men, who tread down their enemies in the mire of the streets in the battle: and they shall fight, because the LORD is with them, and the riders on horses shall be confounded.

"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.

whose possessors kill them, and hold themselves not guilty. And those who sell them say, Blessed be LORD, for I am rich, and their own shepherds pity them not.

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 took care of the flock of death, for those who made profit out of the flock; and I took for myself two rods, naming one Beautiful, and the other Bands; and I took care of the flock.

Then I said, I will not feed you. That which dies, let it die, and that which is to be cut off, let it be cut off, and let those who are left eat each one the flesh of another.

And it was broken on that day. Then the afflicted of the flock, the [ones who were] watching me, knew that it [was] the word of Yahweh.

For look, I [am] raising up a shepherd in the land who will not attend to the [ones that are] perishing; he will not seek the young man, he will not heal the [ones that are] crushed and he will not sustain the healthy [ones]; he will devour the flesh of the {fattened ones} and tear apart [even] their hoofs.

"Woe, my worthless shepherd who deserts the flock! [May] a sword [fall] on his arm and on {his right eye}! May his arm wither completely and {his right eye} be utterly blinded!"

An oracle. The word of Yahweh concerning Israel. "{Thus declares} Yahweh, who stretches out [the] heavens, founds [the] earth, and forms the spirit of humankind in its midst:

“Look, I will make Jerusalem a cup that causes staggering for the peoples who surround the city. The siege against Jerusalem will also involve Judah.

And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all the peoples. All who burden themselves with it shall be severely wounded. And all the nations of the earth shall be gathered together agai

Then the leaders of Judah will say to themselves, 'The inhabitants of Jerusalem are a means of strength to us through their God, the Lord who rules over all.'

On that day Yahweh will put a shield around the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the one who stumbles among them on that day will be like David, and the house of David [will be] like God, like the angel of Yahweh, {before them}.

And it hath come to pass, in that day, I seek to destroy all the nations Who are coming in against Jerusalem,

" 'I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication, and they will look to me whom they pierced, and they shall mourn over him, as one wails over an only child, and they will grieve bitterly over him as [one] grieves bitterly over a firstborn.

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.

all the families who remain, each family apart and their wives apart.

And also on that day," says the Lord who rules over all, "I will remove the names of the idols from the land and they will never again be remembered. Moreover, I will remove the prophets and the unclean spirit from the land.

{And then}, if anyone prophesies again, his father and his mother who bore him will say to him, "You shall not live, because you have spoken a lie in the name of Yahweh!" And his father and his mother who bore him will pierce him through when he prophesies.

And someone shall say to him, "What [are] these wounds {between your arms}?" and he will say, "Those I have received [in] the house of [the ones who] love me." '"

"O sword, awake against my shepherd, against [the] man [who is] my associate," {declares} Yahweh of hosts. "Strike the shepherd, so that the sheep may be scattered, and I will turn my hand against the small [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 this is the plague with which Jehovah Doth plague all the peoples who have warred against Jerusalem, He hath consumed away its flesh, And it is standing on its feet, And its eyes are consumed in their holes, And its tongue is consumed in their mouth.