16 Therefore, thus says the Lord, fI have returned to Jerusalem with mercy; gmy house shall be built in it, declares the Lord of hosts, and hthe measuring line shall be stretched out over Jerusalem. 17 Cry out again, Thus says the Lord of hosts: iMy cities shall again overflow with prosperity, jand the Lord will again comfort Zion and again kchoose Jerusalem.’”
A Vision of a Man with a Measuring Line
1 1 And I lifted my eyes and saw, and behold, oa man with a measuring line in his hand! 2 Then I said, “Where are you going?” And he said to me, p“To measure Jerusalem, to see what is its width and what is its length.” 3 And behold, qthe angel who talked with me came forward, and another angel came forward to meet him 4 and said to him, “Run, say to that young man, r‘Jerusalem shall be inhabited sas villages without walls, because of tthe multitude of people and livestock in it. 5 And I will be to her ua wall of fire all around, declares the Lord, and I will be the glory in her midst.’”
6 Up! Up! vFlee from the land of the north, declares the Lord. For I have wspread you abroad as the four winds of the heavens, declares the Lord. 7 xUp! Escape to Zion, you who dwell with the daughter of Babylon. 8 For thus said the Lord of hosts, after his glory sent me2 to the nations who plundered you, yfor he who touches you touches zthe apple of his eye: 9 “Behold, aI will shake my hand over them, band they shall become plunder for those who served them. Then cyou will know that the Lord of hosts has sent me. 10 dSing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion, for ebehold, I come fand I will dwell in your midst, declares the Lord. 11 gAnd many nations shall join themselves to the Lord in that day, and shall be my people. fAnd I will dwell in your midst, and cyou shall know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you. 12 hAnd the Lord will inherit Judah as his portion in the holy land, and will again ichoose Jerusalem.”
13 Be silent, all flesh, before the Lord, for he has roused himself from his holy dwelling.
The Coming Peace and Prosperity of Zion
1 And the word of the Lord of hosts came, saying, 2 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: sI am jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I am jealous for her with great wrath. 3 Thus says the Lord: tI have returned to Zion and uwill dwell in the midst of Jerusalem, vand Jerusalem shall be called the faithful city, wand the mountain of the Lord of hosts, the holy mountain. 4 Thus says the Lord of hosts: xOld men and old women shall again sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each with staff in hand because of great age. 5 And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in its streets. 6 Thus says the Lord of hosts: yIf it is marvelous in the sight of the remnant of this people in those days, zshould it also be marvelous in my sight, declares the Lord of hosts? 7 Thus says the Lord of hosts: Behold, aI will save my people bfrom the east country and from the west country, 8 and I will bring them to dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. cAnd they shall be my people, and I will be their God, din faithfulness and in righteousness.”
9 Thus says the Lord of hosts: e“Let your hands be strong, you who in these days have been hearing these words from the mouth of fthe prophets who were present on gthe day that the foundation of the house of the Lord of hosts was laid, that the temple might be built. 10 For before those days hthere was no wage for man or any wage for beast, neither was there any safety from the foe for him who went out or came in, for I set every man against his neighbor. 11 But now I will not deal with the remnant of this people as in the former days, declares the Lord of hosts. 12 iFor there shall be a sowing of peace. The vine shall give its fruit, and the ground shall give its produce, jand the heavens shall give their dew. kAnd I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these things. 13 And as lyou have been a byword of cursing among the nations, O house of Judah and house of Israel, mso will I save you, and nyou shall be a blessing. oFear not, but elet your hands be strong.”
14 For thus says the Lord of hosts: p“As I purposed to bring disaster to you when your fathers provoked me to wrath, and I did not relent, says the Lord of hosts, 15 so again have I purposed in these days to bring good to Jerusalem and to the house of Judah; ofear not. 16 These are the things that you shall do: qSpeak the truth to one another; rrender in your gates judgments sthat are true and make for peace; 17 tdo not devise evil in your hearts against one another, and ulove no false oath, for all these things I hate, declares the Lord.”
18 And the word of the Lord of hosts came to me, saying, 19 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: The fast of the vfourth month and the fast of the wfifth and the fast of the xseventh and the fast of the ytenth shall be to the house of Judah zseasons of joy and gladness and cheerful feasts. Therefore love atruth and peace.
20 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: Peoples shall yet come, even the inhabitants of many cities. 21 The inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, b‘Let us go at once cto entreat the favor of the Lord and to seek the Lord of hosts; I myself am going.’ 22 bMany peoples and strong nations shall come to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem and cto entreat the favor of the Lord. 23 Thus says the Lord of hosts: In those days dten men efrom the nations of every tongue shall take hold of the robe of a Jew, saying, ‘Let us go with you, for fwe have heard that God is with you.’”
Judgment on Israel’s Enemies
1 The oracle of the word of the Lord is against the land of Hadrach
and gDamascus is its resting place.
For the Lord has an eye on mankind
and on all the tribes of Israel,1
2 hand on Hamath also, which borders on it,
iTyre and iSidon, though jthey are very wise.
3 Tyre has built herself ka rampart
and lheaped up silver like dust,
and fine gold like the mud of the streets.
4 But behold, the Lord will strip her of her possessions
and strike down mher power on the sea,
and nshe shall be devoured by fire.
5 oAshkelon shall see it, and be afraid;
Gaza too, and shall writhe in anguish;
Ekron also, because its hopes are confounded.
The king shall perish from Gaza;
Ashkelon shall be uninhabited;
6 pa mixed people2 shall dwell in Ashdod,
and I will cut off the pride of Philistia.
7 I will take away qits blood from its mouth,
and rits abominations from between its teeth;
sit too shall be a remnant for our God;
it shall be like ta clan in Judah,
and Ekron shall be like the Jebusites.
8 Then uI will encamp at my house as a guard,
vso that none shall march to and fro;
wno oppressor shall again march over them,
xfor now I see with my own eyes.
The Coming King of Zion
9 yRejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!
Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem!
zBehold, ayour king is coming to you;
righteous and having salvation is he,
bhumble and mounted on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
10 cI will cut off the chariot from Ephraim
and dthe war horse from Jerusalem;
and the battle bow shall be cut off,
and ehe shall speak peace to the nations;
fhis rule shall be from sea to sea,
and from gthe River3 to the ends of the earth.
11 As for you also, because of hthe blood of my covenant with you,
iI will set your prisoners free from jthe waterless pit.
12 Return to your stronghold, O kprisoners of hope;
today I declare that lI will restore to you double.
13 For mI have bent Judah as my bow;
I have made Ephraim its arrow.
I will stir up your sons, O Zion,
against your sons, nO Greece,
and wield you like a warrior’s sword.
The Lord Will Save His People
14 Then the Lord will appear over them,
and ohis arrow will go forth like lightning;
pthe Lord God will sound the trumpet
and will march forth in qthe whirlwinds rof the south.
15 The Lord of hosts swill protect them,
and tthey shall devour, uand tread down the sling stones,
and vthey shall drink and roar as if drunk with wine,
and be full like a bowl,
drenched wlike the corners of the altar.
16 On that day the Lord their God will save them,
as xthe flock of his people;
for ylike the jewels of a crown
they shall shine on his land.
17 zFor how great is his goodness, and how great his beauty!
aGrain shall make the young men flourish,
and new wine the young women.
