UST ZEC book

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ZEC EN_UST en_English_ltr Wed Sep 09 2020 11:55:46 GMT-0500 (Central Daylight Time) tc

1 I am Zechariah, a prophet, the son of Berechiah and the grandson of Iddo. When Darius had been the emperor of Persia for almost two years, in the eighth month of that year, Yahweh gave me this message:

2 “Yahweh was very angry with your ancestors. 3 So tell the people this: Yahweh, the commander of the heavenly armies, says, ‘Come back to me,’ this is what Yahweh, the commander of the heavenly armies, solemnly declares, ‘and I will help you again,’ says Yahweh, the commander of the heavenly armies. 4 Do not be like your ancestors. The prophets who lived before you continually told your ancestors that Yahweh, the commander of the heavenly armies, said, ‘Stop doing the evil things that you are doing!’ However, they refused to listen to me or pay attention to me,” solemnly declares Yahweh.

6 However, the warnings and decrees that I commanded my servants the prophets to tell your ancestors did come true. So your ancestors repented and said, ‘Yahweh, the commander of the heavenly armies, has punished us for the way we behaved and for the things we did, just as he said he would do.’ ”

7 Three months later, on the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, the month of Shebat, when Darius had been emperor for almost two years, Yahweh gave another message to me, Zechariah son of Berechiah son of Iddo, the prophet. 8 During the night I had a vision. In the vision I saw a man riding a red horse. He stood among the myrtle trees in a deep valley, and behind him other riders sat on red, reddish-brown, and white horses. 9 I asked the angel who had been talking to me, “Sir, who are those riders?” The angel replied, “I will show you who they are.” 10 Then the man who stood among the myrtle trees explained. He said, “Yahweh sent these riders to patrol throughout the earth.”

11 Then those riders reported to an angel representing Yahweh, who stood among the myrtle trees. They said, “We have patrolled throughout the earth, and everywhere the nations are living peacefully and undisturbed.”

12 Then the angel representing Yahweh pleaded, “Yahweh, commander of the heavenly armies, how long will you continue to not show mercy to the people of Jerusalem and the people of the other cities of Judah? You have been angry with them for 70 years!” 13 So Yahweh spoke kind and encouraging words to the angel who had been talking to me. 14 Then the angel who had been talking to me said to me, “Proclaim this message: Yahweh, the commander of the heavenly armies, says,

15 I am extremely angry with the nations that feel so secure. I was only a little angry with my people, but those nations made things much worse by harming them so much.

16 Therefore, this is what Yahweh says: I have once again chosen to show mercy to the people of Jerusalem. They will rebuild my temple there,’ solemnly declares Yahweh, the commander of the heavenly armies, ‘and workers will stretch out a measuring line to rebuild Jerusalem.’

17 Also proclaim this: Yahweh, the commander of the heavenly armies, says, ‘The people of my cities in Judah will once again enjoy many good things, and Yahweh will once again encourage the people of Zion and once again choose Jerusalem as his own city.’ ”

18 Then I looked up and in front of me I saw four horns. 19 I asked the angel who had been talking to me, “What are those?” He replied, “Those horns represent the powerful nations that used their military power to scatter the people of Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.” 20 Then Yahweh showed me four craftsmen. 21 I asked, “What are these craftsmen coming to do?” He replied, “Those horns represent the powerful nations that scattered the people of Judah so badly that no one could resist them. These craftsmen have come to terrify those nations and to crush the military power that those nations used against the people of Judah to scatter them.”

2 Then I looked up and saw a man who was holding a measuring line. 2 I asked him, “Where are you going?” He replied, “I am going to measure Jerusalem to find out how wide it is and how long it is.”

3 Then the angel who had been talking to me went out, and another angel came out to meet him. 4 The second angel said to him, “Run and tell that young man this: ‘Someday so many people and animals will live in Jerusalem that they will not all fit inside the city walls. Many of them will live outside the walls. 5 Yahweh says that he himself will protect the city all around, just as a wall of fire would protect it, and he will show everyone how great he is by living among his people in the city.’ ”

6 Yahweh declares, “Pay attention! You must flee from Babylonia, because I scattered you in every direction.”

7 Yahweh says, “You people of Jerusalem who are still living in Babylon, escape from there! 8 This is what Yahweh, the commander of the heavenly armies, says. In order to honor his people, he sent me to rebuke the nations that took away your valuable possessions. He says, ‘Anyone who harms you harms what is most precious to me. 9 I am about to use my power against those nations, and the people who used to serve them will take back their possessions from them.’ ” When that happens, you will know that Yahweh, the commander of the heavenly armies, sent me.

10 Yahweh says, “You people of Jerusalem, shout and be happy, because I am about to come to you and live among you!”

11 At that time, people from many nations will start worshiping Yahweh and become his people. He will live among all of you. Then you will know that Yahweh, the commander of the heavenly armies, sent me to you. 12 Yahweh will claim the people of Judah as his own special people in the land that he has set apart for himself, and he will once again choose Jerusalem as his city. 13 All people everywhere must be silent before Yahweh, because he has risen up from heaven, the holy place where he lives, and he is ready to act!

3 Then Yahweh showed me a vision. I saw Joshua, the high priest, standing in the presence of an angel representing Yahweh. The accuser was standing at the place where an accuser stands in a court, ready to bring charges against Joshua. 2 Yahweh said to the accuser, “I, Yahweh, reject your accusations! I am the one who has chosen Jerusalem, and I reject your accusations! I rescued this man just barely, the way someone pulls a burning stick out of a fire before the fire destroys it.” 3 Now Joshua was wearing extremely dirty clothes as he stood near the angel.

4 The angel told the other angels who were standing there, “Take those filthy clothes off of him.” Then the angel said to Joshua, “Look at what I have done! I have taken away your sin, and I will dress you in beautiful clothes.” 5 Then I said, “Put a clean turban on his head too!” So the angels put a clean turban on his head and dressed him in new clothes while an angel representing Yahweh stood watching.

6 Then an angel representing Yahweh gave Joshua this serious command: 7 “Yahweh, the commander of the heavenly armies, says this to you: ‘If you obey me and do what I command you to do, then you will be in charge of my temple and will take care of my temple courtyards. I will also allow you to come into the presence of these angels who stand here.

8 Listen carefully, Joshua the high priest, you and your fellow priests who sit in front of you, because you are all living signs that point to what will happen in the future. I am going to bring my servant, the one who will be like a new branch that sprouts from the stump of David’s family. 9 Look at the stone that I have placed in front of Joshua. That single stone has seven facets that represent how I watch over everything. I will engrave an inscription on it. This is what Yahweh, the commander of the heavenly armies, declares. When I do this, I will take away all the sin from this land in a single day.

10 When that day comes, each of you will invite your neighbors to come and enjoy peace and security with you.’ This is what Yahweh, the commander of the heavenly armies, declares.

4 Then the angel who had been talking with me came back and woke me up. I had been thinking deeply, as though I had fallen asleep. 2 He asked me, “What do you see?” I replied, “I see a lampstand made completely of gold. It has a small bowl for olive oil at the top, and seven lamps around the bowl, with seven channels going to each of the seven lamps that are on top of it. 3 I also see two olive trees beside it, one olive tree on the right side of the bowl and one olive tree on its left side.”

4 I asked the angel who was talking with me, “Sir, what do these things mean?”

5 The angel replied, “You really should know what they mean!” I answered, “No, sir, I do not know.”

6 Then the angel said to me, “This is the message that Yahweh has for Zerubbabel: ‘You will not accomplish this by being strong or by your own efforts. Instead, my Spirit will accomplish it,’ says Yahweh, the commander of the heavenly armies.

7 Every great difficulty that stands in front of Zerubbabel will disappear! He will set the final stone of the temple in its place, and all the people will shout, ‘How beautiful! May God bless it!’

8 Then Yahweh gave me another message. 9 He said, ‘Zerubbabel began the work of rebuilding this temple, and he will finish it.’ When that happens, you will know that Yahweh, the commander of the heavenly armies, sent me to you people.

10 No one should think that the small beginnings of a big project are unimportant. People will be happy when they see Zerubbabel holding the plumb line as he checks the walls. Those seven lamps represent how Yahweh watches over everything that happens on the whole earth.”

11 Then I asked the angel, “What do the two olive trees on each side of the lampstand mean?

12 In particular, what do the two olive branches that are beside the two gold pipes that pour out olive oil mean?” 13 He said to me, “You really should know what these things mean!” I replied, “No, sir, I do not know.”

14 So he said, “They represent the two people whom God has anointed to serve the Lord who rules over the whole earth.”

2 The angel asked me, “What do you see?” I replied, “I see a scroll flying through the air. It is about 30 feet long and about 15 feet wide.”

3 Then he said to me, “This scroll contains the words that Yahweh speaks to punish people throughout the whole land. On one side, the scroll says that Yahweh will remove everyone who steals. On the other side, it says that he will remove everyone who lies when making a solemn promise. 4 Yahweh, the commander of the heavenly armies, declares, ‘I will send this scroll to the houses of people who steal and to the houses of people who use my authority to make false promises. The scroll will remain in those houses and will destroy them completely, including all their wooden beams and stones.’ ”

5 Then the angel who had been talking to me came closer and said, “Look up and see what is coming out.”

6 I asked him, “What is it?” He replied, “It is a large measuring basket that is coming out.” Then he said, “It represents what the people are doing throughout the whole land.”

7 Then I saw someone lifting the heavy lead cover off the basket. There was a woman sitting inside the basket! 8 The angel said, “She represents how wicked the people are.” Then the angel threw her back down into the basket and put the heavy lead cover back over the opening.

9 Then I looked up and saw two women coming toward me. The wind was blowing under their wings, and they had large wings like those of a stork. They lifted the basket up high between the ground and the sky.

10 I asked the angel who had been talking to me, “Where are they taking that basket?”

11 He replied, “They are taking it to Babylonia to build a temple for it there. When they finish building the temple, they will place the basket inside on a pedestal.”

Yahweh commands Zechariah to crown Joshua

9 Then Yahweh gave me another message. 10 He said, “Heldai, Tobijah, and Jedaiah will bring silver and gold from the people who returned from exile in Babylon. On the day they arrive, go to the house of Josiah the son of Zephaniah. 11 Take some of the silver and gold from those men and make crowns. Then place them on the head of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest. 12 Tell him, ‘This is what Yahweh, the commander of the heavenly armies, says:

There is a man whose title is the Branch, because he will grow up like a new branch from the stump of David’s family.

He will emerge from where he is, and he will build the temple of Yahweh.

13 Yes, he will build Yahweh’s temple.

He will receive great honor,

and he will sit on his throne and rule.

He will also serve as a priest while he sits on his throne,

and there will be peace because he is both king and priest.’

14 The crowns will remain in the temple of Yahweh to remind people of what Helem, Tobijah, Jedaiah, and Hen the son of Zephaniah did. 15 People who live far away will come and help build Yahweh’s temple. When that happens, you will know that Yahweh, the commander of the heavenly armies, has sent me to you. This will happen if you truly obey what Yahweh your God commands.”

7 When Darius had been the emperor for almost four years, on the fourth day of Kislev (which was the ninth month in their calendar), Yahweh gave me another message. 2 The people of the city of Bethel sent two men, Sharezer and Regem-Melek, along with some other men, to consult with Yahweh 3 by asking the priests at Yahweh’s temple and the prophets if they should continue their years long practice of mourning the anniversary of the destruction of the temple by fasting during the fifth month.

4 Then Yahweh, commander of the angel armies, gave me, Zechariah, a message. 5 He told me to say this to the priests and, in fact, to everyone in the whole land: “Tell me whom you were honoring when you did not eat but went around in dirty clothing. It was not me you honored in the fifth and seventh months these 70 years. 6 And when you feasted at my temple, you did it just to have a good time, not to honor me. 7 This is exactly what I kept telling the former prophets to proclaim to the people, when the people in Jerusalem and the nearby towns were many and prosperous, and when people also lived in the southern Judean wilderness, and in the foothills to the west.”

8 Yahweh gave another message to me: 9 “Tell the people that this is what Yahweh, commander of the angel armies, said to your ancestors: ‘I told them to do what is just, to act faithfully and mercifully toward each other, in order to honor my covenant with you. 10 I told them not to oppress widows or orphans or foreigners or poor people. I said to not even think about doing evil to anyone else.’

11 But the people refused to obey Yahweh. They resisted him. They did not even listen to what he said. 12 He had given these messages for his Spirit to repeat to the prophets in earlier times. The prophets were meant to speak these messages to the people. But the people were very stubborn; they would not listen to the law of Moses or to any message from God. So Yahweh, commander of the angel armies, became very angry with them.

13 In those times, when Yahweh, commander of the angel armies, called to the people, they refused to listen. So he said, ‘In exactly the same way, I will refuse to listen when they call to me. 14 And I will scatter them among many nations, nations that they have never been to before. I will scatter them as a storm scatters leaves. After they are gone, their own land will be empty, with no one living there. No one will travel through it and no one will come back to it, because they have turned it, their most pleasant land, into a wilderness.’ ”

Yahweh promises to bless Jerusalem

8 Yahweh, the commander of the heavenly armies, gave me another message: 2 This is what I, Yahweh, the commander of the angel armies, say: “I love the people of Jerusalem; I love them very much, and I am very angry with their enemies.”

3 So this is what I, Yahweh, say: “Some day I will return to Mount Zion and I will live there. At that time, people will call Jerusalem The City of Faithful People, and they will call the mountain that Yahweh, the commander of angel armies, possesses The Sacred Mountain.”

4 Yahweh, the commander of the angel armies, also says this: “Some day old men and old women will again sit along the streets of Jerusalem, each of them holding a cane because they are very old. 5 Boys and girls will fill the city streets, playing there.”

6 Yahweh, the commander of the angel armies, also says this: “When those things happen, it will seem marvelous to the people who are still alive, but it certainly will not seem marvelous to me!”

7 Yahweh, the commander of the heavenly armies, also says this: “Pay attention! I will rescue my people from countries in the east and in the west, wherever they are. 8 I will bring them back, and they will live in Jerusalem. They will be my people, and I will be their God. I will be faithful to them and treat them fairly.”

9 Yahweh, the commander of the angel armies, also says this: “When people laid the foundation for my temple, there were prophets there who gave messages from me. Some of you people heard what those prophets said. So be brave while you are building the temple, in order that you may finish building it. 10 Before that time, no one could earn any wages for their work, and no one could hire animals for work because there was no money. No one was safe going about their daily activities because of enemies, since I caused everyone to fight against one another. 11 But now I will act differently toward you people who are still alive than I did previously.” That is what Yahweh, the commander of the angel armies, says.

12 “Instead, everything will go well for them: planting time will be peaceful, grapevines will produce grapes, good crops will grow in the fields, and rain will fall from the sky. I will give all these things to the people of this nation who have survived. 13 You people of Judah and Israel, right now, the people of other nations think of you when they say what a curse means. But I will rescue you, and I will give you so many good things that they will think of you when they say what a blessing means. So be brave; work hard to finish building the temple.”

14 Yahweh, the commander of the angel armies, also says this: “When your ancestors caused me to become very angry, I did not change my mind about that. Instead, I indeed punished them. 15 But now I will do something different. I am planning to do good things to the people of Jerusalem and other towns in Judah again. So do not be afraid. 16 These are the things that you should do: You should always tell the truth to each other. In the courts, your judges must make decisions according to what is correct and fair. 17 Do not plan to do evil things to others, and do not approve of swearing false accusations against others. I hate all those things,” says Yahweh.

18 Yahweh, the commander of the angel armies, said this to me: 19 “I tell you: the times when you people of Judah abstain from food during the fourth, fifth, seventh, and tenth months of each year will become times when you celebrate pleasant and joyful festivals instead. But you must want to speak truthfully and to be peaceful.”

20 Yahweh, the commander of the angel armies, also says this: “Some day people from many people groups and foreign cities will come here to Jerusalem. 21 People from one city will go to the people in another city and say, ‘Quick! Let us go together to Jerusalem to worship Yahweh and request him to bless us; we ourselves are going.’ 22 And people from many people groups and from powerful nations will come to Jerusalem to and request Yahweh, the commander of angel armies, to bless them and to worship him.”

23 Yahweh, the commander of the angel armies, also says this: “At that time, many people from every people group, speaking their own language, will come and firmly grab the fringe of robe belonging to a man from Judah’s tribe. They will say to him, ‘We want to be near you because we have heard people say that God is with you.’ ”

9 This is another message that Yahweh gave to me. Yahweh said, “I pay close attention to all people everywhere, and especially to all the tribes of Israel. So I will punish the people who live in the region of Hadrach and in the city of Damascus.” 2 I will also punish the people of the nearby city of Hamath, and the people of the cities of Tyre and Sidon, even though those people think that they are very wise.

3 The people of Tyre have built a strong wall around their city, and they have piled up as much silver and gold as if it were dust and mud in the streets. 4 But I, the Lord, will take away everything that the people of Tyre own, and I will destroy their ships out at sea, and an enemy army will burn their city down.

5 When the people of the city of Ashkelon see that happen, they will be afraid. The people of the city of Gaza will tremble in great anguish, and the people of the city of Ekron will tremble too, because they will no longer expect anything good to happen. There will no longer be a king ruling in Gaza, and no one will live in Ashkelon anymore. 6 People of mixed descent will live in the city of Ashdod, and so I will cause the Philistine people to no longer be proud. 7 I will no longer allow them to eat meat that still has blood in it, and I will no longer allow them to eat the disgusting food that they offered to their idols. Then the Philistine people who survive will worship me and become my people, like one of the clans in Judah. The people of the city of Ekron will become my people, just as the people of the city of Jebus did.

8 I will protect my temple like an army that guards it, so that no enemy soldiers can march through it or come back to attack it. No one who oppresses my people will ever invade them again, because now I am watching over my people carefully.

9 You people of Jerusalem, rejoice very much! Shout joyfully! Your king is coming to you. He does what is right, and God will give him victory. He is humble, and he will ride into the city on a donkey, on a young donkey.

10 Yahweh says “I will take away the chariots from the region of Ephraim and the war horses from the city of Jerusalem, and I will destroy the bows that soldiers use in war. Your king will tell the nations that they will now live peacefully. He will rule over all the earth, from one sea to the farthest sea, and from the Euphrates River to the most distant places on the earth.”

11 As for you people of Jerusalem, because of the blood of the animals that the priests killed when I made my covenant with you, I will set your people free, the ones who suffer like prisoners stuck in a dry pit that has no water in it. 12 You people who are like prisoners but who still confidently expect me to help you, return to your land, where you will be safe. Today I am telling you that I will give back to you twice as much as you have lost. 13 I will use the people of Judah to fight for me like a warrior uses a bow, and I will use the people of Ephraim like the arrows in that bow. People of Jerusalem, I will stir up your young men to fight against the army of Greece, and I will make you as powerful as a warrior’s sword.

14 Then Yahweh will appear above his people, and the arrows that he shoots will flash like lightning. Yahweh my Lord will blow a trumpet to signal the attack, and he will advance fiercely like a storm blowing from the south. 15 Yahweh, the commander of the heavenly armies, will protect his people. His soldiers will completely defeat their enemies who attack them with slingstones. Those soldiers will shout in victory and celebrate as noisily as men who have drunk much wine. They will be as full of joy as the bowls that the priests fill with blood and pour out on the corners of the altar.

16 On that day, Yahweh, the God his people worship, will rescue them, just as a shepherd rescues his flock of sheep from danger. They will be as precious to him as sparkling jewels in a crown shining over his land. 17 How wonderful and how beautiful everything will be! The young men will grow strong from eating plenty of grain, and the young women will grow strong from drinking plenty of new wine.”

10 Ask Yahweh to cause rain to fall in the springtime, because he is the one who makes the clouds from which the rain falls in storms. He causes showers to fall on us, and he causes crops to grow well in the fields. 2 What people think that the idols in their houses say is only nonsense, and people who say that they can interpret dreams tell only lies. When they tell people things to comfort them, what they say is useless, so the people who consult them are like lost sheep; they are in danger because they have no one to protect them like sheep with no shepherd. 3 Yahweh says, “I am angry with the leaders of my people, and I will punish them. I, Yahweh, the Commander of the angel armies, I will take care of my people, the people of Judah, like a shepherd takes care of his flock, and I will cause them to be like war horses in battle. 4 From Judah will come rulers who will be very important. From Judah will come leaders who will hold the people together, like a tent peg keeps a tent up. From Judah will come leaders who will take the soldiers into war, like a king holding his own bow for battle. From them will come every one of their own leaders. 5 They will be like mighty warriors who trample their enemies into the mud during battle. I, Yahweh, will be with them, so they will defeat and shame their enemies who ride on horses. 6 I will make the people of Judah strong, and I will rescue the people of Israel. I will bring them back from the countries to which they were exiled; I will do that because I pity them. Then it will be as though I had never abandoned them because I am Yahweh, their God, and I will answer them when they pray for help. 7 The people of Israel will then be like strong soldiers; they will be as happy as people who have drunk a lot of wine. Their children will see their fathers being very happy, and they also will be happy because of what I have done for them. 8 I will signal for my people to return from far away, and I will gather them together in their own country. I will rescue them, and they will become very numerous as they were previously. 9 I have caused them to be scattered among many people groups, but in those distant countries they will think about me again. They and their children will remain alive and return to Judah. 10 I will bring them back from Egypt and from Assyria; I will bring them back to the regions of Gilead and Lebanon, but there not be enough space for them all to live there. 11 I will go before them through their sufferings, as if I were walking through a sea, but I will calm those waves and end their sufferings, as if I were drying up the Nile River. I will defeat the proud soldiers of Assyria, and I will cause Egypt to no longer be powerful. 12 I will enable my people to be strong, and they will honor me and obey me. That will surely happen because I, Yahweh, have said it.”

11 You people of Lebanon must open your gates and allow the fire to burn your cedar trees! 2 Your cypress trees must be like people who are wailing, because enemies have cut down the cedar trees. Those glorious trees are all gone. The oak trees in the region of Bashan should also be like people who are wailing, because enemies have cut down the oak trees in the dense forest. 3 And listen to the shepherds crying because the fertile pastures have been ruined. Listen to the lions roar; they roar because the thick forest where they live near the Jordan River has been ruined.

4 This is what Yahweh my God said to me: “I want you to supervise this flock of sheep until the flock perishes. 5 The dealers in sheep will kill the sheep, and no one will punish them. Those who sell the sheep will say, ‘I praise Yahweh, because I will become rich!’ And the shepherds whom the owners hire do not feel sorry for the sheep. 6 And similarly, I no longer feel sorry for the people of this country. I am going to allow their fellow countrymen and their king, to oppress them. They will ruin this country, and I will not rescue any of them.”

7 So I became the shepherd of a flock of sheep that dealers were going to slaughter and to sell the meat. Then I took two shepherds’ staffs. I named the one staff “Kindness” and the other staff “Union.” This is how I began to shepherd the sheep. 8 But the three shepherds who had been with the flock detested me, and I became impatient with the owners who had hired us all. Within one month I had destroyed those shepherds.

9 So I said to the dealers, “I will no longer be a shepherd for you. I will allow the ones that are dying to die. I will allow the ones that are getting lost to perish. And I will not prevent those that remain from eating each other.”

10 Then I took the staff that I had named “Kindness,” and I broke it. I did this because Yahweh had told me to cancel the covenant that he had made with all his tribes of Israel. 11 So that covenant was ended on that very day. The dealers who were watching me knew by seeing what I was doing that I was giving them a message from Yahweh.

12 I told them, “If you think it is right, pay me for my work. If you do not think it is right, do not pay me.” So they paid me only thirty pieces of silver.

13 Then Yahweh said to me, “That is a ridiculously small amount of money that they have for your work. So put it into the treasury.” So I took the silver to the temple of Yahweh, and I deposited it in the treasury there.

14 Then I broke my second staff, the one that I had named “Union.” That indicated that Judah and Israel would no longer be together as brothers.

15 Then Yahweh said to me, “Take again the things that a foolish shepherd uses, 16 because I am going to appoint a new shepherd for the people, one who will not take care of my people. He will be a foolish shepherd: He will ignore the dying sheep and those that have gotten lost. As for the healthy sheep, he will not feed them; instead, he will butcher them for his own food and will tear off their hooves. 17 But terrible things will happen to that foolish shepherd who abandons the flock. May his enemies strike his arm and his right eye with their swords. May he have no more strength in his arm, and may his right eye become completely blind.”

12 This is a message from Yahweh concerning Israel—Yahweh, the one who stretched out the sky, who created the earth, and who gave life to human beings. This is what he says: 2 “I will soon cause Jerusalem to be like a cup full of very strong alcoholic drink, and the people of other nations who drink it will stagger around. The people of Judah will drink it, too, for they also will suffer when the enemy besieges Jerusalem. 3 At that time, the armies of all the people groups will gather to attack Jerusalem, but I will cause Jerusalem to be like a very heavy rock, and all who try to lift it will be badly injured. This will happen when the armies of all the world’s nations attack Jerusalem. 4 At that time I will cause every one of their enemies’ horses to panic, and their riders to become crazy. I will protect the people of Judah, but I will cause all their enemies’ horses to become blind. 5 Then the leaders of Judah will say to themselves, ‘The people in Jerusalem encourage us because Yahweh, the Commander of the angel armies, is the one they worship.’

6 At that time I will make the leaders of Judah like a pot of fire that someone puts in piles of firewood; and like a burning torch in a field of ripe grain. The leaders of Judah and their soldiers will destroy the people groups surrounding them in all directions. But the people of Jerusalem will remain safe in their own city.”

7 Yahweh will protect those who live in the other places in Judah before he rescues the people of Jerusalem, in order that people will not honor the descendants of David and those in Jerusalem more than the people in all the rest of Judah. 8 At that time, Yahweh will protect everyone in Jerusalem. The weakest soldiers among them will be as strong as David was, and the descendants of David will be like God; they will lead the others like the angel of Yahweh himself. 9 “At that time, I will start to destroy all the armies that attack Jerusalem.”

10 “I, Yahweh, will cause the descendants of David to have mercy on others, and to beg me to have mercy on themselves. They will gaze at me, whom they pierced. They will cry bitterly, as people cry for a firstborn son, an only son, who has died. 11 At that time, many people in Jerusalem will be crying bitterly, as people cry at Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. 12 Many people in Judah will cry, each clan by themselves. The male descendants of David will mourn by themselves, and their wives will mourn by themselves; the male descendants of Nathan will mourn by themselves, and their wives will mourn by themselves. 13 The male descendants of Levi will mourn by themselves, and their wives will mourn by themselves; the male descendants of Shimei will mourn by themselves, and their wives will mourn by themselves. 14 All the clans will mourn separately, their males by themselves, and their wives by themselves.”

What will happen to the leader and the people

7 Yahweh, the commander of the heavenly armies, says,

“I will send violence to strike the leader whom I appointed,

the man who is my close companion.

When someone kills that leader,

the people will scatter in every direction,

and I will use my power against even the weak and vulnerable ones among them.

8 In all the land,” Yahweh declares,

“I will cause two thirds of the people to die,

and only one third will survive.

9 I will cause that remaining third to go through severe trials.

I will purify them the way someone purifies silver, and I will test them the way someone tests gold.

Then they will call out to me for help,

and I will answer them.

I will say, ‘These are my people,’

and they will say, ‘Yahweh is our God.’ ”

14 Listen! It will soon be the time when Yahweh will judge everyone. At that time, you, the people of Jerusalem, will watch your enemies divide what you owned among themselves.

2 Yes, Yahweh says that he will cause the armies of many nations to attack Jerusalem. They will capture the city, take all the valuable things from your houses, and rape the women. They will take half of the people to other countries, but they will allow the other people to remain in the city.

3 But then Yahweh will attack those nations; he will fight as he fought at other times in battle. 4 On that day, he will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem. The Mount of Olives will split into two parts, with a large valley between the parts. Half of the mount will move toward the north, and half will move toward the south. 5 You people of Jerusalem will flee through that valley which extends to the other side of the mount, all the way to the village of Azel. It will be just as when people fled when there was an earthquake when Uzziah was king. Then Yahweh my God will come, and his own angels will be with him.

6 At that time, there will be no light from the sun, but it will not be cold or frosty. 7 Only Yahweh knows when this will happen. There will be no daytime or nighttime, because it will be light all the time, even in the evening.

8 At that time, water will flow from Jerusalem. One stream will flow toward the east to the Dead Sea. The other stream will flow toward the west to the Mediterranean Sea. The water will flow all the time, even during the hot season as well as in the cold season.

9 After that time, Yahweh will be the king who rules the entire world. Everyone will know that Yahweh, and only Yahweh, is the true God.

10 At that time, all the land in Judah will be flat, like the plain along the Jordan, from the town of Geba in the north to the town of Rimmon far to the south of Jerusalem. Jerusalem will remain high up, as it has always been. The city will extend northeast from the Benjamin Gate and the Corner Gate, which was the old gate, and to the Tower of Hananel, and then extending to the king’s winepresses to the southwest. 11 Many people will live there, and God will never again threaten the city with destruction. It will be a completely safe city to live in.

12 But Yahweh will bring a severe disease on the people groups that attacked Jerusalem. Their flesh will rot while they are still standing up. Their eyes will rot in their sockets and their tongues will rot in their mouths. 13 At that time, Yahweh will cause them to panic. They will grab hold of each other and attack each other. 14 Even the people who live in other places in Judah will attack Jerusalem. They will collect the valuable things, the plunder, from the surrounding armies of the nations—a lot of gold and silver and clothes. 15 The same plague that will afflict the people of other nations will afflict the horses, mules, camels, donkeys, and all the other work animals in their camps.

16 The people of other nations who previously came to fight against Jerusalem, all those who are still alive, will return to Jerusalem every year to worship the King, Yahweh, the Commander of the angel armies, and to celebrate the Festival of Shelters. 17 If there are people in those nations who do not go to Jerusalem to worship there, rain will not fall on their land. 18 If the people of Egypt do not go to Jerusalem, they will not have any rain. And Yahweh will cause them to suffer the same plague that afflicted the people of other nations that do not celebrate the Festival of Shelters. 19 That is how Yahweh will punish the people of Egypt and the people of any other nation who do not go to Jerusalem to celebrate the Festival of Shelters.

20 At that time, the words “Dedicated to Yahweh” will be written on the bells that are fastened to the horses. The cooking pots in the courtyard of the temple will belong to Yahweh, like the bowls that are in front of the altar. 21 Every pot in Jerusalem and everywhere else in Judah will be dedicated to Yahweh, the Commander of the angel armies. So everyone who offers sacrifices there in Jerusalem will be able to take some of the meat that has been brought for sacrifices and cook it in their own pots. And at that time, people will no longer buy or sell things in the courtyard of the temple of Yahweh, the Commander of the angel armies.